Critics of Imperialsim

Written By: Samantha S.

Carl Schurz

Key leader and founder of the Anti-Imperialist League

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Imperialism by the United States was not strong before the 1890’s.  Even though the United States was actively acquiring new lands and trading rights prior to this, the final decade proved to be very strong and rewarding.  Albert Beveride was a leading advocate for American imperialism in 1898.  During this time, America was producing and manufacturing more goods and products than needed.  As a result, Albert Beveride proposed overseas expansion in his 1898 speech, March of the Flag.  Beveride proposed that overseas trade would increase national prosperity (Jones, et al, 2008, pgs. 441-449).  At the conclusion of the Spanish American war in December of 1898, the United States gained possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  These prized acquisitions gave the United States access to natural resources offered by Cuba.  Hawaii also proved to be invaluable in the acquisition because it gave the United States one of the best Pacific Ports (Musicant, 2008).

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As with all new concepts, not all were in favor of the Imperialist concept.  As the Spanish American War ended in 1898, a group of prominent businessmen, government officials, and labor leaders met in Boston to form the Anti-Imperialist League.  The key leader and founder of this league was Carl Schurz, an immigrant from Germany.  Schurz was an early supporter of the new founded Republican Party and a friend of Abraham Lincoln.  As a General in the Civil War, Schurz went on to become a Cabinet Secretary under James Garfield and a Senator from Missouri.  The Anti-Imperialist League platform is based on the thought that imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been glory to be free.  They also believed that imperialism was contrary to the American democracy.  The group believed this to be evident because the United States gained independence from Great Britain, a colonial power. 

The Anti-Imperialist League opposed the Treaty of Paris, the Platt Amendment, and the occupation of the Philippines.  The Platt Amendment gave the United States the right to intervene in matters that pertained to Cuba or a perceived threat became apparent to the United States Government.  Coerced into putting the Platt Amendment into the new Cuban Constitution, Cubans viewed the document as a mockery of full sovereignty.  The occupation of the Philippines was viewed as a slaughter and needless horror by the imperialists (McCartney, 2006). Despite the protests of the anti-imperialists, America's imperialistic efforts continued to grow.

References

Ivan Musicant, Empire By Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998.

Jones, J., Wood, P.H., Borstelmann, T., May, E. T., & Ruiz, V. L. (2008). Created Equal: A social and political history of the United States. New York, NY: Pearson Longman Press.

McCartney, Paul T. American National Identity, the War of 1898, and the Rise of American Imperialism. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.