Talk:Overseas expansion of the United States

This article can't possibly by neutral

It can't possibly be neutral, just look at the section about "evil capitalism." It's no more objective than the communist manifesto. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by KongminRegent (talk • contribs) .

I added that section, about "evil capitalist". Without this section I feel the article would be even more POV--if a person is going to call the US "imperilistic" a person must define what imperialistic is first. That is what Miller does fabulously. Miller explains the different ways that Americans see America's historical territorial ambitions, there are three views, that I paraphrased and labeled as the following:

• "disneyland" apologists, (which view, like most Americans, you probably believe)
• lesser apologists (imperialism happened, but only happened during one small period), and
• the evil capitailist view. (which is the view I personally believe)

The evil capitalist title I added myself, if you find the evil capitalist title objectable, please add a different title that is just as descriptive and less POV.

Please read my statments just above this one The major weakness of this article which explains why I felt this section was sorely needed.

You mention the communist manifesto. This is a common and simplistic way that many Americans typically attach the word "communist" to something they disagree with to make the belief look bad. I could do the same by dismissing you as a facist, but I won't because this is the most juvenile way of debating. Your example only inadvertantly exposes your own POV. Your "communist manifesto" example has no merit, so it does not deserve any comment other than this. Travb 01:07, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Recreate as 4 articles per Kevin Myers

Go ahead. Do it. Kevin Myers, Travb, and myself all agree so do it. WAS 4.250 01:26, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Okay, I've done it, more or less (some merging on foreign intervention is needed), and created a template to link them as well. Much cleanup and expansion to do; everyone have at it. I think it can make a nice article series, and help prevent needless debates about POV titles and let us focus on content. I've tried to be as even-handed as possible in creating article titles and the template. I'm certainly not trying to choose sides in any debate about "American imperialism"; like Walter McDougall, I'd characterize U.S. history as a mix of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just want to create a stable format for us to write about it in a NPOV way. This article has been a battleground for too long; time to make it (and the others) useful entries. --Kevin Myers | (complaint dept.) 22:42, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Great job Kevin, good call. Lets hope the leftist ideologues are satisfied with your excellent job and hard work.

We have already pissed off the ideologues on the right, lets hope we don't infurate the ideological left too. I have been in the position of pissing off both sides more than once on wikipedia, and it tends not to be very productive.Travb 22:53, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

Well done, sir. WAS 4.250 00:39, 15 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm removing the "clean-up" tag, as it seems to have been done. Kalkin

"cultural imperialism" changes

I've removed this paragraph:

Proponents of this view argue that not only is "Cultural Imperialism" a misnomer and an intellectually invalid concept, but is by nature a culturally fascist accusation or retort against cosmopolitanism, and, ultimately, racist. This is part of a larger world view known as Circular Political Theory (the farther you go to the extreme left, the closer you come to the extreme right, and vice versa), which interprets so-called "anti-imperialist" movements and the "new leftism" as merely superficial reworkings of classic fascism.

One paragraph neutrally proposing the thesis of cultural imperialism followed by two refuting it fails NPOV. I started to add some defense of the idea that cultural imperialism is something to be prevented, but decided that would make the subsection far too long. Better to leave the debate for the main cultural imperialism article. Kalkin

More interesting info to add about the American empire

For anyone interested, here is some of the info that I have compiled on my blog which may be incorporated in this article or one of the others in the American empire section:

The American Empire (the bottom section quoting Miller is already part of American empire (term).Travb 04:14, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

I totally agree with the comment that this article has lost its neutrality.

Who wrote "It is also widely believed that the US was behind the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002." What sources are you getting your info from? T.V. talk shows? Please realize that when you state unsubstanciated info like that you cause harm to the people who are really trying to improve relations. I strongly believe that unsubstantiated claims like that are an unethical, low-blow used to distort reality. Please desist! unless you have the facts. Wikipedia is a powerful learning/teaching tool. Don't make it a cheap political squak box.

I have read the same thing in many British national newspapers including The Times and The Telegraph. Both report on global feelings that the Bush administrantion was behind the coup. CNN online also reported the same feelings. James Quinn 20 Sept 2006, sorry, dont know my IP. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.111.213.247 (talk • contribs)

POV Warning

I started trying to get this article into shape, but it's probably hopeless. I added the POV warning. Why is this article even here? --Cultural Freedom talk 2006-06-28 22:13 (UTC)

I didn't remove your warning, so that's no reason to revert my edits. However, if you want the warning to stay there, it will need to be more specific. How does the article reflect a Marxist point of view? What does it say that's false or irrelevant, or fail to mention that's true and relevant?

I left in your note in the "cultural imperialism" section that some people think the term is an abuse of the word "imperialism." I took out only the explanation - which is something that people who are interested can find in the main article, since there's nothing about it that's specific to the U.S. I removed the popularity of products "reason" from the "background" section because it's totally irrelevant to the time period. The U.S. is not being accused of cultural imperialism with respect to the Philippines, Cuba, etc. It's being accused of territorial imperialism. Therefore unless you have some reason why the popularity of U.S. products might lead the U.S. to invade other countries militarily, that popularity has nothing to do with the rest of the section.

For the record, although I do believe the U.S. is imperialist, I'm not a fan of the theory of "cultural imperialism."

