The American Empire in the 19th Century: Part 1
The Conventional Narrative of American History holds that, compared with European powers that seem to have been involved in numerous and frequent wars, America’s wars have been few. This belief is incorrect.
In 1889 the United States consisted of 38 states plus nine territories that would become an additional ten states. There were neither territories nor possessions beyond what would be the eventual 48 contiguous states. The American military had no permanent presence on the soil of any foreign nation.
This class explores what happened in the last decade of the nineteenth century that set us on the path to having territories in the Caribbean Sea and across the Pacific Ocean and having hundreds of military bases outside the United States across the globe in dozens of countries.
We will discuss the theory of manifest destiny and the psychological impact of Frederick Jackson Turner’s pronouncement that the frontier was closed with no more free land distributed by the government. Other topics will include Alfred Thayer Mahan and the plan for a large navy, the Second Industrial Revolution that would lead to seeking offshore colonies to buy surplus manufactured goods, the Free Silver Movement, the Panic of 1893, and the annexation of Hawaii.
