In the 1890s some Americans were eager to expand. Post-Civil War the U.S. was going through a time where they thought that they were lagging behind other nations in terms of expansionism. America felt that they were lacking what they needed in order to become a powerhouse. Many Americans, like Theodore Roosevelt or Alfred Thayer Mahan, were imperialists who wanted to acquire land/territories for the U.S. The United States sought to find their identity as a nation in the world. American Identity to imperialists can be defined as patriotism, military power, and dominance/hegemony. This was controversial because some Americans were anti-imperialists who did not believe in expansionism, but in defending the Constitution. This brought about both supporters and opponents of imperialism during the Spanish-American War. Manifest Destiny is defined as the 19th century belief that expansion of the U.S. throughout the American continents were both justified and inevitable. This “God-given right” fueled western settlement and imperialistic belief. Imperialist Senator Albert Beveridge, September 1898, made a speech that stated “the flag of liberty will circle the globe...benighted peoples will know the voice of liberty is speaking...civilization is dawning.” This demonstrates the belief of expanding to territories around the globe. Charles Denby wrote a forum in November 1898 titled “Shall we keep the Phillipines.” In the Forum, Denby is talking about the epoch known as the Battle
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After seeing what happened with the Americans and their success they realized they should be able to stand up for themselves too. It inspired them to rebel against the royals because they were over taxing them as well just the Britain's did to the Colonists.
