The Origins of American Muscle

American Muscle

As America transformed herself from a young collection of independent colonies on the eastern seaboard to an impressive nation spanning from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean with no regional rivals and immense potential, her foreign policy undoubtedly changed. At the turn of the 20^th century, the nation that was born out of resistance to imperial oppression and dedicated to an isolationist foreign policy would seize colonies extending from the Philippines to Cuba. Though interventions could be justified through humanitarian claims and annexation justified by national security it was clear that America had become an imperial power. While at the surface this shift in policy may seem hypocritical and ironic realist theories provide a framework in which the change seems sensible. At the turn of the 20^th century, America shifted her foreign policy from one of neutrality and isolationism to aggressive imperialism because America’s tremendous resources and growing prosperity and population made it capable of competing with any rival imperial power.

In the early years of the nation America was dedicated to neutrality and used the vast oceans to isolate herself from the toils that bothered Europe. In George Washington’s Farewell address he asked;

“Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice? (George Washington, Farewell Address to the People of the United States)”

There are several plausible motivations that could have caused America to choose to such a policy. The American culture at this time seemed to possess an antipathy towards imperialism. This antipathy was fostered by the experiences of Americans during the colonial period. The war for American independence was in all ways a war against imperialism and the oppression that coincides with it. It is clearly plausible then that a disposition against imperialism was maintained in the American culture which caused America to adopt a policy of neutrality. While this mentality is clear in the rhetoric of George Washington it seems more probable that the principle reason for neutrality was one of logistical purpose. America was a young unstable nation trying to define itself in an anarchic world. The oceans kept America relatively safe from invasion and afforded her the ability to isolate herself and shift her focus to western expansion and economic growth.

Though the nation was ripped apart and devastated by the civil war, the 19^th century was generally a century of tremendous growth and enduring peace. As the young nation continued to define her self there was little reason for America to shift her foreign policy. In 1821, speaking on intervention in international affairs, John Quincy Adams suggested that;

“[America’s] glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her Declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice. (John Q. Adams, Warning Against the Search for Monsters to Destroy)”

The logistical isolationism continued to be supported on moral premises. America began to have a definite definition of her self which separated her in spirit from her European contemporaries. This period of isolation allowed America to develop a strong economy and populate the West. Neutrality allowed the nation to build a solid foundation on which she could build. The coming era would reveal how the United States intended to build.

As the Spanish empire continued to weaken at the turn of the 20^th century America was given an enticing opportunity to make gains in the Caribbean, the Pacific and in South and Central America. America had upheld the Monroe Doctrine for some time and had the increasing muscle to enforce it more rigorously. America generally supported colonial independence movements but was careful not to engage the Imperial powers in all out conflict by making territorial grabs. In 1898 this would all change. While America tried to stay neutral in the escalating conflict between Spain and its colony in Cuba humanitarian atrocities along with the sinking of an American ship in Cuba prompted decisive action. McKinnley would end the hundred plus years of isolationism that defined the federal period and birth American Imperialism. In bloody yet generally decisive combat America crushed the weakening Spanish forces and took control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. During this same period America also took control of Hawaii, Samoa and Wake Island. America was all of a sudden an imperial power. While Cuba was taken out of humanitarian purposes and Hawaii for clear defensive purposes against Japan, the decision to take the Philippines had more drastic implications;

“The Decision to annex the Philippines touched off a wave of protest, spearheaded by the anti-imperialist league. Most anti-imperialists were not against expansion, favoring acquisitions within the western hemisphere and the retention of naval bases elsewhere. But the annex of a distant, sprawling archipelago inhabited by diverse and alien peoples aroused their opposition for it represented a clear break with past policies. The US had never acquired territory that could not be eventually admitted as states, and if it meddled in the Far East, it could not reasonably forbid other from meddling in the Americas. (Allan R. Millet and Peter Maslowski For the Common Defense, p. 301) ”

Defending such a colony would de difficult and expensive. To maintain such an effort America would have to greatly increase the size of her military establishment and begin a general trend of militarization that was avoided in past decades. America also confirmed her suspicions that she was now not only capable of competing with the European powers regionally but throughout the world.

Though America was participating in imperial expansion at this time she was never fully comfortable with this role. America’s origins morally demanded her to not partake in the oppressive and exploitative imperialism of her European rivals. This reality made it difficult for anyone to justify avaricious land grabs to the American people. Such grabs had to be justified with higher moral goals. In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt justified the shifting foreign policy saying;

“Generally peace tells for righteousness; but if there is conflict between the two, then our fealty is due first to the cause of righteousness. Unrighteous wars are common, and unrighteous peace is rare; but both should be shunned. The right of freedom and the responsibility for the exercise of that right can not be divorced. One of our great poets has well and finely said that freedom is not a gift that tarries long in the hands of cowards. (Theodore Roosevelt, The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine)”

At this time America realized she could make huge gains by annexing strategic territories. She did this with self constraint however, and was careful not to over-extend herself. In the coming decades America would decelerate her foreign policy from one of outright imperialism to a mild expansionism. America was a world power competing at the international level and acting as it had to act in the anarchic world.

America took up this daring foreign policy because she understood that if she wanted to maintain her autonomy she would have to be able to defend herself from the rising powers of Japan and Germany. There was a power vacuum occurring as Spain receded and America new it had to seize a large portion of the power pie or else someone else would. The oceans were quickly shrinking and Japan and Germany were emerging as real threats that needed to be countered. While there sadly was devastation inflicted on the native peoples of the American colonies this devastation paled in comparison to the devastation that could have potentially been inflicted by other imperial powers (both to the native populations and to the American people themselves). America would grow to enjoy flexing her muscles but not in the way Imperial Europe had in the past. America would not forget her experiences as the marginalized victim of imperialism and as a result chose to create her own path through history in which she uses her tremendous muscle to defend and extend the progressive ideals and institutions from which she was built. America would go on to fight for fair trade, open seas, democracy, autonomy and the freedom of those oppressed by Germany and the Ottoman Empire during WWI. While the enemies have changed and the size of American muscle has grown, her mission today largely remains the same;

“What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and selfish aggression. (Woodrow Wilson, “14 Points”)”

written by:

Theo Johnson

01/26/04

The Origins of American Muscle