Kalkin 23:15, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

I find personally that those who holler POV the loudest, ironically usually have the strongest POV. As Kalkin said, please explain your tag. Everyone who criticizes American expansion is not automatically Marxist. I am not a Marxist, and I criticize American expansionTravb (talk) 03:51, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I just read the article through again, very carefully. I'll try to make changes that square to some degree with the objections raised here. (Though, yes, leaving the tag up, with a better explanation, and leaving the article alone, might be the best strategy. I may go back to my decision to adopt that strategy.) First, one important point: The article is called "History of United States overseas expansion," not "History of United States overseas expansionism." I was trying to make the article square with its title. --Cultural Freedom talk 2006-06-29 07:16 (UTC)

Cultural section

Old edit:

Since the end of the Second World War the United States has been dominant in most cultural industries. US movies, television, food, and music are popular throughout the world. Thus the US has often been accused of cultural imperialism, a form of expansion overseas certainly more subtle than military conquest but perhaps with similar problems.

New edit:

Since the end of World War II, the United States has been dominant in most cultural industries. US movies, television, food, and music are popular throughout the world. This dominance has led some to accuse the US of "cultural imperialism", a form of overseas expansion certainly more subtle than military conquest, but which, some contend, is attended by similar consequences on the affected populations.

Thanks for your continued contributions User: Cultural Freedom.

I want to talk about a particular policy page. I wish they would change the name of this page, because it has a negtive conentation: Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words.

"Application of a weasel word can give the illusion of neutral point of view: "Some people say Montreal is the nicest city in the world.""

Who says that? You? Me? When did they say it? How many people think that? What kind of people think that? Where are they? What kind of bias do they have? Why is this of any significance?

Examples: Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words#Examples

• "Some people say..."
• "Some argue..."

I will add a {{fact}} tag to this statment, lets give someone a week to respond, then lets delete the paragraph, and move the link to the see also section. I never did like that section much anyway--it seems off topic here.

The last edit has weasel words, and it is also more ackward. Read both sentences a couple of times, the new one and the old one, and see which one is more awkward.

Signed:Travb (talk) 15:13, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I changed it for two reasons. 1) The word "thus" is incorrect here. 2) (More importantly) the English was abominable. But if you don't see those two problems, I'll go back to my first strategy: let you do what you want, but make sure the POV warning stays, as long as it's needed. Best, --Cultural Freedom talk 2006-06-29 15:49 (UTC)

cultural imperialism

Please feel free to continue to edit this page, I really think you can be a valuable contributor to this article. Don't let my edits discourage you.

Again, i never did care for this cultural imperialism section anyway. In a week, I will delete it, and move the link to see also, unless someone comes up with a source.

Please continue to edit this section, but please avoid weasel words, and please don't downplay what the sentences are attempting to say. I am sure this section can be written better, and expanded, if you wish.

Also, don't be intimidated when I, or anyone else on wikipedia quote policy. I have learned that some admins use policy as weapons, as a way to push their own POV / agendas against those users who happen to know less wikipolicy.

POV tag

I have no problem with the POV tag, except maybe that it says "anti-american" which to the majority of wikipedians, who are americans, this has a very negative conentation. I am proudly anti-american, but I don't think other editors would proudly accept such labels.

But I respect your opinion, so I will not change this POV tag.

Signed:Travb (talk) 16:15, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I suspect that in the cultural imperialism article a cite could very easily be found for someone alleging the U.S. to be culturally imperialist. Kalkin 00:04, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

About continuing to work on this article -- we'll see. I have to be careful about my time. Not convinced my efforts will end up helping much here.

Out of curiousity, what makes you think the majority of Wikipedians (I assume you mean those who participate on the English lang. Wikipedia) are American? Seems to me that Americans are in the minority. --Cultural Freedom talk 2006-06-30 07:07 (UTC)

User:DKalkin I agree. I will look for one, if it is becomes important to me, which I doubt. :) I won't delete it though, without trying to find a source.Travb (talk) 12:50, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Seems to me that Americans are in the minority

Seems to me that Americans are in the minority. Really? maybe you edit other pages then I do. There is this cultural wikiarticle that tackles this, and states that the majority are American, but I read it months ago. So there is probably no way I can find this--but I will try. Travb (talk) 12:50, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

Later: Wikipedia:WikiProject_Countering_systemic_bias. This article does not say most wikipedians are American. I guess I assumed they were. I maybe wrong, let me know if I am.Travb (talk) 12:54, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

I just found this, (I love google):

"After all, the vast majority of Wikipedians live in Europe and Frankfurt is the city the largest number of Wikipedians can reach easy."

"Where does the statement that "the vast majority of Wikipedians live in Europe" come from? According to this, admitedly rough set of figures, 35.10% of page views come from Europe and 37.20% from North America, with another 16.10% coming from East Asia".

See the full argument here: [1]

Travb (talk) 12:57, 30 June 2006 (UTC)

So the majority is not americans. 37.2% isnt 62.8%.

213.141.89.53 23:48, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

From the page

The article is almost entirely written from an anti-American standpoint; all aspects of US growth are treated as the result of unsavory US actions, as opposed to the result of wars, for which, in some cases, other countries were at least partly responsible. Moreover, despite the article's title, the article is about a more controversial topic: expansionism, not expansion.

The {{POV-because}} was deleted, so I moved all the info here. Travb (talk) 04:43, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

Anti-American bias of this article

The article is almost entirely written from an anti-American standpoint; all aspects of US growth are treated as the result of unsavory US actions, as opposed to the result of wars, for which, in some cases, other countries were at least partly responsible. Moreover, despite the article's title, the article is about a more controversial topic: expansionism, not expansion.

