Week 2: Imperialism - Understanding Power Dynamics

1/10/2016

Watch the video above. Take detailed notes. Draw the diagram in your notes that the Professor writes out for you. This will help you answer the prompts below. You will be able to think critically about examples that you find from media sources or your textbook.

Prompts
What were some of the methods by which the United States expanded its economic and political influence around the world in the late 1800s and early 1900s? How did economic interests sometimes lead to military action? Cite specific examples—such as Japan, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, China, Panama, and/or Nicaragua—in your answer.

What is the meaning of Teddy Roosevelt's motto "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" in regard to foreign policy? How did he implement this policy during his presidency? What do you think of the policy? Is it effective? Is it right?

Study the political cartoon Civilization Begins at Home. What is the cartoonist saying about American foreign policy? What attitudes toward foreign nations does the cartoonist think are wrong? What aspects of American history and society are criticized in the cartoon? Do you agree with the ideas expressed by the cartoon?

Original Posts 250 words (minimum). Respond to three other students 50 words (minimum). Original post due Thursday @ midnight. Responses (3) due Sunday @ midnight.

92 Comments

Mark De Martini

1/13/2016 12:46:27 pm

The late 1800s was a time of American expansion into a soft imperial power. Japan, Hawaii, Cuba and Nicaragua are cited examples. It was European imperialism that motivated the U.S. to formulate an international counter under the intent of the Monroe Doctrine. As WWI was just mere years away engulfing Western Europe in a destructive military test of will enhancing U.S. international standing was justified. In the case of Japan, the U.S. had forced trade with Admiral Perry's visit to Tokyo Bay in the mid-1800s. This act initiated Japan's remarkable industrial transformation and led to the Russo-Japan war that President Theodore Roosevelt brokered a long standing peace agreement that was unfair to Korea and led to Japanese ambitions in China. Hawaii was a strategic asset in providing a coal refueling port for the U.S. fleet. Panama was another ambitious imperial move to provide quick access to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Roosevelt provoked a local uprising that separated Panama from Columbian control. Cuba and the Philippines were war prizes after the Spanish American war of 1898. The war was fought to end Spanish rule in the Caribbean near U.S. waters. Nicaragua is a victim of the Banana Wars discussed in my blog last week. Hawaii is a great State but the indigenous people lost out greatly as they failed to retain their land and monarchy to U.S and Asian interests.

What all this means is that powerful countries will always look out for their own interests. The real question is how well do these interests serve all parties in the long run? In the case of the Philippines, Panama, and Cuba the U.S. granted them total independence in time. With the exception of Hawaii the U.S. never colonized countries in its sphere of influence as Europe did by habit. The level of exploitation was generally mild compared to European standards. Back in the late 1800s to 1900s all powerful nations had to create a strategic footprint worldwide or risk being overtaken economically if not militarily. This was the reality of the day that didn't translate too kindly to those caught between imperial powers. The postwar competition with the Soviet Union and communism created a 20th Century need for global expansion once again. Today, international relations between those countries may be shaky based on past mistakes, but the U.S. is ready to provide support and aid to those same countries in time of crisis. What's done with independence from the U.S. after 50-70 years is really up to those nations themselves. Blaming the U.S. for their own internal problems with corruption or despotism, leading to poverty and despair is counterproductive. In the past local leaders should have been more effective leveraging U.S support while minimizing exploitation. It's greed and a willingness to "sell out" a leader's own people that makes total exploitation possible. Once a country say's no, it gains collective power and compromise is possible.

The U.S. after WWII knew it had to grant its territorial holdings independence if it was to remain true to its values. It isn't apprehensible if those newly free countries wished to establish good relations and trade when the imperial experience was mostly, or partially positive. France, England and Portugal refused to give up its colonies after WWII and the result was much worse than the American experience in comparison.

The cartoon "Civilization Starts at Home" was striking. It implied that before the U.S. took on imperial responsibilities in the Philippines, that it look to the plight of suffering African Americans at home. This cartoon was drawn at time when there were plenty of former slaves still alive and times were not good in the Reconstruction era South. What is not evident is that much of the imperial responsibilities entailed educating the inhabitants, improving infrastructure and modernizing cities. The U.S policy was to treat the Philippine people as partners and improve their standard of living. Proof of success was the near total Philippine alliance with the U.S. during the Japanese occupation during WWII. The cartoon could have as easily been titled "Charity starts at home". Contemporary Americans were highly critical of the amount of aid and effort placed the Philippines, even when all armed resistance was subdued. Americans were wary of imperialism because it was not a cultural norm for the average American as an expression of nationalistic pride. I agree that the U.S. should always look after the well being of its own citizens before those of other countries. Charity does start at home and expands outward from there.

mark demaritni

1/14/2016 09:57:58 am

I have to respond to my own blog since I failed to include Theodore Roosevelt's "Speak Softly but Carry a Big Stick" policy during his presidency. The term was an accurate description to Roosevelt's foreign policy and vision during the early 1900s. He believed that America had to successfully project power to earn and maintain the respect of other nations. The around the world tour of the U.S. Navy's White Fleet of newly constructed modern dreadnought battleships was a show of American might and power. Roosevelt was able to force American interests on Latin America and parts of the Pacific by projecting power while reserving the right to use it if required. Historians generally agree that America become an imperial power after the Spanish American War of 1898. Roosevelt inherited the spoils of war along with the shift of international dynamics. He was aware of all this and his "speak softly but carry a big stick" policy met those dynamics.

My feelings on this policy and American Imperialism is mixed. I don't like the fact that America sometimes intervened in weaker countries's affairs that ended badly for indigenous people. On the other hand, many of the effects were positive as in the construction of the Panama Canal or the modernization of the Philippines. Many of these countries fared far better under American tutorship than under Spain. America could not have competed with Europe or made substantial contributions to the defeat of totalitarian empires during WWI and WWII. Postwar it stood as a bulwark against communist aggression and totalitarian regimes. To build this capability America paid the price of becoming empirical.

Wenli Zhou

1/13/2016 11:04:15 pm

This is a good video, facts and relationship between imperial power and colony are well presented.
In the late 1800s, the United States established Hawaii as a new state. For the first time in its history, the United States had acquired an overseas empire. There is no way one can talk about methods of how the United State expanded its economic and political influence around the world without mention Teddy Roosevelt. Teddy Roosevelt expanded america's empire after he took office in 1901. As President, he want America to have a same image as himself: tough, ready, strong. Roosevelt wanted to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world stage and make the country a global power. The establishment of the Panama Canal and Roosevelt Corollary really embodied America's influence around the world.

The united states can be an example of which economic interests sometimes lead to military action. In the document the Common Sense written by Thomas Paine, he believed that American will do better without British's control economically. One of the reasons for Americans to announce the declaration of independence was the eager for free trade.

Teddy Roosevelt's motto "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" means leaders should be open for negotiation and always seek for peace. However, it is necessary to let other nations aware of the military power. He used this policy on lots of cases. The most obvious one would be the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) which also known as “big stick”. Roosevelt showed to the world America's military power with “big stick”. I think overall this policy is smart and right because it will avoid unnecessary wars.

The cartoon Civilization Begins at Home showed the President William McKinley eyes a map of the Philippines, which was soon to become a U.S. territory, while a man who represents justice pulls back the curtain to reveal the social injustice in America. I think the cartoonist was disagree about President accusing other nations for not being civilized while the United States still have lots of issues at home. There were lots of historical social issues and injustice at that time, for example such as race equality and sex equality. I do agree with the cartoonist. Sure we need time to overcome these issues, we need media like this to be a muckraker to bring these issues on the table and push for progress.

Mary Rasooli

1/15/2016 07:45:57 pm

Hi Wenli! In response to your Roosevelt quote, I agree that speaking softly but still making sure others are aware of your power whether it may be economic, political or military power is what roosevelt was implying. In a sense, i feel that its a good strategy to be able to remove a lot of aggression when interacting with other countries. However, i also feel that it's in a way a means to "bully" other countries as well. I wouldn't be surprised if such tactics have been used by the US to "softly" bully countries into doing things out of fear of the US's powerful and aggressive "big stick"

Yumi Okawara

1/17/2016 03:21:01 am

Hi, Wenli! I enjoyed reading your statement. I have known the name Teddy Roosevelt, but I did not know what he made up till you mentioned his details. For instance, you stated above, “Teddy Roosevelt expanded America's empire after he took office in 1901. As President, he wanted America to have the same image as himself: tough, ready, strong. Roosevelt wanted to increase the influence and prestige of the United States on the world stage and make the country a global power. The establishment of the Panama Canal and Roosevelt Corollary really embodied America's influence around the world.” After reading your statement, I was convinced by his motto “speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Steven Pham

1/17/2016 01:35:34 pm

Hey Wenli!
I definitely agree that Teddy's motto was always mean't for peace. It is sometimes mistaken that he was seeking for power which require the downfall of other countries. But that is not the case at all, the U.S. only seek military power to feel secure themselve and protect other countries who need their assistances.

Madalyn Hart

1/17/2016 11:55:07 pm

I like your point of view on Roosevelts "speak softly, and cary a big stick". I had never thought of it that way until after reading your essay. It makes sense because the whole point of wanting to seam really strong to other countries would be to avoid unwanted conflict. Your essay also had a very nice flow to it, and was very enjoyable to read!

