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Zinn's Imperialism

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1). I believe Zinn's overall thesis was the importance of imperialism overseas for the United States during the 1890’s and how its effect. Zinn illustrates “The profit system, with its natural tendency for expansion, had already begun to look overseas. The severe depression that began in 1893 strengthened an idea developing within the political and financial elite of the country: that overseas markets for American goods might relieve the problem of under consumption at home and prevent the economic crises that in the 1890s brought class war” (290). The United States believed in capitalism and imperialism gave opportunities to expand oversea and not just limit to the United States. With imperialism overseas this would better the economy for …show more content…
The idea of having more jobs and higher wages sound appealing but it that was not necessarily the situation other thing got expensive so it wasn't a win situation.
Chapter Questions: 1). This chapter influences my understanding of Theodore Roosevelt that he believed his race was superior than others and not everyone was equal. Zinn states, “Roosevelt called this hesitancy "a crime against white civilization.”’ And he told the Naval War College: ‘“All the great masterful races have been fighting races. . . .” (293). Since Roosevelt believed his race was superior he thought he could take control of the China, Cuba, Hawaii and the Philippians. Being White entitled you to more power. He was racist in a sense that he believed Whites were better than everyone else not just black people. My understanding of the political officials during the expansion of the United states was they were greedy and controlling. This was their ideology during the time of expansion, “ Racism, paternalism, and talk of money mingled with talk of destiny and civilization” (306). For example they used manifest destiny as …show more content…
They Blacks and Filipinos were similar because they were people of color, Filipinos were “brown-skinned, physically identifiable, strange-speaking and strange-looking to the Americans. To the usual indiscriminate brutality of war was thus added the factor of racial hostility” (308). They were treated poorly because they looked different from the typical american/european look. The white man's burden was imposed, just because the Filipinos did not look white. This lead to many more problem and inhumane actions, ““In Tampa a race riot began when drunken white soldiers used a Negro child as a target to show their marksmanship”(318). Filipinos and Blacks were being considered the under same group, “Many of the black soldiers established rapport with the brown-skinned natives on the islands, and were angered by the term "nigger" used by white troops to describe the Filipinos”(310). Each race should have the right to be identified as their own race. As well as not being disrespected. All in all Filipinos were treated like this because of the idea that white people were superior and had the power to do anything because of their masterful

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