-Travb- Thanks for retaining the above information. I've added a direct link to this new section. I was going to delete the section you added, but we can just leave it for posterity! (Or you can delete it yourself; I didn't want to do anything you might feel was too "aggressive.") --Cultural Freedom 2006-07-21 14:47 (UTC)

Why are people so sensitive about using the word "imperialism" in this article and denounce it as anti-American, yet at the same time are eagerly involved in other articels of reprehension on other nations and cultures, and vehemently deny any sentiment. Many people outside the US are aware of American hegemony (resulting from imperialistic foreign policies). If it is considered POV to talk about US imperialism (especially of the US government), then many negative opinions against other countries should also be classified as POV. Otherwise it's just typical American double standards. Let's face it, most of the contentions in the world are more about nationalism and retribution than about who's right and who's wrong. Pseudotriton 02:43, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Not sure I grasp what you're trying to say, sorry. One thing I can say that might help: "imperialism" is simply incorrect when describing the U.S. That doesn't mean the U.S. hasn't made highly questionable foreign policy choices. But that's different. I'm not sure people here are "sensitive" in any incorrect way. They're just trying to create accurate articles. --Cultural Freedom 2006-07-28 8:26 (UTC)

Just a small point, but why is it simply incorrect? When the British seized Cuba in 1762 that would be described as imperialism without question. But when the US controlled Cuba 1898-1902 and 1906-1909 that is "different"?--Zleitzen 11:18, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Even Encarta acknowledges American Imperialism in respect to Cuba "A number of factors contributed to the U.S. decision to go to war against Spain. These included the Cuban struggle for independence, American imperialism, and the sinking of the U.S. warship Maine"[2]. Whatsmore, the magazine which detailed the Cuban occupation in 1898 was specifically called American Imperialism. --Zleitzen 12:57, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Actually, it appears that the page you quote is a wikipedia type article, which anyone can edit too. Travb (talk) 13:59, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

Encarta isn't a wiki, there is an editorial staff. Try editing it and see how far you get. --Zleitzen 14:26, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

My mistake, I was wrong, sorry. Travb (talk) 04:48, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Oh god how I'd like to troll on travb here, we all know his POV as much as we know mine :P Thank god for encyclopedias then? 213.141.89.53 23:50, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Cultural Freedom, I was perhaps a bit verbose in my last comment. What I'm saying is illustrated by Zleitzen's Cuba example. It's totally hypocritical to deny imperialistic intentions when the US exerts its influence on others for its own interest. You said using the word "imperialism" is wrong but offer no reasoning or evidence of why it is wrong. It is no more POV to label the US as "imperialists" than to label some groups "terrorists". Right after 9-11, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. said in an interview that the terrorists for one side are the freedom fighters for the other. Accuracy can be relative to who you are talking to. Pseudotriton 04:07, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Looking through the archives I see a comment by one user "imperialism is one of those taboo words that you just can't use if you want people to take you seriously - even when it is entirely appropriate". Your point above concerning people being sensitive about using the word appears to have some validity, Pseudotriton. For starters, imperialism and Empire are not taboo subjects in some nations who continue to celebrate the term. So we can establish that we can use the word to refer to other nations and still be serious. And if one reads the decidedly untaboo Soviet Empire page on wikipedia we find Cuba sitting unchallenged within. Now, remember that Americans began to inhabit the island en masse during the 19th Century before the US government occupied Cuba under military rule for two periods. Yet the Soviets did neither of these things 1961-90. There does appear to be a sense of denial and exceptionalism dominating this issue. Sometimes it's worth finding out what the recipients of such "expansion" believe. Amongst Cubans, there is no doubt whether the US actions were imperialist in nature or not. --Zleitzen 13:20, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

Are there any lingering POV issues that need to be discussed? Otherwise I will remove the POV tag. --Swift 20:20, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Apparently, nearly five months after Swift's message just above, there are no lingering POV issues that justify leaving the tag up. That being the case, I'm taking it down. Buck Mulligan 05:40, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Article seem really about Spanish American War

There is an awful lot of Imperialism theory being employed here to explain the expansion of the U.S. THe overseas expansion of the U.S. boils down to two events: acquisition of colonies from the Spanish-American War, and the incorporation of Hawaii at the request of a foreign leader. If someone wants to diatribe about american imperialist adventures that did not result in the expansion of teh U.S. I am sure there is anotehr article devoted to it. Perhaps america as empire?Mrdthree 14:34, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

While the Spanish-american War and Hawaii proved to be a turning point in U.S. policy, U.S. interest in overseas territories began much earlier. See Guano Islands Act for a bit more detail (although this area could use more expansion in general). Also, I'm not sure if it was deliberate or simply lost in the shuffle, but The Banana Wars should be linked from somewhere on this page (whether as a main article link or as a see also doesn't matter to me). older ≠ wiser 15:29, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

TH eGuano Islands Act is a pretty big shocker, brilliant researching, but as far as I could tell there were no colonies as a result of the Banana Wars.Mrdthree 21:41, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

True enough, there were no official colonies, but many of the Banana Republics were essentially puppet states of the U.S. older ≠ wiser 01:38, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

The memory hole

Today (August 13th) the following was deleted from this page, this information is not terribly well researched, so I am not going to fight for its continued inclusion in the article:

==Asia==

While American intervention had begun earlier with Matthew Perry forcibly opening Japan to the West with the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854, this period saw the United States expand its presence in Asia. The U.S. pushed through the Open Door Policy that guaranteed equal economic access to China. It also vigorously acquired small islands in the Pacific, mostly to be used as coaling stations.