Anteo Swenson

1/13/2016 11:55:32 pm

The United States was once a colony of the biggest empire in the world, Great Britain. It was a colony filled with people seeking opportunity, guided by ambition; a characteristic that is still embedded in our culture. A lot of the British political culture was also passed on to its now independent colony. Certain expansionist philosophies were embedded in their politics and foreign policy. As the United States began to increase its power, it began to include itself in the colonizers game. During the late 1800’s, as Europe was going through turmoil, the US began to express its interests in global expansion more explicitly. Every single territory they invade had a strategic reason to be so. Hawaii was a strategic spot for fueling and bases in the Pacific. Cuba and the Philippines were intervened during and after the Spanish-American war. Panama was a strategic area where the US wanted to gain easy access to both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean; it was also the epitome of the self-interests and the control the US wanted to have over South and Central America. Every of these interventions in other nations was eased into, and taken advantage of considering what the previous colonizers (if any) were going through. The US began to show its astute and dominant traits.
President Teddy Roosevelt inherited an empire. Overseas acquisitions were present and fresh when he got to the presidency. He had to maintain a lot of foreign relations with other nations, he had to practice a now popular kind of diplomacy, he’s motto was: “Speak softly and carry a big stick”. He would be persuasive and prudent in his diplomatic relations, while knowing that he could devastate a nation with his powerful military if he had to. This was a strategy that was both used as an offense and a defense. A would know that the US had such military power, and so it would think twice before any offense. Also, and very importantly, this motto was used as a persuasive and threatening one, since, if a nation did not agree to something the nice diplomatic US would suggest (subtly command), the possibility of military force was real. A clear example of this is the creation of the Panama Canal, something that was accomplished by during Roosevelt’s presidency. This policy is one that is practiced by every powerful nation in the world, it is perhaps the one that guides every diplomatic relation they have with each other, and it is especially present in the US’s foreign affairs. It is not right, or wrong, it just is; actually, it’s quite a Maquiavellian (realist) philosophy, as Niccolò Machiavelli said in his renowned piece The Prince, “It is better to be feared, than to be loved”.
In the cartoon “Civilizations Begin at Home”, the artist is stating that ambition and expansionism has blinded the US priorities. It used the Philippines as an example, and then the symbol of justice is showing the US that its own citizens are suffering. It is something that is still present in the US’s policy, the amount of tax money that goes towards the military is massive, and it could be used in some other national issues. It is not as if the US is doing charity around the world, they’re interests that are present, primarily lucrative ones, or of expansion of power. Unfortunately the cartoon is too accurate, even though it refers to an event that occurred years ago, the same policy is still present in the US.

sharelle smith

1/17/2016 11:13:59 pm

The U.S does provide some charity, but as a tool for an exchange. You are right that a lot of money goes into military neglecting at home issues. The sad part is that our veterans go to war and many times the reason for the war is a lie. Than when they come home they aren't taken care of. There is a reason for the saying take care of home first before you start taking care of someone else. I think Switzerland has that down pat. They rarely involve themselves with any other issues..... I'm not sure if that"s bad or good. Someone should look into the reasoning behind that.

Thu-Thao Ho

1/14/2016 12:43:18 am

Teddy Roosevelt's proverb, "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" is to act with intelligence and strategy in times of international conflict, to exercise diplomacy over military action, and to be open to peace negotiations. This foreign policy came into practice memorably in September of 1905, marking the end of the Russo-Japanese War. Teddy Roosevelt had exercised his power as a strong leader in order to negotiate the Treaty of Portsmouth with Russia and Japan. Under Roosevelt's proposals, the treaty allowed for both nations to come to a peaceful compromise. The treaty gave Japan control over Korea and parts of Manchuria, along with the southern half of Sakhalin Islands as well as the rights to the railway that connected to the rest of Port Arthur. Russia was exempted from all Japan war costs, and both nations were not required to pay for war reparations. "Speak softly and carry a big stick" is used in order to be decisive. Nations in disputes must both agree to the terms, but in order for agreement to happen one must use diplomacy to draw forth a peaceful solution. Roosevelt acts with intelligence in recognizing that both nations were financially unsustainable and could not continue with the war. His proposed solution saved nations millions if not billions of dollars from war costs, and helped end a crisis that endangered innocent lives for both sides of the battlefield.
This foreign policy is effective in preserving peace without entangling in allies and saving the economy from inflation. Wars are ineffective in resolving international affairs, and cause major internal conflict for nations involved. Through Teddy Roosevelt's foreign policy, the nations would resolve disputes through recognizing the dispute at hand, and discuss an effective treaty that can remain implemented in the long term. Such efforts will deter from the scourge of war, and will maintain the peace and prosperity of nations around the world. To use diplomacy is to act decisively with peace, economic intelligence, and humanitarian assistance being the first priority.

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty

Mark De Martini

1/15/2016 02:19:54 pm

Thu,
You know your history. The 1905 peace agreement brokered by Theodore Roosevelt earned him a Noble Peace Prize. The agreement really had serious consequences because Japan's victory over Russia gave it imperial ambitions of its own. Japan would later invade China in an effort to conquer. This would not have been likely if Japan wasn't given control of Manchuria in 1905.

Another interesting point regarding Roosevelt's "Talk Softly but carry a Big Stick" policy is the fact that in the early 1900s America wasn't a militarily strong country. The U.S. military was small and technologically inferior compared to England, France and Germany. If Spain had not slipped into decline America may not have won the Spanish American War. By 1898 Spain had slipped from being an imperial power able to maintain any of its holdings. Roosevelt was expert at projecting power. The building of the Panama Canal was a shock to Europe since all believed the undertaking was impossible when France failed to build it. America was on the rise by 1905 but still no match for European ambitions if it were not for Roosevelt's mastery of international relations.

A real detractor of Roosevelt was his unilateral actions without congressional approval. Congress would have never approved Roosevelt's adventurism in supporting a local uprising to take the land from Columbia to build the Panama Canal. Yes, the Panama Canal was a great accomplishment for the world, but when the U.S. Constitution isn't respected there is a huge price to pay as the American soul is damaged in the process.

If you are interested in Theodore Roosevelt I recommend Theodore Rex by Edmond Morris. He also wrote The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt and Colonel Roosevelt, all fantastic books about a very colorful American President.

Luis Ballesteros

1/17/2016 09:11:16 pm

Hi Thu,
I disagree with you, i think that war is necessary at times and can have positive outcomes. For example after WWII, the US became a super power. Germany and Japan both became very advance nations. Sometimes there needs to be war in order to achieve peace and prosperity.

Lin Tian

1/17/2016 11:12:47 pm

Hi Thu,
I agree that Teddy Roosevelt's proverb solved a lot of conflict when negotiating with foreign countries. I think this proverb is very effective in achieving most of U.S.'s expansion goals. "Carrying a big stick" says a lot about this strategy that "power" is the ultimate backup of any failed conversation between foreign nations.

sharelle smith

1/17/2016 11:21:04 pm

"Wars are ineffective in resolving international affairs, and cause major internal conflict for nations involved". I don't believe all wars are ineffective. Sometimes other countries need to get involved when there are civil wars, or mass genocides. I think the reason the wars are not here in the U.S because it's happening in the other country, so that's where we need to go. I'm sure if the war was here we would have the same issues as well that come with the after math of battle. We should provide support to civilians and not the government of those countries and ask them what do they need, what do they think would be helpful. Without strings attached if we are really going to help.

Gabriel Alcantara

1/17/2016 11:31:57 pm

Your explanation of Theodore Roosevelt's proverb is something that can be related to multiple sections of our history. The whole 20th century encountered many situations in which that proverb becomes a perfect description of the United States, specially when it comes to the Cold War. The many "peace agreements" and show of strength presented(nuclear weapons) by the US are a perfect example of speaking softly and showing the big stick!

Steven Pham

1/14/2016 04:33:39 pm

In the video, it is throughly explained that imperalism had a vast influence on the colonies' social, political, and economical standpoints. In the late 1800s, the U.S. expanded their economic growth by the construction of the wide systems of railroads. This allowed them to travel goods across the country tremendously quick using little resources. For the U.S. political power, they decided that they need to expand to other country so they can gain more land as their own; more lands equal more power. Though without fail, the countries the U.S. make agreements with, not always comply with them, the way they thought would happen. So sometimes, military action by the U.S. are needed to get what they want whether the other countries like it or not.

An example of this is with the Philippines, after the revolution against Spain. During the war with Spain, the U.S. took side with the Phillipines, hoping that once they vanquish Spain, they can take over their spot. When they had finally won, the Philippines were ready to pledge their independence as its own country until the treaty of Paris was signed which gave the U.S. control over them. This enraged them which led to another fight between the Philippine and the U.S. which ended with the U.S. being victorious. Then in 1944, the Japanese came into the picture, the Japanese decide to take over the Philippines which made the U.S. get into action. After the pushaway from the U.S., the treaty of Manila was signed thus giving Philippine, their independence. The motive for this decision is unknown but I assume that they did this because they knew that they can still have indirect control over the country while making them happy. This is like the idiom, "having the cake, and eating it both too."

Roosevelt's quote, "Speak softly and carry a big stick" meant that anyone who would want to quarrel with U.S., should just stay away from them for their own sake. This means that the U.S. will use force if absolutely necessary to protect themselve. This does not mean that the U.S. wanted to be violent and fearsome, but the complete opposite. The U.S. presume themselves as the guardian of the world. They only want serenity and they hold a "big stick" to take care of those who seek chaos. I agree with Roosevelt entirely because this implements rules and regulation for the world. It also shows that there will be consequences if the rule was to be broken. This will make any country think twice before acting.

