Between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the United States had become a major global mechanical power. They became the world's preeminent economic, mechanical, and agricultural power, thanks to their new technologies (e.g., the telegraph and steel), an expanding railroad network, and their abundance of natural resources. But this was only possible thanks to an ideology called "isolationism" in which the United States decided to "isolate" itself from the rest of the world and become self-sufficient, implementing new tariffs that helped the the American economy itself. With the beginning of the 20th century, this ideology shifted from a desire for self-sufficiency to a desire for more raw resources and power, so the United States experienced its period of imperialism. This change led to many political changes inside and outside the country, but it also affected its social views. The most important reasons why the United States decided it was a good idea to move from isolationism to imperialism were economic, military, and ideological. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Isolationism and imperialism were two very complex and different policies. Isolationism was a policy aimed at avoiding permanent ties and alliances with other states. In the United States, it began with George Washington's "Farewell Address" (1796), which proposed trade relations for the nation, but not permanent political alliances with the rest of the world. "While each part of our country thus feels an immediate and particular interest in the union, all the parts united cannot fail to find in the united mass of means and efforts a greater strength, a greater resource, proportionally a greater security against external dangers, greater security against external dangers. less frequent interruption of their peace by foreign nations. In the same direction went the “Monroe Doctrine” (1823), which established a sort of non-intervention between the United States and European states. “We have not and will not interfere with the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power. But with the governments which have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have recognized, with great consideration and on just principles, we could not envisage any intervention with the aim of oppressing them or controlling any other way their destiny. , by any European power, from another angle than as the manifestation of a hostile disposition towards the United States. Monroe, in his doctrine, takes power away from Europe, then asserts that America is a force to be watched. Imperialism, on the other hand, is a policy whose priority is economic and political expansion. In countries of industrial capitalism, they sought prime markets and low-cost outlets for industrial products and investment capital. With imperialism, people began to develop nationalist feelings and believe in the superiority of European civilization and the white man's civilizational mission; Furthermore, Social Darwinism, that is, the application of Darwinian theories to human society, interpreted cultural differences between people in terms of evolution and justified (on the basis of the principle of natural selection) the competition between peoples and the domination of stronger and more evolved peoples over moreweak and least evolved. It should be noted that the phenomenon of colonization, understood as an instrument of the progress of humanity, was also justified by many representatives of the socialist movement (including Marx himself). Imperialism peaked from the late 1800s until the years following World War II. As explained in the introduction, the shift from an isolationist to an imperialist policy was caused by three main factors. The first factor would be the economic factor. In 1893 a historian Frederick Jackson Turner published "The Significance of the Frontier in American History" and in this article he argues about the 1890 census. "This crudeness and force combined with sharpness and curiosity ; this practical, inventive spirit, quick to find expedients; this masterful mastery of material things, devoid of artistic sense but powerful for achieving great goals; this restless and nervous energy; This dominant individualism, working for good and evil, and with this dynamism and exuberance that comes with freedom, these are the features of the frontier. He claimed the border was finished or closed. In fact, the census director said there was no longer a visible border to the west. In the same year (1890), Wounded Knee, a war between Indians and Americans, marked the end of the great Indian wars. In the essay, Jackson discusses the importance of the frontier in American history. He did not promote the resistance of the natives to Anglo-Saxon colonization, he does not even really talk about race or class, but he makes it clear. Idea that the border is closed. Proponents of expansion took this idea and decided that since the border was closed, the. The only way America could expand was to go abroad, overseas. Many imperialists cited economic opportunities to justify increased involvement. The United States in world affairs. Between the Civil War and the 1890s, America's industrial capabilities exploded in such a short period of time. This rapid industrialization meant that the United States produced more than its citizens needed, giving rise to the belief among American imperialists that the United States needed new markets for its manufactured and agricultural products. The United States also decided to expand overseas because it wanted cheap raw materials, and many foreign countries were able to supply them, which would help fuel the Industrial Revolution. Many people believed this when there were economic problems. Economic downturns, like the Panic of 1893, showed that if we had these foreign markets to supply raw materials and as places to trade, they would emerge from these economic downturns much more quickly. So, they believed that the best way to achieve this and maintain a strong economy was to seize people's land abroad. In addition to taking over people's land, they also wanted to take over their lives in order to integrate them into the American economic system. , so that they could have these “new” markets where they could sell the goods that they were producing. There were also strategic reasons why some Americans advocated expansion and/or imperialist policies. One of the things that was happening was that the U.S. Navy was extremely weak and not very impressive, and the United States, as it expanded throughout this period, was largely gaining areas that were islands, because they wanted to be close to markets.