Imperialism
Initially, America was a colony of Great Britain. However, by allying with France, America could separate itself from Britain and overcome its colonial rule. As such, America became an isolationist nation, a status it maintained until the late nineteenth century. Although several factors drove the country to this change, the primary factor was economic security and securing new markets. Shortly after the Civil War, America underwent two periods known as the Reconstruction Period and the Gilded Age, which brought about tremendous economic growth. With this rapid growth, Americans believed that the new markets in their country were drying up and, therefore, needed to expand to other countries. Notably, this period was characterized by an imperialist frenzy, especially by European and Asian countries competing to colonize Africa (Clack, Neely, & Hamby, 2009). Accordingly, America took up imperialism, or rather colonialism, to establish mercantilism, whereby only the imperial power benefitted by obtaining raw materials from colonized countries and then selling products to the same occupied markets.
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Powerful individuals like Henry Cabot Lodge and Theodore Roosevelt advocated for these actions to establish economic security (Clack, Neely, & Hamby, 2009). Accordingly, these individuals urged that America stake out spheres of economic influence to safeguard its interests. The Platt amendment is one political decision to support imperialism for economic growth (Veeser, 2013). Accordingly, this amendment essentially stated that the US would remove its troops from Cuba only if Cuba agreed not to make treaties with other nations, allow America to intervene in their affairs as they deemed suitable, and lease or sell land to America for various purposes like fueling stations. Essentially, the amendment granted Cuba its independence, accompanied by heavy economic ties to America (Sánchez, 2020).
Consequently, the impact of America’s imperialism was mostly beneficial for America, especially in fueling its economic growth. On the other hand, the effect of imperialism on Cuba was devastating as most of the country’s utilities were controlled by America. For example, by the mid-twentieth century, America had control of a total of 80% of Cuban utilities, approximately 90% of its mines, all of its oil refineries, and about 90% of its cattle ranches, which led to economic crises in the country (Domínguez López & Yaffe, 2017).
References
Clack, G., Neely, M. S., & Hamby, A. (2009). Outline of US history. Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated.
Domínguez López, E., & Yaffe, H. (2017). The deep, historical roots of Cuban anti-imperialism. Third World Quarterly, 38(11), 2517-2535.
Sánchez, A. (2020). Propaganda and Media Portrayal: US Imperialism and Cuban Independence from Spain and the United States, 1896-1903. PANDION: The Osprey Journal of Research and Ideas, 1(1), 7.
Veeser, C. (2013). The Platt Amendment and US Occupation Policies in Latin America. In The Routledge Handbook of American Military and Diplomatic History (pp. 67-76). Routledge.
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Question 
Imperialism
Which of the following reasons do you believe motivated the United States to adopt a policy of imperialism in the late 19th century?
Competition with European powers.
National security.
Economic security and securing new markets.
To help improve the political and economic status of other nations/people.
Provide examples of political decisions and events that support your opinion and discuss the impact at home and overseas due to US imperialism. Make sure to cite all sources.