"Civilization Begins at Home" is a cartoon portrayal of a negative aspect of imperialism. By the cartoon, it can be assumed that the cartoonist is trying to tell us, that the U.S. should stop looking for power and expansion, but to just look at what is happening to their own citizens. In the cartoon, its seems that "justice" seen as a person holding a scale is telling the U.S. that they should help their own home who are suffering many atrocites instead of searching for a new one. There is also a map shown in the cartoon which looks like the U.S. trying to set their sight on the Philippines to expand their home to. I totally agree with the cartoonist because there is lot of issues that are needed to be solved constantly in the U.S. Fixing your own home should always be a priority over fixing someone else home, then claiming their home as your own is just not right. I can understand that the U.S. just wants to be powerful to feel secured, but "having a rotten core makes a rotten apple" no matter how big or huge it is.

Myah Rodriguez

1/17/2016 09:43:07 pm

Hi Steven,

I like what you've written in response to the prompt. One thing that captured my attention is when you give your analysis of Roosevelt's infamous quote and political policy. I personally am not a fan of this policy as I see it as very patriarchal and exemplary of the white supremacist attitude that this country was built on. I guess I see it as the U.S. basically saying: "We want power. We have the resources to impose our will on your country in order to gain more power. Plus, your people are uncivilized and don't deserve the resources you have. Give them to us."
With that sort of attitude, I don't think someone can look at the U.S. as being a good country, ESPECIALLY when we call other nations uncivilized yet refuse to do anything about the inequalities here at home.

What do you think? Do you think U.S. imperialism can really be justified?

Steven Pham

1/18/2016 09:49:30 am

Hi Myah,

After reading your reply, I take that back about my complete agreement with the U.S. policy. I somewhat agree to the policy now; I still believe that the U.S. is not really trying to cause any trouble with other country. But, I'll have to admit, the policy does give a bad rep to the U.S. , making them look like a giant who just wants to stomp on the weak. It can be pointed out that in the past, the U.S. would only offer help like a guardian to countries in need, only if they benefit from it. U.S. doesn't have friends, but all "friends of benefits" only.

Xiaoguo Zhang

1/14/2016 04:54:27 pm

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, America tries to increase their international power with their economic developing. The country built up its military strength and became a world power. In 1898, the Spanish-American War was the key point of the United States foreign policy. After this war, the United States received Guam-Philippines and Puerto Rico from Spain. Of course, American also got the state of Hawaii in this time. America needs to get more interest in Asia. The United States opened up trade relations with Japan. In 1900, America also joined the international legations with other seven countries to invade China. The United States got “Open Door Policy” from China after this war. China remained open to American trade and influence.
The most effective policy is “Big Stick Policy”. President Roosevelt tries to build up a strong navy and his policy of force to keep Latin-America stable. Of course, he also wanted to make the United States a great power that could exert influence around the world. “Speak softly and carry a big stick” means that America must back up its diplomatic efforts with military strength. It also means that America should working quietly and patiently to achieve goals overseas but using force if necessary.
The cartoon is about American foreign policy to the Philippines. During the Spanish-American War, the United States captured the Philippines. After the war, Filipinos want independence from the United States, but America decided not to grant independence to Filipinos. America killed the leader of Philippines independence government, and the United States controlled the Philippines for the next half century. According to some historical document, United States had promised freedom for the Philippines island. However, America broke this promise for national interest.

Jessie Chen

1/17/2016 12:33:56 pm

I like how you explain Teddy Roosevelt's motto and the idea that “America should working quietly and patiently to achieve goals overseas but using force if necessary.” he policy is a good one, but it could also be abused in the wrong hands. In the cartoon “Civilization begins at home,” the artist conveys the idea that the United States tried to spread "civilization" to other peoples around the world, but Americans didn’t notice the things they were doing actually was uncivilized.

Steven Pham

1/17/2016 12:42:13 pm

Hi Xiaoguo,
I totally agree that the American did not give the Philippines their independence after the war with Spain because they wanted to take the position that Spain was in. But, the treaty of Manila was signed after the Japan takeover of the Philippines which granted them their independence.

Anteo Swenson

1/17/2016 07:29:22 pm

Hello Xiaoguo. I do agree that during the period of the 1800's and 1900's the foreign policy actions taken by the US were guided by economic interests, as you said. However, I think it's important to remember the circumstances the other colonizer nations were living, since this is what facilitated the expansionist actions taken by the US.
Also, the foreign policy that Roosevelt was so open about, was the antecedent of the diplomacy the majority of the powerful nations (if not all) use.

Wenli Zhou

1/17/2016 10:30:52 pm

HI Xiaoguo,
great post. I definitely agree with your opinion on Roosevelt"Motto. He did build up strong military force during his term and that affected South American countries while they were set out their strategies to American. I also think Roosevelt want to avoid unnecessary wars. I'm glad you talked about China's policy too! I want to know more about it!

Gabriel Alcantara

1/17/2016 11:40:41 pm

Although, just like you said, the Big Stick Policy is really effective, I believe that the speaking softly part of the proverb is something that that comes after showing the "stick." The possibilities of creating allies after showing how powerful a country is makes the ability to "speak softly" also very important in order to extend your "foreign domain."

Jessie Chen

1/14/2016 09:28:23 pm

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the United States started to become a world power by getting involved in other countries’ affairs. For example, the United States intervened in China and Morocco where the Europeans already had influence, trying to get equal access in those countries. During that Period, President Teddy Roosevelt sent the American battle fleet on a worldwide voyage of circumnavigation from December 1907 to February 1909. The purpose of the fleet deployment was multifaceted. Ostensibly, it represented American goodwill while the fleet visited numerous countries. However, it also implicitly demonstrated that the United States had great power on navy after its triumph in the Spanish-American War, with possessions that included Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Meanwhile, Hawaii also became a state of the U.S.

As for the motto by Teddy Roosevelt "Speak softly, and carry a big stick," Roosevelt indicated that the United States is the power that stable the order in the Western Hemisphere, and with United States Navy as backing, the United States has the right of military intervention to any country that intend to break the peace/order of the world. Since the early 1900s, President Roosevelt implemented Monroe Doctrine with this motto. One of the examples is Great White Fleet, which is mentioned above, to demonstrate the United States’ mighty sea power. Another example is at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War in September 1905; President Roosevelt leveraged his position as a strong but impartial leader in order to negotiate a peace treaty between the two nations.

The cartoon Civilization Begins at Home showed a man look at a map of Philippines, which I think that man represents the United States, trying to conquer the possession of Philippines (in the end it did.) For my opinion, the artist conveys the idea that the United States tried to spread "civilization" to other peoples around the world, but Americans didn’t notice the things they were doing actually was uncivilized.

Xiaoguo Zhang

1/17/2016 03:22:59 pm

I like your example to explain the United States was becoming a world power. The turning point is that American start interesting “far east”, such as China, Philippines and Japan. In the Late 1800s and early 1900s, most of imperialism power want to share interest in Asia, especially “Far East”. United States joined this group, and its board a ship to world power.

Abhisheak Sharma

1/17/2016 05:16:45 pm

Hey Jessie
I agree with your thoughts about the cartoon that the US tries to enter countries with the thought of helping them get civilized. The real reason why the US enters other countries is because of their personal desire and profitable needs. Which I see as an unjustifiable but at the same time see the reasons of the needs to enter other nations.

Gabriel Alcantara

1/17/2016 11:52:43 pm

Although it is true that the US enters other countries because of their personal desire and profitable needs, I don't believe that entering a country for personal gain is unjustifiable if done correctly. If a country "invades" another country's economic structure, but creates industries with fair pay and good working conditions, that could actually boost the local economy, and better the lives of many people who were jobless before the "invasion."

raymond najar

1/17/2016 07:08:24 pm

I think at the time it was smart to send a huge fleet around the world to show off our power and who we were as a nation. After being a colony ourselves it could have showed other nations that were still just begining that they could too become just like us.

Anteo Swenson

1/17/2016 07:41:57 pm

Hi Jessie. I don't think the United States became a world power by getting involved in other countries' affairs, it certainly influenced, but I believe it was also a consequence tied to other factors. Also, the messianic mentality implemented by the Monroe Doctrine, was something that influenced enormously the US' expansion and its justification.
Nice blog, you synthesized everything really well.

Christian Trinidad

1/17/2016 10:16:14 pm

hello jessie

I agree with you on how President Roosevelt sent the Navy around the world kinda to show of and say if you mess with the united states heres what will be waiting for you. However i disagree with your view about the cartoon, i think it is showing that if we do not change we are doomed to repeat our past.

