Essay Preview: Db
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For an increasing number of years since America came about, it has been acquiring land. Our country began with focusing on developing itself but after its industrial economy progressed largely, it started focusing on other countries also. It needed resources in different areas of the world. Americans supported imperialism during this time but it was perceived that America had to be the strongest by attaining territory overseas.
Darwin’s concept of “survival of the fittest” came into play when other countries were “grabbing” land like in document A. Notice that the United States has not yet joined “world plunderers”. Places such as Germany, Russia, and Britain were conquering lesser countries and it was a concern that they needed to compete to survive like Darwin concluded. America felt they needed to prove they were powerful. The advancement of their navy made it possible for this expansion to manifest.
They did not feel they were controlling these areas necessarily, but helping them. This is shown in Theodore Roosevelt’s words in document F when he says “All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly, and prosperous.”. He speaks of how a nation that is able to act with efficiency and decency is one the United States will not meddle in. However, if a country is misbehaving it may need to be aided into becoming civilized like Cuba has done after America’s troop interfered. Our country seems to believe it knows what it is best for other countries.
Spreading ideas that America understood to other whereabouts has been quite constant throughout our history. We radiated manifest destiny previously into other places which was the idea that God meant for us to expand. This was also used for an Anglo-Saxon view which was brought up in document B (“It seems to me that God…..is training the Anglo-Saxon race“). We did this with religion, namely Christianity. In document B, Josiah Strong spoke of these actions being linked to survival of the fittest. He was a minister that thought “the purest Christianity” could be expanded and the belief that they are a “race of unequalled