American Imperialism

(noun)

A term that refers to the economic, military, and cultural influence of the United States on other countries.

Related Terms

Examples of American Imperialism in the following topics:

  • The Debate over American Imperialism

    • The "Age of Imperialism" was the height of American expansion overseas, but not everyone agreed with the imperialistic policies of the U.S.
    • A variety of factors may have coincided during the "Age of Imperialism" in the late nineteenth century, when the United States and the other major powers rapidly expanded their territorial possessions.
    • Some of these are explained, or used as examples for the various perceived forms of American imperialism .
    • There is also a conservative, anti-interventionist view as expressed by American journalist John T.
    • A strong vocal minority, the American Anti-Imperialist League, was an organization established in the United States on June 15, 1898, to battle the American annexation of the Philippines as an insular area.

  • American Imperialism

    • Polk, the concept of an "American Empire" was made a reality throughout the latter half of the 1800s.
    • American imperialism is partly rooted in American exceptionalism, the idea that the United States is different from other countries due to its specific world mission to spread liberty and democracy.
    • Pinpointing the actual beginning of American imperialism is difficult.
    • During this "Age of Imperialism," the United States exerted political, social, and economic control over countries such as the Philippines, Cuba, Germany, Austria, Korea, and Japan.
    • The American Anti-Imperialist League was an organization established in the United States on June 15, 1898, to battle the American annexation of the Philippines as an insular area.

  • Pearl Harbor

    • The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941.
    • The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes in two waves, launched from six aircraft carriers.
    • The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters.
    • There were no British or American capital ships in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific except the American survivors of Pearl Harbor who were hastening back to California.
    • Evaluate the effect the attack on Pearl Harbor had on the American nation

  • Internment of Japanese Americans

    • Relocation and internment occurred in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
    • Of those interned, 62% were American citizens.
    • The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 led military and political leaders to suspect that Imperial Japan was preparing a full-scale attack on the West Coast of the United States.
    • American public opinion initially stood by the large population of Japanese Americans living on the West Coast. 
    • German American internment and Italian American internment camps also existed, sometimes sharing facilities with the Japanese Americans.

  • Imperialism and Racial Divisions

  • Imperialism in South Africa

  • Economic and Social Impacts of Imperialism in India

  • The Economics of French Imperialism

  • Coral Sea and Midway

    • The Battle of the Coral Sea, May 4-8, 1942, was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia.
    • In an attempt to defend their empire in the South Pacific, Imperial Japanese forces decided to invade and occupy Port Moresby in New Guinea and Tulagi in the southeastern Solomon Islands.
    • The plan was handicapped by faulty Japanese assumptions of the American reaction and poor initial dispositions.
    • Most significantly, American code-breakers were able to determine the date and location of the attack, enabling the forewarned U.S.
    • Top Left: Two Mitsubishi A6M2a Zero of the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation in China (26 May 1941).

  • Moral Imperialism

    • Many have approached the process of American entry into the World War I as a study in how public opinion changed radically in three years' time.
    • In 1914, most Americans called for neutrality, seeing the war as a dreadful mistake and determined to stay out of it.
    • The question then became whether Americans would fight for what they deeply believed in, and the answer turned out to be a resounding "YES".
    • Americans set a standard for German behavior in terms of human decency, political philosophy, international law, and American national interest.
    • Americans wanted a world of peace and democracy; in 1917, they realized that they must fight Germany to achieve it.