Yumi Okawara

1/14/2016 10:01:20 pm

I enjoyed watching the video and it indicated that imperialism had a huge influence on colonies’ economic, political, and social. As Allen Sens said during the video, there is Neo-Imperialism now, but we do not see over towards direct to military occupation rule for long periods of time. Also, he mentioned, “is all about structures of a control and international institution such as world bank and international monetary fund.”
The early economy of America was characterized by a smaller local market, and it was concentrate in the big city. The enormous expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s changed this, and it tied a country to one national market, which goods could be shipped for sale across in the country. The railroads also contributed a colossal impetus to economic growth because themselves provided such a huge market for products such as steel and lumber. For instance, this admitted the United States develop beyond its boundaries.
The United States supported Japanese economy and military as a modernization in 1867. Because of this, Meiji Constitution was partially influenced by the United States. In 1930s, Japan depended on import 90% of oil consumptions and 80% of those imported it from the United States. I believe that in the post-Cold War environment, importance of the military force and the economic power increases as a source to give the world.
Okinawa, which is located in Japan, was placed under occupational administration of the United States until OKinawa postwar 1972. At that time, Type “B” Military Yen was used other than Japanese Yen as a currency. In addition, people must bring their passport between Okinawa and Japan proper.
I think the meaning of Teddy Roosevelt’s motto “Speak softly, and carry a big stick, you will go far” is if a full-fledged thing happened, negotiations succeed with the spirit that it does not finish. Moreover, I believe that the background of diplomatic is needed military force.
In the cartoon “Civilizations Begin at Home” describes, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it coincided peaks of racial violence and lynching in the United States. While a man pull a curtain because the man representing the department of justice shows the lynch scene in an American backyard, President W McKinley watches a Philippine map. Unfortunately, it has happened historically. I am convinced that we need time when we solve these problems and bring these problems at a table.

Michael P Stevens

1/14/2016 11:55:37 pm

I agree. The video was very helpful in terms of providing a visual for how imperialists attempt to place controls on a colony. It was interesting to know that colonizers oppress others by means of political, economic, and social control. The problems that a colony has becomes threefold: they need a new government, a new economic infrastructure, and reclaim their identity culturally. This would be a monumental task for any nation, and it would require strong and intelligent leaders to step up. Otherwise, there might be chaos and instability as a result.

raymond najar

1/17/2016 07:13:52 pm

Interesting what you said about Japan and how it was through the 70's. One thing ive always wondered was why did we not help build Japan back up and leave. Fix the damage we caused and get out instead of staying as long as we have we have definately over satyed our welcome.

Christian Trinidad

1/17/2016 10:04:29 pm

Hey Yumi!

i learned a lot from your post i had no idea all of the things done to Okinawa. It was essentially turned in to its own separate country from Japan. Do you think or know if there was a different value between the type b yen and traditional yen?

Christian Trinidad

1/14/2016 10:26:09 pm

In 1898 the treaty of paris was signed ending the Spanish-American war and giving the United states control over Guam , Puerto Rico and the Philippines , Cuba was granted independence but the United States still had a strong military presents. With the annexation of Hawaii and recent acquisition of Alaska the United States was on its way to becoming the next major imperial power. With the industrial revolution already past businesses and factories were in full production mode with the help of the assembly line, products could be made on a large scale so naturally trade began with other countries increasing the nations GDP. Having territory in the pacific, such as Guam , Samoa and the Philippines, helped not only from a military but a trade stand point. As goods traveled to Asia these ports became increasingly useful for ships to stop rest and reload. The year is 1901 enter rough rider Teddy Roosevelt and his famous quote on foreign policy “ speak softly and carry a big stick” meaning everything can be solved non violently unless it cant. This policy led him to Panama and the building of the Panama canal which vastly cut down on the time period of trade. Rossevelt’s “Big stick policy” must have been effective because he is credited with ending the Russo-Japan war and even received a nobel peace prize.

The Cartoon depicts a man looking at a map of the new colony Philippines while justice shows the not so distant past of Slavery. I believe that the cartoon is saying that we must first fix our selfs before we try to “fix” others. I agree with the cartoon it is still happening to this day the US gets involved because we have to be the world police yet we have so many problems of our own that go unchanged.

Yumi Okawara

1/17/2016 02:00:06 am

Hi, Christian! I like how you analyzed about imperialism and enjoyed reading about Hawaii or other places which was controlled by the United States. I agree with your statement that the United States helped and supported other countries which are increasing the nation’s GDP. I actually did not know a country which is Philippines was protected by the United States like you mentioned “Having territory in the pacific, such as Guam, Samoa and the Philippines, helped not only from a military but a trade stand point.”

Thu-Thao Ho

1/17/2016 03:21:31 pm

The cartoon analysis is incredible, I did not see it that way the first time I looked at it. I agree wholeheartedly that although the United States acts as the leading power and world police, within the nation itself are cries for help that are not being heard. In the United States alone there is poverty, there is disputes over immigration, and there are environmental issues that are not yet resolved. Though the media does inform the public on the crisis within the nation, little is being done to address the issue at hand. It is understanding that as a leading power one must provide assistance to others, but sending troops to war does not necessarily resolve the conflict. In fact, most of the time this is how the United States gets itself entangled in wars that had nothing to do with it in the first place. Wars cost billions of US dollars, instead of using that money for overseas wars the US should place that fund into cancer research to help the people that are in need of a cure.

Anteo Swenson

1/17/2016 07:57:27 pm

Hi Christian. I agree with you, the industrial revolution was definitely something that boosted, and facilitated the expansion of the US as an empire. However, it was also the repercussions of the industrial revolution in the colonizers nations, that facilitated the expansionism of the US' foreign policy.

Misa Toyoura

1/17/2016 10:49:06 pm

Hi, Christian!
I agree with you, especially, in the cartoon piece that you said America being the world police. As much as America love to, and gain more power, they can't be the "world police". They need to take a look at their own country and fix it first. I really think it needs to be addressed how the government wants to get involved in other countries while their own is having many problems of its own. I enjoyed your reading!

Sharelle Smith

1/14/2016 10:29:45 pm

The cartoonist depiction of Emperialism I believed was pretty accurate. All empires in history in some shape or form would present a pretty picture of what they thought were helpful ways of making a country better. In the end it would all result in the decimation of the existing culture and religion. Resources are almost if not always stolen. In many cases the threat would not be cause of the current empire at had, but a smoke and screen of "you better watch out for that place over there, now turn your back while I steal all of your silverware". Teddy Roosevelts quote " Speak softly with a big stick" with out a doubt confirms that in order to have control you must remind the future colony that you wish to take over of what threats they will face if they don't obey. A passive aggressive act. It works very well. If not the United States would not have it's gift of the Panamal Canal. The same location that is used today to harbor our military forces. The U.S is the strongest military force to date in South America. In order to have influence you want to brain wash the people you want to have control over. Language culture, history,customs, and traditions are what bring people closer together. You want there to be as much turmoil and conflict as possible so if you can have the locals split on their ideas, it will be harder for them to unite and rebel successfully. In the Middle East depending on who you are talking to they either agree or disagree with the U.S being there. Those that disagree are not blinded by the fact that the natural resources there are being stolen.

Mark De Martini

1/15/2016 06:28:46 pm

Sharelle,

Very thoughtful piece, and I enjoyed your line of thinking. It is important to understand the dark side and exploitation that takes place during empire building. Empires will always exist as long as there are countries with ambitious leaders, ample resources and practical transportation (think the Mongol horseback invasions of the 1200s). Empires are a historical reality. The Roman Empire was won by conquest, but universally, once incorporated, the vanquished came to appreciate the great benefit that came along with Roman power. The conquered people were protected under Roman law, taxed fairly, and provided security and stability that enabled them to advance and thrive. This isn't to say the Romans were completely nice, but they carried or preserved civilization to far off lands such as England, France, North Africa, and the Balkans. All were connected by Roman controlled trade. This was an example of early "Globalization". I think it important to place American imperialism into historical context. America wanted to be powerful as a counter to European ambitions. As bad as American imperialism was, European imperialism was far worse to both the indigenous people and level of exploitation. America didn't colonize countries by attempting to replace the indigenous people with their own stock and force them into servitude (excluding the Native Indians in North America itself; different argument). If America didn't play the empire game, America would have been subjugated and exploited by those who did, and never find the power and means to resist. America sent civil servants, engineers, teachers to better those counties and build strong relationships. The largest footprint were military bases used to project America's global power. Those bases are all but gone. In Panama, the three U.S. bases Ft. Clayton, Ft. Sheridan and Howard Air Force Base were permanently closed by 1998. In the Philippines, Subic Bay Naval Base is being reopened under the request of the Philippine Government after 20 years of being closed. This would not have happened if a positive relationship wasn't experienced by both countries regardless of their disparity of power. As far as the current war in the Middle East is concerned, if we are exploiting anything Iraq or Afghanistan owns I would sure like to see it. We haven't taken a free drop of Iraqi oil, as the Iraqi government sold the drilling rights to the Chinese. The 12 year war in the Middle East has put America deep in debt at a high cost of blood and treasure. So, at best America worked to offer up stable, democratic, humane governments in exchange for providing support against terrorism. That exchange has largely failed in Iraq and Afghanistan. If America today is an empire, we are sure lousy at it. Romans we are not.

sharelle smith

1/17/2016 11:41:55 pm

Thats funny that you say U.S is lousy empire. I had to laugh because in class when that was mentioned over and over I thought to myself U.S is an empire? I never knew that!?! bwahahaha! Still confused smh.

JeeSoo Lee

1/17/2016 07:32:19 pm

Hi Sharelle,

I agree with what you’ve said about imperialism decimating culture. Britain was such a huge force during the age of Imperialism. My friend went to the National History Museum in London and told me how shocking and sad it was because all the artifacts that they had on display were not their own, but stolen from the colonies that they had invaded. With the recent foreign policies implemented by the U.S, there is no wonder there is such anti-American sentiments overseas.

