Generally speaking, yes, many of the early philosophes were optimistic about the future of humankind because they saw in man an individual nature that was separate from that which ties man to the state or polis--meaning that they saw in man an unrestricted ability to achieve any goal.
It means exploiting the resources of the conquered country for the benefit of the conqueror. Imperialism means creating an empire, expanding into the neighbouring regions and expanding its dominance far. Colonialism is termed as building and maintaining colonies in one territory by people from another territory.
Without a doubt, the United States has never really lived up to the ideals of the Declaration. Historians, myself included, are quick to point out that Thomas Jefferson enslaved several hundred human beings when he crafted the Declaration.
