U.S. Imperialism Begins

1. Name at least five factors that fueled American Imperialism.
Five factors that fueled American Imperialism were the new technology, want for military prowess, Social Factors such as Social Darwinism, Nationalists racing Europe for colonies, and new markets opened by the Industrial Revolution.

2. Choose two of the above five factors and describe them in your own words.
The Nationalists who wanted the US to expand saw Europe taking a bunch of colonies in the east, and saw the need to catch up by taking over the Pacific Ocean as compensation. The Industrial Revolution caused Imperialism because it opened up a lot of new markets and caused the need for new recourses to fuel the new developments.

3. What was known as “Seward’s Folly” and why?
The purchase of Alaska was known as "Seward's Folly" because no one could think of any use for it and thought that Seward wasted 7 million dollars by purchasing it.

4. What plantation-based product accounted for three-quarters of Hawaii’s wealth in the mid-19th century and who controlled this product?
Sugar accounted for three-quarters of Hawaii's wealth in the mid-19th century and it was controlled by white, American planation owners and worked by Asian immigrants.

6. Using as much detail as possible, outline the sequence of events that led to America gaining possession of Hawaii? In other words, why was the United States interested in these Pacific islands?
The United States was interested in Hawaii because it provided a place to farm sugar, had a good harbor for the Navy, was on the way to China and provided a convenient refueling space for boats, and gave the US a good point to control the Pacific Ocean. The Navy saw Pearl Harbor a good place for the Pacific part of the US navy and a being in the middle, a good place to launch attacks on and protect the rest of the Pacific Ocean. Alfred Mahan promoted this by saying the US needed a way to be a navel power and that it would protect the US from the "Chinese Hordes". Also it provided a place for boats to refuel with coal and other things. Finally it was a good place to farm sugar, and many business men wanted to make use of this.