The development of the American Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The development of the American Empire - Essay Example As they sensed a power vacuum and a unique opportunity to influence the United States, the Union was specifically interested in stymieing these efforts and ensuring that the conflict remained as one between the states. More or less, these efforts were widely successful and they helped to encourage the further understanding the continent of North America, and the surrounding regions could be viewed as the sphere of influence upon which the United States alone had the license to meddle. However, understanding the way in which the American concept of empire developed cannot be appropriately effected without a cursory discussion of the doctrine of Manifest Destiny. Manifest Destiny was the intrinsic belief that the Almighty had provided the United States with dominion over all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This belief had a profound impact with regards to the way in which colonization of these lands took place and the means through which the native populations were mi streated and relocated. Just as Manifest Destiny and an interpretation of American sovereignty came to be formed during and before the Civil War era, as well as afterward, the course upon which the United States would eventually engage was all but assured. One of the most obvious interventions within this sphere of influence took place during the Spanish American War; a time in which the United States sought to further weaken the Spanish Empire and take territories in the Pacific – as well as carve out further influence within the Caribbean.