Question

Identify the claims presented by pro-imperialists and anti-imperialists.

Answer 1

Answer:

Pro-imperialists saw the benefits in advancing American interests abroad because we could influence world trade for example to our advantage through American exceptionalism. The anti-imperialists like the isolationists believed it was better to just focus on domestic issues and to limit trade and economic involvement with other countries.

Explanation:

Pro-imperialists:

Pro-imperialists believed that by advancing American influence abroad we could keep America safer in terms of controlling potential conflicts so they emerge in our favor, and for growing our economic influence as a country abroad by encouraging investment in other countries. Examples are the Dollar Diplomacy exercised by William Taft and the Big Stick Diplomacy exercised by Theodore Roosevelt who intervened in foreign conflicts as a negotiator and who saw to the building of the Panama Canal with US money.

Anti-imperialist:

There are two kinds of anti-imperialists in the American tradition. Historically the term is associated with the isolationists who were against American interventions, trade deals, and active diplomacy measures abroad because they believed that politicians should concentrate their efforts on the dynamics within the country and that trade with outside countries should be limited. Isolationists were also often protectionists.  More recently, anti-imperialists are those who tend to be critical of American interventions abroad because they are a threat to the sovereignty of other nations. Anti-imperialists critique American involvement in Middle Eastern economies, for example, because it is an over extension of our power and a thin guise for advancing American interests in the oil industry.