Throughout the later half of the 19th century, China was divided into "spheres of influence"-areas to which a foreign power (Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia) were given exclusive trading rights or even the territory itself as the result of treaties. The United States, having recently gained the Philippines in the Spanish-American War and thereby becoming a player in East Asia, felt impeded by these "spheres of influence". In an effort to equalize trade, John Hay, Secretary of State at the time (under William McKinley), sent letters to European leaders suggesting an "open door" policy in China, one that would grant equivalent trading rights to all powers inside the spheres of influence. The proposal was gently rejected. Following the Boxer Rebellion, John Hay called again for an expanded "open door" policy effective throughout China, not just within "spheres of influence". The United States and the European powers agreed to preserve Chinese independence and government.

==After World War II==

After helping defeat Nazi Germany, the United States occupied the southern portion of the Western sector of Germany (what later became West Germany) for ten years (1945 to 1955). More intense was the occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1951, during which time the US occupation force, led by General Douglas MacArthur staged a dramatic restructuring of Japanese society in order to prevent the nation from re-emerging as a military threat. (See also Japanese nationalism.) Although the occupation officially ended in the 1950's, large numbers of American troops remain today in bases in both countries. The United States also gained control of what are today the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.

During this period, the United States actively intervened in the politics of many nations, with the purpose of curbing the expansion of the influence of the Soviet Union. Many of the post-war actions were implemented as the result of Cold War policy and anti-Communist sentiment, which were the basis of much of United States foreign policy.

==Europe==

During the 1960s and 1970s it became fashionable to view the Soviet Empire in eastern Europe as comparable to the American domination of western Europe. It was frequently argued that, through economic and military pressure, the United States pursued hegemony just as aggressively as the Soviet Union. The post-revisionist school, which, since the fall of the USSR, has come to dominate the study of Cold War history, has rejected this view, arguing that the full extent of Soviet aggression has become apparent as a result of the opening of the Kremlin's archives. (See historiography of the Cold War.)

==Middle East==

After World War Two, with the continued rise in the importance of oil to the world economy, the United States increased its interest in intervention in the Middle East. While it had no formal colonies, it had sufficient influence in several countries that they are sometimes viewed as client states; these include Israel, Iran under the Shah, and various Gulf states. Since 2001, and the September 11 attacks, the U.S. has had a large number of troops in Afghanistan. Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, it has had an even larger number in Iraq. At least some U.S. war planners were interested in U.S. military domination of the oil-rich Gulf region, the world's top supply of this most important resource, according to U.S. General Jay Garner, who was in charge of planning and administering post-war reconstruction in Iraq, explaining that the U.S. occupation of Iraq was comparable to the Philippine model: "Look back on the Philippines around the turn of the 20th century: they were a coaling station for the navy, and that allowed us to keep a great presence in the Pacific. That's what Iraq is for the next few decades: our coaling station that gives us great presence in the Middle East". (Interview on National Journal 2004, archived http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=5819&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported, http://www.alternet.org/story/17923/ )

The U.S. denies any intention to maintain long-term control of these countries; this is disputed by many, though very few allege that the U.S. intends actual annexation. However, at least some U.S. war planners are interested in long term bases in Iraq to project American power to the Middle East. "One of the most important things we can do right now is start getting basing rights with (the Iraqi authorities)", "I hope they're there a long time....And I think we'll have basing rights in the north and basing rights in the south ... we'd want to keep at least a brigade", Garner added (Interview on National Journal 2004, archived http://www.independent-media.tv/item.cfm?fmedia_id=5819&fcategory_desc=Under%20Reported, http://www.alternet.org/story/17923/ ) Also, a report of the U.S. House of Representatives accompanying emergency spending legislation for U.S. military bases in Iraq stated that the money allocated was "of a magnitude normally associated with permanent bases". (BBC News, March 30, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4834032.stm )

==Coups==

Declassified British Cabinet papers, published in The Guardian in 1994, indicate the possibility that the CIA and MI6 both provided backing for the 1963 military coup of Iraqi Colonel Abdul Salam Arif which overthrew Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim. Qassim had attempted to nationalize the Iraq Petroleum Company, of which U.S. companies were major shareholders, and in order to assert Iraqi rights to the territory of Kuwait. Following the coup, the new Iraqi government abandoned both of these policies disapproved of by the governments of both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. (See also History of Iraq.) After the government of Rahman Arif took power, the U.S. again backed a coup in Iraq, bringing the Baath Party to power in 1968, with Saddam Hussein eventually taking the helm. Similar tactics were used by the United States in Iran in 1953 to topple the democractially-elected Moussadegh government and to install the Shah dictatorship, see Operation Ajax, and in Chile in 1973 to install General Pinochet after the overthrow of the democratically-elected government of Dr. Salvadore Allende, see Chilean coup of 1973. In these cases U.S. interest lay in maintaining control over Iran's oil and Chile's copper. It is also widely believed that the U.S. was behind the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 to topple the democratically-elected government of President Hugo Chávez.