Luis Ballesteros

1/17/2016 09:32:57 pm

This is so true, the UK Museums are filled with many treasures from various countries they colonized or attempted to colonize. For example, a large part of the Egyptian treasures do not reside in Egypt but in England.

sharelle smith

1/17/2016 11:30:33 pm

There is the book that my friend was reading that is called "the lies my teacher taught me". It talks about how history for the u.s is taken from eurocentric point of view. I'm pretty sure europe and u.s isnt the only countries to destroy the history of the places they take over. It does make me think how much history is lost when there are wars and museums and artifacts are getting blown up. They were showing how artifacts are being destroyed in the Mosul museum in Syria and Iraq (U.S probably bombed and destroyed more of their fair share). This saddens me because history is for everyone.

Abhisheak Sharma

1/14/2016 11:19:28 pm

The United States wanted its control in countries which they felt was in the best interest for the United States to expand its economic and political influences on them. It started to occur in the early 1900's when a multiple of countries which were close nearby the United States. For example In the Philippines when Spanish rule was in effect and the citizens of Philippines wanted their own independence. The United States stepped in and helped the citizens achieve what they desired. When the Spanish had been defeated and sent out of control, the US didn’t leave from the Philippines. The US government wanted to stay put in Philippines because of their own political and economic benefits.
The meaning to Teddy Roosevelt motto “ speak softly, and carry a big stick” on foreign policy was leaders of nations have a open mind to issues and always try to have peace. But at the same time let other nations know about military power. If a nation didn’t cooperate with peaceful talks then only the fear of using military should be used. A example for this is the Panama canal, Panama was part of Colombia. The U.S. was all for Panama's independence from Colombia. Colombia didn’t want to allow Panama to split but the fear of US strong military behind Panama, Colombia had no choice. I think the policy is great, there should be dialogue before using the fear of military. It makes a lot of wars not occur. It’s technically not right to make a nation make decisions based of fear but sometimes to avoid big war.
In the cartoon there is a man who maybe represents the United States and he's in Philippines who wants to control it. The criticized part about the US history is them wanting to have control for their benefits. I agree with the idea of the US still till this day will use any power to take control of a country that benefits the US in someway.

Michael P Stevens

1/14/2016 11:42:55 pm

I agree. The policy is a good one, but it could also be abused in the wrong hands. For example, a leader with mal intentions may use our military as a backdrop to bully other countries into getting what we want. However, this is also in essence what we are doing currently. Also, North Korea is doing something similar as well. They believe that having an impressive military force will force other nations to give them what they want.

Jessie Chen

1/17/2016 12:20:56 pm

I like how you explain Teddy Roosevelt's motto and the example of the Panama Canal. I agree that sometimes the idea is great, but it might misuse by wrong decider. However, there still have some countries using this kind of way in nowadays. But it was interesting to know that colonizers oppress others by means of political, economic, and social control.

Citlalli Flores

1/17/2016 09:13:33 pm

I liked your post and how you explained Teddy Roosevelt’s motto. I also have to agree with you when you said that the US will take control over other countries for their own benefit. I think that the US is wrong for doing this because the US started off as a colony too. That’s when we have to look at the saying the “history repeats itself”.

Misa Toyoura

1/17/2016 10:53:25 pm

Hi, Abhisheak!
I totally agree! I believe Roosevelt was without question one of the best Presidents throughout American history because he was very non-political, and dealt with lots of things using common sense, and a strong belief in whatever he was doing. Though often recognized for the aggressiveness of his foreign policy, Roosevelt was also a peacemaker as you said how he didn't let wars occur. I enjoyed your reading!

Ralph Balaoing

1/14/2016 11:30:31 pm

In the late 1800s the “American empire” was born as the United States strove to become a global power. This began in the early 1800s with the United States becoming the 1st country to open trade with Japan. The next major event was the annexation of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico following the Spanish American War. During which the United States established an open door policy in regards to China. All these events had one thing in common the use of a military force. In Japan Commodore Perry entered Tokyo Bay with a fleet and reached the trade agreement, more or less, ‘holding the gun to Japans’ head.’ In China military force was used to put down the Boxer rebellion in order to protect United States trade interest.

Theodore Roosevelt used the saying “Speak softly and carry a big stick” as way to explain his foreign policy. He believed a showing of strength was the most effective way to gain diplomatic power rather than negotiations and conferences. He implemented this with the deployment of “the Great White Fleet.” A fleet of battleships painted white meant to promote peace but at the same time act as a show of force. It was a huge success displaying American military might around the world. Today however the doing the same with the current United States Navy would be seen as acts of aggression.

In “Civilization Begins at Home” the cartoonist is disgusted by the United States imperialistic goals. The cartoonist is indifferent toward foreign nations; instead criticizing the United States has great concern for overseas possessions rather than their own citizens. The cartoon shows many parallels with the modern day. For instance despite the abolition of slavery there are still transgression to the African American population by those in power.

Xiaoguo Zhang

1/17/2016 03:30:30 pm

I agree with your idea that tread is the most important point of American to become a global power. United States used different way to build his imperialist power from British. The British colonized to influence and control the local politics and economic. United States try to entry the local market to gain more interest and control the local government.

Abhisheak Sharma

1/17/2016 05:46:16 pm

Hey Ralph,
I agree with you on if the US did the same now days it would look too aggressive. There are many reasons how it's different now then when the idea was first brought by Teddy Roosevelt. Most countries want to work together to keep peace and avoid war to when in early 1900’s there was the fear of a war breaking out.

JeeSoo Lee

1/17/2016 08:05:47 pm

Hi Ralph,

Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy was successful and very well-received for his time. I think the reason that so many people are against American military dominance nowadays is that recently, the U.S. has been the one inciting wars and causing violence with too many casualties and no victory, such as the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. Though it is true nobody has declared war against the U.S. in a long time, now people think that our government has unnecessarily poured way too much money into security when, as the cartoonist depicts, we have other problems at home to worry about.

Mary Rasooli

1/18/2016 12:12:59 am

Hi JeeSoo!
I agree with you about how people look at the US's military involvement as failures because of the substantial amount of casualties and excessive violence being practiced. Additionally, I find it to be so interesting that we really do have so many problems here on American soil, and yet all we do is engage in international affairs much more willingly. It is unfortunate in my eyes, as I feel a happy country is also a means to achieving the "world power" title.

Citlalli Flores

1/17/2016 09:26:37 pm

Hi Ralph! I agree with the way you depicted the cartoon. Instead of worrying for its own citizens, the US has often put aside the needs of the citizens to become involved in another countries’ affairs. I also agree with you that there are parallels with modern day, especially with the way people of color are treated in this country.

Wenli Zhou

1/17/2016 10:38:50 pm

Hi Ralph,
I love your comments on “Civilization Begins at Home”, obviously the cartoonist is disgusted by the fact that American government can judge other nation for being uncivilized while having same or even worse issues at home. However, I do feel that's the common issue for country during its transformation. For example in China, doing good in economic does not mean all Chinese citizens are having basic social security.

Michael P Stevens

1/14/2016 11:37:50 pm

Some of the methods that the United States used to expand its political influence around the world include granting the Philippines their independence. As a result of the Spanish-American war, the Treaty of Paris granted the United States authority over the Philippines. In less than fifty years, America would grant the Philippines their independence. This political act ensured that the Philippines would be a staunch ally in the future, and currently, the Philippines have the highest pro-American sentiment than any other country. In addition, this move allowed the U.S. Navy to keep and build naval bases in the area. This helps to serve our military interests for security and operations.

Teddy Roosevelt’s motto of “Speak softly, and carry a big stick” means that a country should engage in peaceful talks with other countries but have a powerful military just in case. With the construction of the Panama Canal, the United States supported the Panama uprising against Columbia. With its newfound independence, Panama granted the United States access to the Panama Canal. I think that the policy can be used for good as well as for bad. However, I believe in having a strong military and peaceful negotiations. If someone attempted to fight me, I would rather have top-of-the-line combat training than take a few self-defense classes; the better equipped our military, the less likely we will receive attacks. The policy could be right depending on if the person in charge could use it responsibly.

The cartoon “Civilization Begins at Home” argues that America should fix its problems at home before interfering in other countries. The artist believes that it is wrong to get involved in another country when America’s leaders cannot provide human decency within its own borders. I both agree and disagree with the author. I agree that a foreign war could delay change being made at home, but I disagree that someone cannot interfere in another country if their own country has problems as well. If that were the case, then no country would be involved with any country because no society will ever be perfect. Society consists of individuals who are flawed and can disagree with each other, so there will always be some form of social problems at home.

Misa Toyoura

1/17/2016 11:03:03 pm

Hi,Michael!

I agree with you. America should think of the consequences that come with getting involved in foreign affairs that do not benefit the people that inhibit its land. They should help other countries and stay concocted if need. Yet, sometimes I feel like America is creating more problems in the other countries its getting involved in it. I enjoyed your reading!

Mary Rasooli

1/18/2016 12:28:42 am

Hi Michael!
Although I do see where you are coming from with the statement that there will always be social problems (I do agree with you on that!), in my eyes I also feel that the extent to which we have damaged our society's health is not worth any foreign engagement. As in, I feel that as a country so rich in "promises" and opportunities, our first priority should be addressing our issues at home. At least making the effort to reform our policies to actually help our veterans, preventative measures to battle homelessness, improve mental health education and education as a whole, etc. I just think that when those issues are addressed and provided resources for, (*I'm not saying all these issues will magically be solved) a lot of the schisms within our social climate will have been hopefully mended and preventative measures will have been taken to ensure some security for the people. Just an idea!

