American Imperialism

In 1898, the United States began its rise as an imperial power with the annexation of Hawaii and the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and Cuba after the Spanish-American War. In the immediate aftermath of Alfred Thayer Mahan's publication of The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, the United States joined other nations in acquiring naval bases and projecting its power around the world. A revolt in the Philippines tested America's commitment to its own values and its suppression drew criticism from the Anti-Imperialist League, whose members included Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, and William Graham Sumner. In the early twentieth century, American foreign policy was projected differently by each president, with Teddy Roosevelt's Big Stick, William Howard Taft's Dollar Diplomacy, and Woodrow Wilson's Missionary Diplomacy.