==Cultural imperialism==

{{main|Cultural imperialism}} Since the end of the Second World War the United States has been dominant in most cultural industries. US movies, television, food, and music are popular throughout the world. Thus the US has often been accused of cultural imperialism, a form of expansion overseas certainly more subtle than military conquest but perhaps with similar problems.{{fact}}

Signed: Travb (talk) 23:06, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

My aim was to redirect the focus of the article to changes in political boundaries. I was assuming that specific issues relating to the expansion of U.S. 'hegemony' were covered in the American Empire article. Since they appear not to be covered it may be worthwhile to chop this article into two sections: Expansion of political boundaries oversaes and U.S. Interventions overseas. Mrdthree 18:35, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Although if you look at expansionism it seems to follow the premise of land acquisition rather than occupation and political subterfuge. It may be that the topics above are better situated as specifics to teh American Empire (U.S. Hegemony) article. Mrdthree 18:41, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Power too you User:Mrdthree, thanks for the explation. I try to post all major changes on the talk page, for a variety of reasons, I really am an anti-deletionist, and I am uncomfortable deleting even unreferenced poorly focused material like what was deleted above.

Although, if I recall correctly, I often disagree with your POV, I welcome a radical rewrite of this article. It is really terrible. Maybe you can raise it to the caliber of American empire I wish you the best of luck. If you need any help, let me know. Travb (talk) 19:24, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

thats it for me its nap time. someone may want to rewrite the intro. Mrdthree 13:56, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

no one will, you have to do it yourself, asking other people to do things on talk pages is pointless. Want to wiegh in at: Allegations of state terrorism by United States of America? You seem like someone who may be interested in this subject, and we would appreciate your opinion. Travb (talk) 14:40, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Merge U.S. colonization outside North America into current article

Text is already incorporated, this proposal has already been made above. Mrdthree 13:25, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Include other maps?

A wikiuser added a map to this page (first one). Why not add the other pictures in the group?

U.S. and possessions at the turn of the 20th Century.

The world in 1958: The United States and its allies are marked in green, and the colonies of European powers allied with the United States are marked in blue.

The world in 1982: The United States and its allies are marked in green.

The World in 2003: Original countries in the US-led "Coalition of the Willing" are marked in green.

The maps were once on American Empire but first one map (Coalition map), and then the other two were removed for the American Empire page.

Reason: Talk:American_Empire#American_Empire_Map.

If this map stays, I think a great map would be the map of the Spanish empire, before the Spanish American War, and the U.S. and possessions at the turn of the 20th Century. Basically this map would show that America seized/bought all of the empire of Spain in the Western Hempisphere.

Another user brought up the point on the American_Empire page that the colonies of Spain made Spain an empire but when the US aquired them, that didn't make the US an empire? What changed? Travb (talk) 06:26, 7 September 2006 (UTC)

I must say I dont think the map is very useful. Compare it with the scanned Image:GreaterAmericaMap.jpg. On the incorporated map it is pretty much impossible to see anything but the phillipines. I would say chop out or rotate the map to look like the newspaper image or remove it.Mrdthree 16:49, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I can't see Image:imperialUS.PNG being very useful. Unless it lists the unnoticable islands, it would be better to simply verbalize this information. As for the other three, they look more interesting. --Swift 17:02, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Text removed

The following text was flagged {{fact}}, then removed today. [3]

It is also widely believed that the U.S. was behind the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002 to topple the democratically-elected government of President Hugo Chávez.{{fact}}

Signed: Travb (talk) 15:31, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

The following text was flagged {{fact}}, then removed today.

Thus the US has often been accused of cultural imperialism, a form of expansion overseas certainly more subtle than military conquest but perhaps with similar problems.

Best wishes, Travb (talk) 17:13, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Neoimperial Grand Strategy

Being that History of United States imperialism currently redirects here, it is extremely disappointing that there is no mention of the new imperial grand strategy, popularised by John Ikenberry and Noam Chomsky. Its absence is conspicuous yet this page may already be too confused to deal with such an addition. On the other hand, I don't really know enough about it to start a new page for it. -- abfackeln 02:05, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Merging of United States imperialism

• Support -- not that there's anything to be merged. Let's do this quickly and redirect the other title. --N Shar 18:22, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

I went ahead and redirected the article here. It is a new article, with not much information. Travb (talk) 18:41, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

• Okay, that counts as "quickly." I had been watching the article. I suggested to the author that he contribute to a more established article, but he ignored me. --N Shar 18:42, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

should relate only to the literal territorial expansion

The article is named 'US Overseas Expansion' and should relate only to the literal territorial expansion of the US overseas. Since everyone seems to think that this article is about American 'imperialism'(however you want to define that word)'overseas'(as if to imply the US has no right to exist where it does), I suggest that we follow the above recommendation and merge the article immediately. I am not sure how to begin. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.30.97.15 (talk • contribs)

PLEASE SIGN YOUR POSTS USING ~~~~ Thank you.

Wikipedia:Be Bold I disagree with you, but I look forward to your edits.