Madalyn Hart

1/14/2016 11:37:59 pm

Seeing as the United States in itself was a once a colony fighting for independence from its controlling imperial power (Great Britain), its interesting to learn that later on in history we too made it our main mission to expand our borders and territories by the same method that was once put onto us. As explained in the video, once an imperial power has established political, economic and social power over a territory, the imperial power now benefits from and controls all trade and recourses for their benefit. In colonizing a territory they ultimately want to make is as close in resemblance and function to their own government back home. A good example of this would not only be the United States and Great Britain, but also the United States claiming Hawaii as a U.S territory (and soon to be state). Like the British did onto us, the United States took full control of Hawaii for their coal recourses, ultimately taking over and influencing everything from its language, jobs, culture, political standings, and economy. The Panama Canal was another beneficial strategy for the United States in that it gave them quick access to the Pacific and Atlantic oceans for trade and travel. It was a lot quicker to go through the panama canal than it was to sent a ship all around the Americas to New York. To this day the native language of Hawaii’s natives is going extinct, and its culture is slowly being lost.
Teddy Roosevelt’s motto “speak softly, and carry a big stick” was beneficial in that it was meant to “keep the peace”, while at the same time standing their military ground. Roosevelt thought that in order to gain respect from other countries, one needed to be strong and need to be able to act immediately with a powerful military force. This was all in the hopes that wars would be avoided due to fear of loosing.
In the cartoon “Civilizations Begin at Home” we see the President of the United States looking at a map of the Philippines with interest in regards of turning it into a colony. I found this image to be very disturbing, and thought it perfectly showcased the negative side of imperialism. In the background of the cartoon Lady Liberty is seen pulling back a curtain that shows the then current conditions and inequalities being experienced back home in the United States. This made me mad, because instead of focusing on unifying the people of their own country they are focused instead on greed and expansion. How can one successfully control another territory if they cant even control their own?

Michael P Stevens

1/14/2016 11:48:32 pm

You have some interesting points, but I disagree that a country should not control another territory if they cannot control their own because every society is going to have social problems such as crime, healthcare, and discrimination. In any society, there are going to be problems to fix, societies (like people) will never be perfect. In that sense, I don't think it would be fair to say that a country can't participate internationally just because their society is not perfect.

JeeSoo Lee

1/17/2016 07:51:15 pm

Hi Madalyn,

America’s annexation of Hawaii is so interesting to me – there was no need at first for the U.S. to claim Hawaii as its territory after the Philippine-American war because the by the 1890’s, the monarchy of Hawaii was basically overthrown by white American businessmen anyway, so the U.S. already had economic control. It is because of our nationalistic pride that led to Hawaii being annexed. As you said, Hawaiian culture is slowly being lost. Ever since Hawaii became a state, the economy’s biggest industry is tourism! Because of this, I’ve heard that the residents of Hawaii actually get a discounted rate in stores.

Megan Fernandez

1/17/2016 11:57:30 pm

Hi Madalyn,

I disagree with your statement that in colonizing a territory, imperial powers wish to make those new territories as close in resemblance and function to their own government back home. The primary matter of concern is whether the colony provides economical value to the colonizing country or imperialist power that has chosen to take interest in the “territory.” Granting rights and establishing representation of government only comes second, and at times, never happen. Take the case of Puerto Rico, for example. Puerto Rico, to this day remains a territory of the United States. Puerto Rico does not have functional representation in Congress. Similarly, arose the issue of “taxation without representation” in the original thirteen colonies. Though imperialist powers would like to claim that their actions are for the spread of democracy, etc., their interests typically boil down to economic reasons rather than democratic ones.

Misa Toyoura

1/14/2016 11:38:02 pm

In foreign policy, Roosevelt wanted to make the United States a global power by increasing its influence worldwide. He led the effort to secure rights to build the Panama Canal, one of the greatest engineering feats at that time. He also issued his "corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, which established the United States as the "policeman" of the Western Hemisphere. Not only that, in 1905, Roosevelt offered to mediate the conflict between Russia and Japan, two nations that had been embroiled in a yearlong war over commercial rights in northern China and Korea. Roosevelt favored the Japanese, but feared that American commercial interests in China would be jeopardized no matter which country won the war. Japanese and Russian delegates met with the president on board an U.S. Naval ship in Oyster Bay and later in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Throughout his political life, Roosevelt felt that being prepared for conflict was the best recourse the United States had to prevent war. He believed that if the U.S. made a show of force to the rest of the world, other nations might be more hesitant to challenge the American military. As a corollary to this, he also understood that the threat of force rather than force itself was often sufficient to deter military conflict. He then summarized this belief with, "Speak softly and carry a big stick", which implies to use diplomacy to try to settle issues, but keep a strong military ready and let it be known that he has it available as a possible option. Roosevelt brandished the Big Stick several times during his terms as president, most notably in Latin America. I believe his policy was successful, and he was efficient as a president, worked to ensure that the government during his presidency improved the lives of American citizens.

In the cartoon “Civilization begins at home”, President McKinley is assessing the next stages of imperializing and civilizing of The Philippine Islands, choosing to have a curtain to what Lady Liberty is revealing. She lifts the curtain to show the incivility, and extreme racism still at home, visualized by the violence and lynching, which shows that this show is a strong example of the anti-imperialism. It also symbolizes the necessity for both political and economic assets to go to domestic catastrophes such as injustice instead of to foreign adventure such as wars. I agree with the citizens are what make up the country, and in order to keep it together, the country has to make sure that first its people are okay. Sometimes, people really do need help, and it wont be that persons fault why they have to live that way. Those people should be the ones that the country helps out in order to make the country stronger and more powerful.

Steven Pham

1/17/2016 01:25:58 pm

Hi Misa,
I also have the same belief that Roosevelt's policy was great. It not only help the lives of American citizen, but also help with other countries staying in line. It made the U.S. like the guardian of the world which I think is quite awesome.

Misa Toyoura

1/17/2016 11:15:24 pm

Hi, Steven! Thanks for your response. The policy was definitely effective, and prevented many wars that was about to happen. I think it's important to deal with things with other nations in a non-violent way because the country will not only lose the power, but also lose the tons of innocent lives.

Citlalli Flores

1/17/2016 08:07:22 pm

I really liked your response and I have to agree with you that countries should try to help out their own citizens before getting involved with issues that are ongoing in other countries. That would be in a perfect world though. I think some countries have benefited from the intervention of the US.

Misa Toyoura

1/17/2016 11:08:11 pm

Hi, Citialli! Thank you for your response! Yes, America can of course get involved in other countries if needed. However, often times they make problems itself even worse, which really sucks! I think America needs to address their own problems (they have so MANY) before getting into others business too deep! I also agree that they have helped some cases!

Megan Fernandez

1/17/2016 11:41:03 pm

I appreciate your commentary on how Roosevelt understood how to manipulate the threat of war and presumption of power in his foreign policy. And, I see that you say that Roosevelt was effective in implementing his policy as president. I’m wondering if you agree with how he brandished his power in Latin America.

Citlalli Flores

1/14/2016 11:44:53 pm

The US in many ways has colonized different territories and countries for its own interest and not the interest of the people. For example, the US “helped” the Philippines gain independence from Spain, but soon after, they governed the islands as an imperial power. Another example are the Hawaiian Islands, and how they were annexed by the US. The US was able to obtain Hawaii after raising the tariff on sugar. This is an example on how an imperial power puts their needs first before the people who inhibit the colonies. Regarding Teddy Roosevelt’s motto, “speak softly, and carry a big stick”, for foreign policy, I think it means to act out generously but be prepared to take control. In a sense, his foreign policy and tactics did work and made the US rise as an imperial power. That does not mean that some of the colonies/territories stayed under the control of the US. The Philippines later gained independence from the US. Is it right to use force if people don’t cooperate with what you want? Not really, especially if you’re an empire and the enemy is a colony.
In regards to the cartoon, I think American foreign policy is depicted how it has been sometimes throughout history. Our country, I feel, thinks it’s right to butt into things that our not our business. I also think that the US does this in order to gain something, whether it be for economic, social or political reasons. For example, in the cartoon, a man is closing the curtain to hide the lynched people probably in the Philippines (the other man is looking at a map of the Philippine islands). It shows that the US doesn’t show how we acquire colonies or territories. I think this is accurate for our own history too.

Yumi Okawara

1/17/2016 02:25:38 am

Hi, Citlalli! I enjoyed reading your statement and strong agree with motto of Teddy whom you think of. His motto “speak softly, and carry a big stick” is truly in need of diplomatic relations with other countries because I think it is easy to take a control over negotiable success when there is something happened. Like you mentioned already “it means to act out generously but be prepared to take control.”

raymond najar

1/17/2016 07:19:13 pm

I agree with you about how we overstayed our welcome in the Philipines. I t was wrong how we did'nt jus liberate them adn leave them to grow on their own. We had more intrests than just helping the people of the islands the island was in a prime areas to set up naval bases so we took advantage and that was wrong of us.

Megan Fernandez

1/17/2016 11:35:12 pm

Hey Citlalli, I was wondering what you were referring to in your last sentence when you said it was accurate for our history too. Were you referring to members of the Ku Klux Klan lynching African Americans?
If the territories were later able to gain independence from the United States do you think that those imperial efforts were still successful? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments on that.

