Introduction
The American settlement of the Western territories was essentially a conquest. The first conflicts between settlers and the native population began to occur from the start of the colonization in the 17th century. As the number of colonists grew, and they moved further into the continent in search of gold and new lands, the Native Americans’ resistance increased. In 1830, the government signed the Indian Removal Act authorizing the relocation of Indian tribes to the west of the Mississippi River, driving them from their native lands and destroying their traditional ways of life. After the Civil War, the colonization efforts doubled, as the settlers moved even further to the west, and the failures to expel the native tribes through treaties lead to numerous armed conflicts.
Main body
One of the earliest western engagements was the Dakota War of 1862 between colonists and the Sioux tribe in Minnesota and the Dakota Territory. After the number of American farmers moving to the Sioux native lands dramatically increased in the 1850s, the tribe was reduced to poverty, being unable to continue hunting. Ignited by the killing of several American settlers by four young men of the Sioux, the conflict unfolded into a war. A large encampment of Dakota Sioux was destroyed, over ten thousand Sioux were taken prisoner, and thirty-eight of them were executed (Luebering). The tribe was exiled from Minnesota to numerous reservations in Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Canada.
Another major military conflict between the colonists and the native tribes was the Sand Creek massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes by the U.S. Army on November 29, 1864. The conflict was a result of an increase in the flow of gold seekers to the Colorado territory and a failed attempt to make a treaty with native tribes that would confine them to reservations. Despite a Cheyenne chief’s attempt to arrange for peace talks, an attack was launched onto the Cheyenne camp at Sand Creek, killing about two hundred men, women, and children (Locke and Wright). The massacre became a national scandal that caused the government to create the Board of Indian Commissioners to pursue a more peaceful strategy.
At the Battle of the Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, the U.S. forces led by George Custer fought with the tribes of Cheyenne and Arapaho. Custer suffered a major defeat and was killed, which outraged many white Americans and confirmed their image of the Indians as wild and bloodthirsty (Locke and Wright). The public called for an immediate response, and military expeditions were sent out to crush native resistance. In the battles that followed, the native population was defeated, forced to lay down their weapons, and cede their lands to the United States. The battle marked the beginning of the end of the Indian Wars.
In my opinion, the violence that the Americans showed towards the Indians was appropriate for the goals they were trying to achieve. They wanted to colonize the continent and appropriate the lands without compromising with its inhabitants, and that is what they accomplished, having exerted the necessary amount of violence. However, the goal itself seems violent and inhuman to me. Instead of showing respect to the indigenous population and acknowledging their rights for the lands that they inhabited, the colonists chose to eliminate them. They wrestled the Indians out of their native lands and almost completely destroyed their culture and civilization.
American Industrialization
The Industrial Revolution started in the USA at the beginning of the 19th century and continued steadily up to and through the Civil War. The greatest changes started to occur at the end of the 19th century when hand labor was replaced with machine-based production all over the country. Industrialization was mostly beneficial to the American economy, turning the country into one of the world’s leading manufacturing nations, fostering its economic growth, and improving the population’s quality of life.
First, industrialization was beneficial to the country’s economy, greatly increasing production volumes, the number of workers, and the number of plants. Technological progress turned the USA from an agricultural to an industrial society powered by innovation. One of the main characteristics of industrialization was the expansion of railroads all over the country (Locke and Wright). Railroad mileage tripled in the twenty years after the Civil War, spurring the development of new organizations and businesses, new markets, and new management techniques.
Second, the second wave of industrialization resulted in the significant improvement of the workers’ quality of life. Technological developments lead to the rise of organized labor and workplace reforms. Innovations included the organization of labor unions, the introduction of stronger work ethics, improved working conditions, and higher wages (Locke and Wright). The government began to pass laws to protect workers and labor unions. The industrial revolution also marked a dramatic change for women who became able to enter the workforce.
Third, industrialization transformed the lives of people in general, changing their ways of life, values, and priorities. New organizations and industries were developed based on the principles of individualism and entrepreneurship. The new business environment welcomed people who were willing to take risks and make society better through their own efforts (Walls). It can be said that industrialization contributed to the development of the American national character and the underlying values and principles of American society.
American Imperialism at the End of the 19th Century
American imperialism is a policy aimed to extend the political, economic, and cultural influence of the United States over other countries. The concept was first popularized during the presidency of James K. Polk at the end of the 19th century when the USA first started to intervene in other countries’ affairs to enforce their interests. The United States’ actions in Hawaii, the Philippines, China, and Latin America allowed the country to gain new territories and areas of influence and establish its dominant position in the international arena (Hastedt). However, they resulted in fierce debates over whether the United States should act as an empire and whether the imperialist approach lies contrary to the country’s democratic foundations. I believe that the results and consequences of this policy are different in different cases, with some of them being positive, and some being negative.
One of the most vivid examples of the United States’ imperialist policy is the annexation of Hawaii in 1898. The Hawaiian economy had been integrated with the American economy for the previous several decades, with sugar plantation owners from the United States dominating the economy and politics of the islands. When a political conflict unfolded in Hawaii in 1893, with the new Queen trying to establish a stronger monarchy, the planters called for the USA to annex the islands. They were made an American territory in 1900, which extended the United States’ dominion into the Pacific and marked the rise of the USA as a Pacific power (Immerman). I think that, in this case, the annexation seems like a logical move that facilitated the islands’ economic development.
In the case of the Philippines, the situation is different. In 1896, a revolution against Spanish colonists broke out in the Philippines, resulting in the signing of the Declaration of Independence. However, neither Spain nor the USA recognized the islands’ independence, and, when the two countries entered into the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines passed under the sovereignty of the USA. In 1899, the Philippine–American war began, which ended in the annexation of the Philippines by the United States. The country gained its independence only in 1946, and the fifty years of American control over the territory were filled with protests and revolts. I think that, in this case, the United States’ imperialist policy was unjustified and lead to negative consequences.
Conclusion
The American attempts to increase their influence in Latin America were also ill-founded and aggressive towards the neighboring countries. They included not only political, economic, and cultural influence, but also military interventions, support of authoritarian regimes, and political pressure onto local governments (Locke and Wright). For example, when the Mexicans revolted against President Porfirio Diaz, whose government was financed by the USA. Woodrow Wilson put pressure on Mexico’s new regime. Overall, the switch towards the policy of imperialism at the end of the 19th century marked the country’s transformation into a major international power but resulted in the development of an aggressive political strategy.
References
Immerman, Richard. Empire for Liberty: A History of American Imperialism from Benjamin Franklin to Paul Wolfowitz. Princeton University Press, 2010.
Hastedt, Glenn. Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. Infobase Publishing, 2014.
Locke, Joseph, and Ben Wright, editors. The American Yawp. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Luebering, John, editor. Native American History. Britannica Educational Publishing, 2010.
Walls, Stephanie. Individualism in the United States: A Transformation in American Political Thought. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2015.