The name was changed from "imperialism" to "Overseas expansion of the United States" as a coprimise. I am sure there are a handful of people who disagree that this article is about American imperialism.Travb (talk) 14:54, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

I agree with 71.30.97.15 about how this article (before a merger) should relate to territorial expansion only. To begin with, I'll remove the section on "Cultural Imperialism," which clearly doesn't belong here. --BrianMDelaney 19:11, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

MOVE OVERSEAS INTERVENTIONS TO NEW ARTICLE

Declaring overseas interventions of the united states as efforts at expanding the territorial holdings of the United States is editorializing. The fact of overseas expansion as documented in the introduction of this article can be confirmed. The fact fo overseas interventions can be confirmed. The argument that overseas interventions constitute efforts at expansion is opinion. So I started a new page Overseas interventions of the United States. Mrdthree 13:02, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Not needed, really needed, there is already a List of United States military history events.Ultramarine 13:07, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

However, since you have already created the article, there is absolutely no need for the section in this article, so it should be removed.Ultramarine 13:12, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. Now the question is should this article exist? Should information deleted in Jan 2007 about hte overseas expansion of US territory be restored or is it as was argued then redundant with teh main article, territorual expansion of the United states? Personally, I would like to see the info restored, but I am not strong proponent. I restored it to illustrateMrdthree 13:20, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Most of the material is unsourced, but at least it is on topic. I say keep it for now, I will go through it.Ultramarine 13:25, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Purpose of this article

I do not really understand the purpose of this article. Is is supposed to be about an American Empire? There is already such an article. Is it supposed to be about Opposition to United States foreign policy? There is already such an article. It is supposed to be a List of United States military history events? There is already such an article

The "Background" section talks abourt the motivations for US colonialism before WWII. On the other hand, the section on "Overseas interventions", mostly after WWII, seems to imply that all of these interventions are examples of "overseas expansion". This is OR conclusions, most of these did not lead to any expansion of US territory or possessions. Therefore, I propose that that the "Background" section should be moved to the American Empire article. If there are any interventions not listed in List of United States military history events, they should be moved there. If there is any criticisms not in Opposition to United States foreign policy, they should be moved there. Thoughts? Ultramarine 13:56, 10 June 2007 (UTC)

No objections, so I have moved the "Background" section and other referenced material to the "American Empire" article. The rest was an unsourced OR synthesis as per above, duplicating Opposition to United States foreign policy and List of United States military history events. Redirected to "American Empire".Ultramarine 11:14, 12 June 2007 (UTC)

My changes, carefully explained here and in the edit summaries, were reverted without explanation. If there is no explanation arriving, I will shortly restore the redirect.Ultramarine 19:55, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

The purpose is simple, it identifies American expansion into foreign territories with imperialistic intent. This is a small subset of the List of United States military history events. This is a historical overview of events that the American Empire took part in, not an article on the Empire itself. It in no way endorses Opposition to United States foreign policy, it just points out some of the actions in which foreign policy has taken form. The article is substantially different from those three articles you mentioned. The existence of an 'American Empire' is disputed, and discussed in a modern context on that page, yet this history of imperialistic behaviour is undisputed and therefore should be kept separate. Therefore, the background section should stay. The military interventions listed serve as examples to this point, so they should stay. If it is critical of US foreign policy, it shouldn't be, as this would violate NPOV. The correct way to deal with criticisms would be to point them out and rework them into NPOV, perhaps by redirecting or deleting them but preferably by rewording them. Oh, and I didn't undo your wholesale redirect of this article, but really you should not have done that - this page hasn't survived a deletion review just to get redirected to a different topic.Nazlfrag 06:43, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Who is arguing that all of these interventions were with imperialistic intent? See Wikipedia:No original research.Ultramarine 08:32, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Not to mention that there is almost no sources. When examining the those few that exist, they are unverifiable due to broken links and lack of exact date, or simply do not support many of the claims supposedly dervied from that source.Ultramarine 08:48, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

The two quotes from Garner in the "Interventions in the Middle East" section are well known, and appear in the source cited, as I stated in my edit summary. Why are you continuing to put a "failed verification" tag on it? This was the only one of your verifications I bothered to verify myself. The sourcing there, while not featured-article perfect, seems to me to be easier to understand than your criticism of it. Your usage of this tag does not seem to be consistent with Template:Failed verification, so I quick and dirty fixed the second reference, which wasn't pointing to the correct place (the same as the first) and removed the tag.John Z 09:20, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

The link was broken and the exact date was lacking, making it impossible to verify. Now you point to a web article that does not give a date either. Fine, but I will insert "claimed to have said"Ultramarine 09:51, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

No, there were two links given in the article, the first one of which was broken and hard to verify; I tried a little at webarchive but was unsuccessful. The second link, in the article already, not given by me, was fine. So the "failed verification" tag was never really appropriate. How lack of a precise date (the week is indicated, in February of 2004) makes "claimed to have said" appropriate - what source disputes it? - I do not understand, so I changed some of your text as it thus verges on OR. I think one should use the "failed verification" tag carefully, in accordance with the explanation on the template page.

The quotes are well known, and googling would doubtless turn up more instances of them. But what I am more concerned with is careless citing practices. The article is far from perfect in that and many other ways, but I repeat, it may be better there than the critique given Judging from this example, are you sure that looking at fewer references, but more carefully at each, would not result in a better encyclopedia than your current practice?John Z 20:05, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

The next tag too, on the Iraqi coup is also problematic. What precisely are you disputing? What are you saying the article says is not in the citation given (and not in the internal links)? Again, the "failed verification" page says " Explain in detail on the talk page." when you use the tag.John Z 20:16, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

You say that the quotes are well known, but is unable to find the exact source. This brings to mind the possibility that it is a rumor or a hoax. Unless the exact date is given, which is required for verifiability, I will shortly add back "claimed". Regarding the other source, it an unsourced op-ed in the New York Times, not "Declassified British Cabinet papers" published by the Guardian, and does not mention several of persons named in this article, MI6, or oil nationaliztion.Ultramarine 20:31, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