Luis Ballesteros

1/14/2016 11:50:31 pm

I believe that during the 1800s and 1900s the US exercised a lot of very common imperial traits specially in the Asia Pacific Region pretty heavily. Starting with Japan, who was very isolated at the turn of the 1900s and the US was constantly showing up at their front door with navy ships trying to flex its Military might and ending with the annexation of Hawaii as well as the Philippines. The reasons for a lot fo these annexations were mostly economical, with Japan I feel that they almost forced them to trade with the US or there would be consequences and with the Philippines they pretty much took the cultural way. Which is why in the Philippines they speak English.

One person who used the Imperial might of the US in order to peacefully convey messages and implement policies was former president Theodore Roosevelt. During his term he used a phrase which he literally ran his presidency by and can be seen in some achievements that won him the Novel peace price in 1905. “Speak softly and carry a big stick”, what this means is that by using non aggressive ways and words instead you can reach a deal but be ready to use force if necessary, thus the stick. I think its effective and can be a graceful approach, I think that Russia uses this same tactic now days and makes them look pretty cool in the process.

I think the cartoonist is depicting how we turn a blind eye to what’s going on in order to protect our best interests. You can see the people suffering in the back, I believe this is a scene from what I consider to be the lowest point in American history. Slavery, I agree with the depiction.

Jessie Chen

1/17/2016 12:29:15 pm

I like how you explain Teddy Roosevelt's motto and the example of the Russian. It was interesting to know that colonizers oppress others by means of political, economic, and social control. In the cartoon “Civilization begins at home,” I agree that it is the scene about slavery. It might symbolize the necessity for both political and economic assets to go to domestic catastrophes such as injustice instead of to foreign adventure such as wars.

Lin Tian

1/17/2016 11:35:48 pm

Hi Luis,
The imperial period is the time when slavery is very heavy. I believe in order to become a strong nation, U.S. should have a very effective foreign policy at that time. It is not wise to suddenly stop slavery since ending the slavery is going to be a long progress, and U.S. should focus more on gaining power for that specific time period. I believe that the colonization time made U.S. one of the big power in the world. Seeing the bigger picture, I think that dealing with slavery should not be the NO.1 Propriety at that period because great opportunities never wait for the countries who join in late.

Gabriel Alcantara

1/14/2016 11:51:07 pm

The United States is held as example for many countries nowadays. It is a big powerhouse, with an excellent educational system, safe streets, good paying jobs, the value of the dollar, and many other things. However, things did not magically occur in order to get the United States going. It was a process that took many years, and many efforts overseas to get to the point where the United States stands today. An example of these efforts is the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. Since early 19th century, America gradually came to regard Hawaiian Islands as an extension of the Pacific Coast. A tiny minority of white planters led by Sanford B. Dole organized a successful revolt against Queen Liliuokalani in 1893 in order to annex Hawaii to the United States so that there would be no more sugar tariffs. Although due to Cleveland’s refusal to sign the annexation treaty, in 1898 Dole served as territorial governor and got what he wanted. The United States got an excellent strategical bay, while also increasing its trading capabilities. The Hawaiian Islands are now a big landmark for tourism, and serves the United States as a profitable territory. Japan also had it’s fair share with the United States. Teddy Roosevelt's motto "Speak softly, and carry a big stick," explains what happened in the Japanese sea in July 8. 1853. Commodore Matthew Perry of the United States Navy, commanding a squadron of two steamers and two sailing vessels, sailed into Tokyo harbor in order to force and demand a treaty permitting trade and the opening of Japanese ports to U.S. merchant ships. This is a prime example of Roosevelt’s mojo. The United States did not attack Japan, they just “spoke” to them while showing their “stick”(the steamers) in order to get what they wanted. Such need for expansion and trading power made the US turn blind to its own problems at home, which is something that the “Civilization Begins At Home” cartoon talks about. That is an issue that happens even today, where there are so many issues in certain parts of the country, and the government keeps its attention to the outside world by sending military to other parts of the world, while some of the money spent in order to improve its already advanced educational system.

Myah Rodriguez

1/17/2016 09:26:14 pm

Hi Gabriel,

I agree with your analysis about the political cartoon. It seems that the US consistently intervenes in international relations while turning a blind eye to the many issues within it's own borders. Policy makers and government officials will take on the role of "police", when in actuality, they are only getting involved to increase the nation's power, economic resources, and international reputation as a world power.

Lin Tian

1/14/2016 11:52:53 pm

The main methods that America used to expand is that American had an mission to protect liberty, peace and freedom. Due to Industrial revolution, America needs a broad international market. For example, American business owners entered into Hawaii, and increased the trading between American and Hawaii. American as the foreign power has a dominant influence in Hawaiian’s politician. Those business mans and local Hawaiian elites forced the King to sign a new constitution in favor of trading, and eventually imprisoned Queen Lili’uokalani. Hawaii later became part of U.S. territory.
“ Speak softly and Carry a Big Stick" by Teddy Roosevelt means the U.S. foreign policy should begin gentle but have decisive tools in reserve. He had increase the amount of foreign affaires and end the isolationism in mid-1800. He also built a strong U.S. military defense for the “big stick”. The most arguable piece of work he did was building and taking control of the Panama Canal. In the early 1900s, U.S. supported a Panamanian revolution with money and naval blockade. The Columbia government eventually agree to let the U.S. build and use the panel by charging prices. The result of the panel is proven that Roosevelt's policy is effective: he did not directly using military force to attack the columbia, instead he used “speak softly” method by supporting a local revolution against the government.

The Cartoon is showing that the President of the U.S. is staring at a map. Outside the room, the U.S. citizens are starving to death. It criticized that America should take care of its own land before expanding over to the other land. I partially agree with the cartoon the American should pay attention to its inner conflicts; however, my disagreement with the cartoon is that a major solution to solve the issues with the inner conflict within U.S. is by gaining a foreign control and make America more resourceful. Especially at the beginning and middle of 1800, U.S. is pretty much isolated by economy. The end of 1800s gave American a chance to open up to the world. By bringing in more resources, American economy will continue to grow, and therefore slowing minimizing the income gap between the rich and poor.

Myah Rodriguez

1/17/2016 09:31:48 pm

Hi Lin,

I think your analysis of the political cartoon is very interesting. Specifically, when you speak about how the United States gets involved in international affairs while ignoring the problems at home. I think that the way to fix many of these problems is not necessarily to continue getting involved in international relations for economic growth. Instead, the solution lies with acknowledging that we have so many deeply ingrained issues regarding race and class specifically. We have to invest in the people of the Unites States, especially our historically exploited and marginalized people, if we ever want to see a change in the income gap.

Lin Tian

1/18/2016 12:06:10 am

Hi Myah,
Thank you for your respond!
I really like your comment about fixing the issues within the nation first. I believe that every problem has its own time to be fixed. Problems about races, income gap, and social injustices still exist today. There is no way to get rid of those problem completely since it is human nature to make conflicts.(just what I think) However, we see that U.S. is slowing becoming a better country which is more caring about human rights than before. Civilization usually takes a long period of time to form and always requires many generations of improvement of education. I believe that a country stops growing when it closes itself from foreign relations. I'm from China. The Qing Dynasty closed all ports and stopped to involve in anything relationships with other nations during 1700-1800. The isolation is major reason how China fell behind and other western nations are growing stronger. The colonization time is the greatest opportunity to develop a nation's economic, world and military power. Gaining that power should be the top priority at that time period because competing to be a strong power on earth will protect U.S. people. It does not mean that U.S. should stop working on making home more civilized. Another point, as U.S. is becoming a stronger nation during that time period, as you know by increasing GDP, U.S. people are also benefited from the increase of life quality. ( wish that we can discuss this during class)

JeeSoo Lee

1/17/2016 01:58:15 pm

United States in itself has always been an empire, from settling in New England and pushing outwards and more west and violating Native Americans and Mexicans in the process. In the 1890s, the new influx of immigrants and failure of the European bank led Americans in anxiety and economic depression. American Imperialism was mainly fueled by economic interests. In order to bring themselves out of the depression, they decided to dominate the seas and build a canal in Panama in Central America.

The U.S. wanted a hold on Latin American markets, specifically Cuba because of its close distance, and Congress declared war on Spain in order to free Cuba from Spanish rule. The Spanish-American War of 1898 is the height of American Imperialism. The U.S. had a much more dominant military and had a very short, successful war. Though the war was allegedly about helping Cuban independence, during the Battle of Manila Bay, the U.S. also took the Philippines from Spain. This went hand in hand with annexing Hawaii, an island already controlled by American businessmen, so that the ships from the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii could travel to Philippines uninterrupted. By the end of the war, the U.S. had also taken Puerto Rico and Guam in Latin America as its territories. Cuba passed the Platt Amendment, allowing the U.S. military to permanently use the naval base at Guantanamo Bay whenever they see fit.

Teddy Roosevelt’s motto, “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far” represents his ideas on foreign policy. Roosevelt believed that the United States should always be prepared for conflict and carry out violence if needed in the threat of war, and that this display of military dominance would aid in peaceful negotiations with other nations. For example, the U.S. was able to prevent war by guiding Germany and Venezuela into negotiations when Venezuela was driven into poverty and was unable to pay its debt back to Europe. Roosevelt’s policies were so effective that he even won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping end the Russo-Japanese War.

