American Imperialism
The Territorial Expansion of the United States, 1783-2013
The United States has been described by many of its foreign and domestic critics as an “empire”. Providing a wide-ranging analysis of the United States as a territorial, imperial power from its foundation to the present day, this book explores the United States’ acquisition or long-term occupation of territories through a chronological perspective. It begins by exploring early continental expansion, such as the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803, and traces US imperialism through to the controversial ongoing presence of US forces at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The book provides fresh insights into the history of US territorial expansion and imperialism, bringing together more well-known instances (such as the purchase of Alaska) with those less-frequently discussed (such as the acquisition of the Guano Islands after 1856). The volume considers key historical debates, controversies and turning points, providing a historiographically-grounded re-evaluation of US expansion from 1783 to the present day.
Introduction: Defining an Empire
Chapter 1: Atlantic to Pacific (1783–1893)
i. Expansion from the Atlantic
ii. Expansion in the Southwest
iii. Linking the Coasts
Chapter 2: Heading Northwards (1812-1903)
i. Canada
ii. Oregon
iii. Alaska
Chapter 3: Leaving the Continent (1817-1890)
i. Liberia
ii. The Guano Islands
iii. Early Cuban Intrigue
Chapter 4: A Two Ocean Empire (1890–1898)
i. Hawaii
ii. The Spanish-American War
iii. The Anti-Imperialists
Chapter 5: Spanish Plunder (1898–1917)
i. Cuba
ii. Puerto Rico
iii. The Philippines
Chapter 6: An Empire Among Equals (1899–1917)
i. American Samoa
ii. Panama
iii. The US Virgin Islands
Chapter 7: Occupation Over Annexation (1912-1973)
i. Caribbean Occupations
ii. Germany
iii. Japan
Chapter 8: Continuing Imperialism (1940-2013)
i. Guam and the Pacific Trust Territories
ii. Guantanamo Bay and the Base Culture
iii. The Polar Frontier
Conclusion
Bibliography
You must log in or register to request an inspection copy.
Burns’s opus, all inclusive and incisive, explores angles that have never been discussed before like Canada and Liberia. In this sense, it assists the reader, even the novice of American history, in appreciating the scope, parameters and nuances of American imperialist politics diachronically, from the early years of the new State until the dawn of the twenty-first century.
The fact that the book includes the less familiar histories of Vermont, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and Trust Territories of the Pacific, as well as the better-known histories of westward expansion and the Spanish-American War, makes this a useful and informative volume.
A concise and lucid survey of US foreign policy. Adam Burns convincingly argues that empire has been a central feature of the American experience since the nation's founding.