I put in the original source for Garner. One can check the quotes' appearance there by searching on them there. (Or pay the $2,000 for a subscription, your choice :-) ). But again, what source ever cast doubt on them? Without such, casting strong suspicion in an article, especially of a "dog bites man" unsurprising quote is non-allowable Original Research. For the coup citation, it was not clear what was being cited in the article, or what you objected to. Some of what was said was in the citation. I suggest using citation needed tags for the material which does not appear there or in the internal links provided. As the template and discussion explains, the (rare, <150 current usages) failed verification tag is only appropriate for clearer cases.John Z 22:09, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Removal of "Interventions in the Middle East" section {{failed verification}} tag

The tag is on a cite following this sentence: "After the government of Rahman Arif took power, the U.S. again backed a coup in Iraq, bringing the Baath Party to power in 1968," The cited source says:

[...] In Cairo, Damascus, Tehran and Baghdad, American agents marshaled opponents of the Iraqi regime. Washington set up a base of operations in Kuwait, intercepting Iraqi communications and radioing orders to rebels. The United States armed Kurdish insurgents. The C.I.A.'s Health Alteration Committee, as it was tactfully called, sent Kassem a monogrammed, poisoned handkerchief, though the potentially lethal gift either failed to work or never reached its victim.

Then, on Feb. 8, 1963, the conspirators staged a coup in Baghdad. For a time the government held out, but eventually Kassem gave up, and after a swift trial was shot; his body was later shown on Baghdad television. Washington immediately befriended the successor regime. Almost certainly a gain for our side, Robert Komer, a National Security Council aide, wrote to Kennedy the day of the takeover.

As its instrument the C.I.A. had chosen the authoritarian and anti-Communist Baath Party, in 1963 still a relatively small political faction influential in the Iraqi Army. According to the former Baathist leader Hani Fkaiki, among party members colluding with the C.I.A. in 1962 and 1963 was Saddam Hussein, then a 25-year-old who had fled to Cairo after taking part in a failed assassination of Kassem in 1958.

As I read that, "American agents" marshaled opponents of the Iraqi regime, then those agents and others ("the conspirators") staged a coup. Later, speaking of the coup, the author says, "As its instrument the C.I.A. had chosen the authoritarian and anti-Communist Baath Party, [...]". Perhaps the text could stand a bit of rewording, but I think that the cited source does support what the text asserts. The cited source is a bit soft, though -- a NYT Op-Ed piece requoted on a blog. -- Boracay Bill 23:17, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Merger Proposal

I've proposed this page be merged into American Empire, the full details can be found here: [4] -MichiganCharms 01:15, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Consensus there was against, -MichiganCharms 01:14, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

re.revert on section header "Annexation of Hawaii"

Unregistered user 203.218.71.185 had changed the section heading Annexation of Hawaii to read Invasion of Hawaii, providing as an edit summary: "American always says China invaded Tibet, why not saying USA invaded Hawaii?". User:Ultramarine reverted that with the edit summary: "not a military invasion". 203.218.71.185 re-reverted that without an edit summary, and I re-re-reverted that reversion with an edit summary pointing to this talk page discussion.

IMHO, conducting guerilla warfare is not a good way to resolve ideological differences; especially not within wikipedia. I won't take the trouble to search Wikipedia guidelines about this just now, but I feel confident that the guidelines would bear me out.

I suggest that the Tibet/China questions are better discussed in Talk:South Tibet, Talk:Sino-Indian_War, or Talk:Tibet. -- Boracay Bill 12:50, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Proposed Retitle to American Overseas Empire

I reject the idea to retitle this article as listed above. A better title may be possible but this is not it. A previous user finds it more objective to retitle this article american overseas empire. However I find this to be editorializing in favor of the 'american empire' notion that has become popular since 9-11. In titling the section American Empire assumptions about the nature of the current governance and administration of regions are being made that rely on ideological definitions of imperialism. Mrdthree 03:40, 22 July 2007 (UTC)

This article deals with the turn of the century. There's no post 9-11 assumptions in it, those can be found at American Empire (phrase). -MichiganCharms 07:41, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

American Empire Map

A map is being added to this article entitled the "American Empire". I have reverted it again [5] because as per previous discussions on this page, "American Empire" is not equal to "Overseas expansion of the United States" (that is why two separate articles exist). Furthermore, there is already a map on the page showing the overseas territories. The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick ^t 01:12, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Why not add a more deatalied, newer map on it? I see nothing wrong with that. (Red4tribe (talk) 01:13, 14 May 2008 (UTC))

This is an article on the overseas expansion of the United States. Labelling the map the "American Empire" is contentious (see the talk page history) and colouring an area of Canada misleading. Yes, the US and Britain jointly claimed an area until the US-Canada border was finalised but to colour that on a map on the "overseas expansion" page suggests that the US "expanded into" Canadian territory, which is wrong. This is an article on history from 1898 onwards. The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick ^t 01:18, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Ok, then I will remove the dark blue coloring. (Red4tribe (talk) 01:20, 14 May 2008 (UTC))

And please any reference - in the title or in the legend - to the term "American Empire". The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick ^t 01:22, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

Removed Former Possessions section

I have removed the FormerPossessions section and moved its former contents here

US has voluntarily left some of its overseas territories and they have gained independence. Cuba (1902), the Philippines (1946), the Panama Canal Zone (1979/1999), the Federated States of Micronesia (1986), Marshall Islands (1986), and Palau (1994) are examples.

Firstly, the language "US has voluntarily left ... and they have gained independence" is clumsy. It oversimplifies and distorts.