The cartoon Civilization Begins at Home shows President William McKinley studying the Philippine islands on a map, while Justice pulls back the curtains to show a lynching scene right in the U.S. The cartoonist is saying that Americans think of themselves as civilized and look to other countries in order to intrude and “fix” their problems and spread American ideas of democracy, but we are hypocrites and fail to address the terrible racial injustices happening in our own country. The U.S. still has this mindset today, which is a huge problem; for example, we have poured so much money into an unnecessary war in Iraq, while the inequality gap in America is getting even bigger and racial problems still persist more than ever.

Abhisheak Sharma

1/17/2016 06:23:52 pm

Hey Jeesoo,
America's main reason to become an imperialist nation was mostly economics benefits but the also had a little interest of the US being secured. The poor and very less government controlled nations provided for the wrong people to influence the citizens of the poor nation into wrong doing against the US. The US government ever to feel fear so some nation that can be used as a threat to the US would enter that nation and make sure it's in the US control

raymond najar

1/17/2016 07:04:01 pm

The United States was once a product of being a colony, the nation grew up from being a colony to being the ones colonizing other countries. They learned from one of the biggest empires and learned how to do it pretty darn well. By colonizing places around the world that were strategic toot hem b means of war or certain resources its always been a strategy they have used. One example is of Panama it was an economic type of colonization, the interest of the Panama Canal being built is what made it such a hot spot for the United States. It was going to connect the Atlantic and Pacific shipping routes and of course we wanted control of that and of all of its benefits.
Teddy Roosevelt stated "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" this has been interpreted in many different ways. For me I believe he was saying to just go along with what the world is saying agree yet if ‘they’ meaning other nations disagree with you your big stick which is your military force will be shown. I think to a certain degree this is a good idea yet once you start to use it over and over again other nations might see you as more of a threat than anything and therefore will band together against you.
The cartoon is a pretty strong message, pretty much it shows the president looking at a future colony of America and along with it justice is revealing behind the great flag of ours what and who our nation really was at the time. Still with slavery fresh on the countries mind there they go to another place half a world away and are about to do the same thing to a certain degree.

Luis Ballesteros

1/17/2016 09:31:10 pm

Hi Raymond,

I do not believe the US has ever colonized any land, its annexed a few or designated them as territories but never been a colonial power. This goes against what the US was founded on.

Lin Tian

1/17/2016 11:22:58 pm

I think that U.S. tried to colonize or used many nations resources without first consent from the nation's government leader. When the government disagreed to listen to what America told it to do, America's policy had always turned into either supporting a democratic rebelling revolution to overthrow the leader or provide military and economic aid to the enemies of that nation. U.S. has been performing this type of foreign strategies for a very long period of time.

Megan Fernandez

1/17/2016 10:40:27 pm

During the early 1900s, the United States expanded its economic and political influence by gaining territory in the Asian Pacific and gaining an upper hand in Latin America. By 1899, the United States had annexed Hawaii (1898) and acquired all of Spain’s colonies outside of Africa, including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico and gained influence over Cuba as a U.S. protectorate. These territories held substantial roles in providing the United States a foothold in foreign markets, with Cuba and Puerto Rico serving as a gateway to Latin American markets, and Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines giving the United States greater access to the market in China. The driving role of trade and American economics in the expansionist efforts of the United States during the late 1800s and beginning of the twentieth century is unmistakable. Access to the Asian and Latin American markets gave America a source to sell its products and a necessary means to pull itself out of the financial depressions following the Panic of 1893. The Ohio Senator Albert Beveridge proclaimed that American commerce “must be with Asia. The Pacific is our ocean… where shall we turn for consumers of our surplus? Geography answers the question. China is our natural customer.”

Furthermore, the construction of the Panama Canal is another example of the drive of trade and economic interests in American intervention abroad. The Canal allowed cheaper and faster shipping from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast and vice versa. The construction of the Panama Canal involved the American funding of revolt against Colombia that resulted in Panama separating from Colombia as an independent country. The efforts involved in constructing the Panama Canal during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency are an example of the big stick ideology. Roosevelt famously said to “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” In other words, Roosevelt preferred to maintain ‘peace’ in other countries while pursuing American interests, but was not afraid to use military might and muscle to do so. Other examples of his big stick ideology include the Roosevelt Corollary in which the United States would intervene in any case of “chronic wrongdoing” that may occur in Latin America. The result was ongoing political and economic intervention in Latin America.

I disagree with big stick ideology. I believe that it was effective, but unjustified on behalf of the United States. The big stick ideology provided a backbone for funding and supporting efforts abroad that served American interests. However, the main issue is that the military effort supported American interests rather than the interests of the countries that were involved. It was just another justification for American imperialism rather than improving foreign relations or providing political or economic aid in foreign countries.

In my opinion, the cartoonist is saying that American imperialism pays no heed to justice and often overlooks political and cultural matters involved. American imperialism is focused purely on American interests and overlooks domestic and civil issues, especially those involving nationals seeking independence. I believe the cartoonist is criticizing the concept of the “white man’s burden,” especially in thinking that intervention involving death and disruption in countries intervened in are justified by American interests. I agree with the ideas expressed in the cartoon. The cartoon portrays the simplification of American interests and the cost at hand to obtain those goals.

sharelle smith

1/17/2016 11:37:44 pm

Hi Megan,

There are no niceties in obtaining territories your right, and of course the occupation of those countries even though the war has been over for many years is in fact an economic positioning. If those countries in any way try to rebel with the U.S being there, there would be hell to pay. The U.s would lie and make up some phony reason to start a war there which is sad. its all part of being an empire. They can't allow those country to be independent because then they would be considered future possible opposition.

Mary Rasooli

1/18/2016 07:59:09 pm

The unites states expanded its economic and overall political power and influence by seeking global expansion and the Imperialism through the conquest of foreign countries. The US chose to expand its physical territory as a means of displaying immense power and global authority. An example being the US’s relationship with the Philippines which was an effect of the Spanish American War. The war was initiated partly because of Cuban fight for liberation from Spanish control, as well as the sensationalism of cuban authorities and practices and the sinking of the USS Maine. When the Spanish-American war was fought, it was fought to establish influence and power; which is exactly what happened. Whether or not it was just, the US managed to force Spain to sign off several territories (through the Treaty of Paris) including the Philippines for a low cost, inherently establishing the US’s imperial power. Having control over so many territories allowed for the US to make many economic and political gains. With the Philippines, the US had established many American military bases, making concrete the US’ presence in the Philippines, allowing the Filipino resources and economic gains at the hands of the US.
Teddy Roosevelt's motto "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" implies that force will be applied if and only if actions of war are initiated by another group. An example of this asserted power and authority is through the “Great White Fleet” situation with Japan. He was able to find a means to intimidate Japan without fully engaging and this proved that the US had the big stick on the global scale. I agree that speaking softly but still making sure others are aware of your power whether it may be economic, political or military power is what roosevelt was implying. In a sense, i feel that its a good strategy to be able to remove a lot of aggression when interacting with other countries. However, i also feel that it's in a way a means to "bully" other countries as well. I wouldn't be surprised if such tactics have been used by the US to "softly" bully countries into doing things out of fear of the US's powerful and aggressive "big stick".
The cartoonist is saying that american foreign policy fails to recognize the issues at home, such as the issues with the lynchings and the racial implications of the time. The attitude that is wrong is the approach the US has taken in the past to try and “civilize” a native, “primitive” population to cater to American ideals. The cartoon criticises the US’s approach to the way they treated the slaves on american soil, implying that what happened with our African Americans could happen again to the Filipino people.

Michelle Bounkousohn

3/27/2016 11:53:37 am

Imperialism or colonization is a process of exploitation and hegemony that involves the exploitation and control of a colony by a colonial power. With the race to colonize the world during the 16th to 20th centuries, the United States and other European countries found it beneficial to their principles of mercantilism to control their colonies and extract the greatest profits from them by only allowing them to trade with their respective colonial powers, often instituting genocide, cultural and social suppression, and maintaining hegemony through acts of political, social, and physical violence.

The US has shown its own imperialistic might through, first, the expansion of the American territories under the idea of Manifest Destiny, the Spanish American War that resulted in the ceding of the Philippines, Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico to the United States, the use of proxy wars during the Cold War, and in the recent invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan in the name of imperialistic benevolence. The US had expanded its economic and political influence around the world through President Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet and Big Stick ideology, which implies stating intent and following with extreme action if needed. Roosevelt utilized this ideology in planning a Colombian revolution in order to obtain rights to construct the Panama Canal.

The cartoon is pointing out the hypocrisy of going elsewhere to civilize and imperialize other nations when America's society is so unjust and unequal, as depicted by the lynched and dead bodies behind the curtain. The cartoon is contrasting this with the US's intentions in imperializing the Philippines. While I generally agree with the ideas being depicted, I feel like the cartoon doesn't wholly identify the fact that those who are oppressed and suppressed in American society are usually also affected or pushed to the US by imperialism.

Week 2: Imperialism - Understanding Power Dynamics

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Poli 3 - DeAnza

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Week 2: Imperialism - Understanding Power Dynamics

Leave a Reply.

Poli 3 - DeAnza

THE BEAUTYOF BLACKCREATION

ABOUT USJOURNALS​​SUBMISSIONS

THE BEAUTY

OF BLACK

CREATION

ABOUT US

JOURNALS

SUBMISSIONS