The Age of Imperialism
Trends and Themes of the Era
- American industrialization created a need
for foreign markets in which to sell manufactured goods and from
which to buy raw materials.
- Early efforts to find foreign markets involved economic
expansionism, which focused on opening markets through investment
rather than military involvement. Under President McKinley, near
the end of the nineteenth century, the United States wanted to increase
its exposure in foreign markets and shifted to a more militaristic
and imperialist policy.
- Victory in the Spanish-American War gave the U.S. an empire,
and also marked the ascendance of the U.S. as a world power.