Secondly:

• Cuba was never a U.S. territory. It was under U.S. protection between 1898 and 1902 and has been independent since 1902. It came under U.S. protection by virtue of the Treaty of Paris (1898). The U.S. holds a lease on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.
• Yes, the U.S. recognized Philippine independence in 1946. For a treatment of that somewhat fuller than "US has voluntarily left", see History of the Philippines (1898-1946).
• The Panama Canal Zone was never a U.S. territory. It was a 553 square mile territory inside of Panama; under use, occupation and control of the U.S. by virtue of the 1903 Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, until abrogated in 1977 by the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
• The Federated States of Micronesia came under Spanish sovereignty in the 16th century, were sold to Germany in 1899, were conquered by Japan in 1914, were seized by the United States during World War II and administered by the US under United Nations auspices in 1947 as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Today, FSM is a sovereign, self-governing state in free association with the United States, which is wholly responsible for its defense.
• A German trading company settled on the Marshall Islands in 1885, and they became part of the protectorate of German New Guinea some years later. Japan conquered the islands in World War I, and administered them as a League of Nations mandate. In World War II, the United States invaded and occupied the islands (1944) destroying or isolating the Japanese garrisons. Post WW-II, they were added to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and were administered by the US under United Nations auspices. In 1979, the Government of the Marshall Islands was officially established and the country became self-governing. In 1986 the Compact of Free Association with the United States entered into force, granting the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) its sovereignty. The Compact provided for aid and US defense of the islands in exchange for continued US military use of the missile testing range at Kwajalein Atoll. The independence was formally completed under international law in 1990, when the UN officially ended the Trusteeship status.
• Like the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands and the Marshall Islands, Palau was part of the Spanish East Indies, and was administered from the Spanish Philippines until the Spanish-American War of 1898. In 1885, after Germany occupied some of the islands, a dispute was brought to Pope Leo XIII, who made an attempt to legitimize the Spanish claim to the islands (but with economic concessions for Britain and Germany). Spain in 1899, after defeat during the Spanish-American War, sold the islands to Germany in the 1899 German-Spanish Treaty. The Germans began mining bauxite (an aluminum ore), Phosphate, and other resources. The islands were also administered by German New Guinea. Mining continued throughout Micronesia even after the Germans lost the islands to Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, after World War I. The Japanese continued and expanded the mining operations. During World War I, under the terms of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, the Empire of Japan declared war on the German Empire and invaded German overseas territories in the Pacific Ocean, including the Palau Islands. Following Germany's defeat, the League of Nations formally awarded Palau to Japan as a Class C League of Nations Mandate. After WWII, the United Nations played a role in deciding the U.S. would administer Palau as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Eventually, in 1979, Palauans voted against joining the Federated States of Micronesia based on language and cultural differences. After a long period of transition, including the violent deaths of two presidents (Haruo Remeliik in 1985 and Lazarus Salii in 1988), Palau voted to freely associate with the United States in 1994 while opting to retain independence under the Compact of Free Association.

-- Boracay Bill (talk) 22:44, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

Should we mention Occupied Japan?

It's known that Japan was occupied and essentially under American management after that country lost WWII, mostly to the USA. Shouldn't or should this be mentioned in our treatment of "overseas expansion of the USA"? 68.32.48.59 (talk) 14:19, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

No because it was a military occupation, and the USA had no intention of occupying Japan prior to WW2. The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick ^t 15:55, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

Would an argument that the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico should not be mentioned here because it came about as a result of the Spanish-American War, and that the U.S. had no intention of occupying these countries prior to that war apply in the same way? If so, it seems that this article should show, with cite-supported assertions, that a U.S. intention to occupy those former Spanish territories did exist pre-war. If not, why would the argument apply regarding Japan and not regarding the other countries? -- Boracay Bill (talk) 23:21, 6 July 2008 (UTC)

I think what is more important is that anyone wishing to imply in the article that Japan was an American colony or a US possession in the same vein as the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico should demonstrate that this is the academic consensus. Attempting to apply logic to this type of question is just a form of original research. The Red Hat of Pat Ferrick ^t 00:12, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

A categorical no. It was a temporary occupation, not permanent expansion of territory. Arjuna (talk) 01:35, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

If you mention Japan, you would have to mention Germany, Austria and so on. Red4tribe (talk) 01:52, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Cuba Entry

Should the entry for Cuba be shortened? The statement regarding Guantanemo Naval Base better belongs within that article rather than as a statement within what should be a brief statement. --207.114.206.48 (talk) 06:43, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

Philippines section

After speaking of the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, bicameral legislature, the Philippine Commission (an appointive body having both U.S. and Filipino members), a popularly elected lower house, the Philippine Autonomy Act (Jones Law) of 1916, and the United States commitment to grant independence to the Philippines, "...as soon as a stable government can be established therein.", the article backed up to 1899 and said, "... the guerrilla fighters soon found that the Americans were not prepared to grant them much more autonomy than Spain had allowed." (, of courthe insurgent Malolos Republic declared war on the U.S. long before Aguinaldo shifted from conventional to guerrilla tactics, of course). There was also a "Thus," which I took as drawing an unwarranted conclusion.

The problematic bits were unsupported (though not completely untrue, despite the biased presentation). I have boldly eliminated what I saw as the most problematic bits and have rearranged some of the remaining text. I think this is an improvement. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 07:39, 6 January 2011 (UTC)