Part I

Directions:

I. List terms that might be used to describe the thinking in these passages.

2. By the last quarter of the nineteenth century these ideas had become traditional elements of American thought regarding national foreign policy. Do they reflect coherence or ambivalence? Explain your answer.

A. "The Great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is in extending our commercial relations to have with them as little political connection as possible. . . Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation. . . Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? - Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition. . . Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world"

President George Washington's Farewell Address (September, 1796)

B. "The American continents, by the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any European powers. . . we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety."

President James Monroe's Seventh Annual Message to Congress (December, 1823)

C. "Cities and towns have sprung up upon the shores of the Pacific. . . . Nor have we yet fulfilled the destiny allotted to us. New territory is spread out for us to subdue and fertilize; new races are presented for us to civilize, educate and absorb; new triumphs in the cause of freedom. North America presents to the eye one great geographical system. . . ; it is soon to become the commercial center of the world."

Senator Daniel S. Dickinson of New York (January, 1848)

Part II

Use directions from part I for A and B.

A. ". . . the work which the English race began when it colonized North America is destined to go on until every land on the earth's surface that is not already the seat of an old civilization shall become English in its language, in its religion, in its political habits and traditions, and to a predominant extent in the blood of its people. The day is at hand when four-fifths of the human race will trace its pedigree to English forefathers, as four-fifths of the white people of the United States trace their pedigree today.."

Historian John Fiske (1885)

B. "Having therefore no foreign establishments, either colonial or military, the ships of war of the United States, in war, will be like land birds, unable to fly far from their own shores. To provide resting places for them,, where they can coal and repair, would be one of the first duties of a government proposing to itself the development of the power of the nation at sea.

"Control of a maritime region is insured primarily by a navy; secondarily, by positions, suitably chosen and spaced one from the other, upon which as bases the navy rests, and from which it can exert its strength. At present the positions of the Caribbean are occupied by foreign powers, nor may we, however dispersed to acquisition, obtain them by means other than righteous; but a distinct advance will have been made when public opinion is convinced that we need them..."

Navy Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan (1890)

C. "The founders of this government- recognizing the difficulty of maintaining as a unit a republic of extensive proportions - inaugurated the Federal system, a union of sovereign states, hoping thereby to extend self government over vast areas and to maintain therein the purity of republican principles - each state. . . of necessity containing a population... of men capable of governing themselves. Therefore the founders... made it an unwritten law that no area should be brought within the bounds of the Republic which did not and could not, sustain a race equipped in all essentials for the maintenance of free civilization and, capable of upholding within its boundaries a republican form of government. Therefore, if we adopt a policy of acquiring tropical countries, where republics cannot live, we overturn the theory upon which this Government is established."

Senator Richard F. Pettigrew of South Dakota (1898)

Pinpoint specific convictions in Pettigrew's speech.

D. "American factories are making more than the American people can use; American soil is producing more than they can consume. Fate has written our policy for us; the trade of the world must and shall be ours. . We will establish trading posts throughout the world as distributing points for American products. We will cover the ocean with our merchant marine. Great colonies governing themselves, flying our flag and trading with us, will grow about our posts of trade. Our institutions will follow our flag on the wings of commerce."

Albert J. Beveridge, candidate for United States Senate (1898)

Identify the basis of Beveridge's position. How does he glamorize his thinking?

As the United States debated its position regarding Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and other territories at the turn of the century, what main points would each side emphasize?

Imperialists:

Anti-imperialists: