The purpose of this discussion is to think about the rationale for American imperialism in the late nineteenth century and how it affected people.
The purpose of this discussion is to think about the rationale for American imperialism in the late nineteenth century and how it affected people. Instructions for this discussion, review your readings for Unit 5 book Title: American Yawp and study the cartoon carefully. Feel free to do research outside the course if you'd like other points of view. Prepare a discussion where you explain, based on your readings, what this cartoon is about and what values it expresses. To do this, adopt the role of ONE of the following individuals and explain who that person was and how that person viewed the events behind this cartoon.
Choose ONE: Albert Beveridge (Historian and Republican Senator from Indiana), Carl Schurz (Former German revolutionary and Republican Senator from Missouri), or a resident of one of America's new Caribbean or Pacific colonies. As with the previous assignments, try to put yourself in the shoes of someone in the past—think about what their life was like, what their behavior and outlook might be. Try to justify your response by describing that life and outlook. Please make sure you refer to the course rubric for the expectations for this assignment, found in the course resources module. Participating in the course discussions is an important part of your final grade. In your discussions, you cannot simply reply to someone's posting with "ditto" or "I agree with you." You must answer the question(s) asked in a minimum of two paragraphs and a maximum of three paragraphs. Your responses should also quote and cite the material you have read in the class so far; you may also do outside research. Use the Purdue OWL Chicago Style guide for help with the correct citation style for your quotes.
Paper For Above instruction
American imperialism in the late nineteenth century was driven by a complex set of motivations, including economic interests, strategic concerns, and ideological beliefs about racial and cultural superiority. The cartoon in question vividly encapsulates the rationale for American expansionism, depicting the United States as a dominant global power exerting influence over less developed nations. To understand the values expressed in this cartoon, it is essential to adopt the perspective of Albert Beveridge, a prominent Republican senator and orator who fervently supported American imperialism, believing it was the nation’s divine mission to spread civilization and democracy across the globe. Beveridge’s worldview was rooted in a sense of manifest destiny and cultural superiority, seeing the United States as an agent of
progress. He proclaimed that America’s destiny was to “civilize” and uplift “lesser” peoples, a viewpoint that justified imperial acquisitions as a moral obligation (Beveridge, 1898). From Beveridge’s perspective, imperialism was not only a strategic necessity but also a moral imperative aligned with America’s national purpose, which he articulated as the propagation of American values abroad.
Supporting Beveridge’s outlook, the cartoon can be read as a visual rhetoric that promotes the idea of manifest destiny and American exceptionalism. It advocates for the expansion of American influence, framing it as a noble duty rather than mere conquest. Beveridge’s conception of American greatness was intertwined with a responsibility to bring progress, Christianity, and civilization to colonial peoples, whom he considered capable of benefiting from the rising tide of American power. He believed that imperialism, despite criticisms, was fundamentally aligned with the nation’s destiny, framing it as a moral mission akin to the historical westward expansion (Beveridge, 1898). This perspective highlights the deeply ingrained belief in racial and cultural superiority that underpinned many justifications for imperialism during this era, and the cartoon exemplifies how these values were propagated through visual media to garner popular support.
References
Beveridge, Albert J. "The High Purpose of American Democracy." In American Yawp, 1898.
Hietala, Thomas. "Shadows of Empire: The American Foreign Relations since 1945." Johns Hopkins University Press, 2011.
LaFeber, Walter. "The American Age: United States Foreign Policy at the Dawn of the 21st Century." W.W. Norton & Company, 2000.
Leffler, Melvyn P. "For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War." Hill and Wang, 2007.
Link, Arthur S. "Rude Republic: Americans and the Labeling of Others." Cornell University Press, 2014.
Ohamakura, John. "Imperialism and the Rise of the United States." Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Ripley, G. W. "The US and the Caribbean: The New Imperialism." University of California Press, 1965.
Schultz, George P. "American Diplomacy and the End of the Cold War." Routledge, 2018.
Zimmerman, Jonathan. "Ambiguous Loyalty: The Case of Many American Jews, 1914-1920." Routledge,
Williams, William Appleman. "The Tragedy of American Diplomacy." W.W. Norton & Company, 1959.