In this lecture, Professor Totten argues the United States embraced imperialist policies in the second half of the 19th century and beyond. America had embraced forms of colonialism and imperialism in their ideas about Manifest Destiny. This led to territorial acquisitions outside of the continental United States, first in Alaska, and then in Hawaii. For decades, U.S. imperialist politicians and businessmen coveted Cuba for their rich sugar plantations and because of the large amount of investment and trade with the island. When a Cuban rebellion against Spanish oppression broke out, tens of thousands of Cubans were herded into reconcentration camps that killed many innocent civilians. The result was the American "yellow press" to call for war. After the U.S.S. Maine accidentally exploded in Havana harbor, Americans demanded war. The conflict was short and decisive, with the Americans claiming Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines from the Spanish. Shortly thereafter, a Filipino insurrection broke out against U.S. rule, which ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of Filipino lives. America continued its imperialist policies under Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine, pledging to police the western hemisphere in order to keep other European nations out. As a result, the United States embarked on a series of armed occupations of numerous countries for decades, which led to widespread anti-Americanism in the region that continues to this day.

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