An American History

BECOMING A WORLD POWER ★^685

domination of non- white peoples by whites formed part of the progress of civ-
ilization. Among the soldiers sent to the Philippines to fight Aguinaldo were a
number of black regiments. Their letters from the front suggested that Ameri-
can atrocities arose from white troops applying to the Filipino population the
same “treatment for colored peoples” practiced at home.
America’s triumphant entry into the ranks of imperial powers sparked
an intense debate over the relationship among political democracy, race, and
American citizenship. The American system of government had no provision
for permanent colonies. The right of every people to self- government was one of
the main principles of the Declaration of Independence. The idea of an “empire
of liberty” assumed that new territories would eventually be admitted as equal
states and their residents would be American citizens. In the aftermath of the
Spanish- American War, however, nationalism, democracy, and American free-
dom emerged more closely identified than ever with notions of Anglo- Saxon
superiority.

How did the United States emerge as an imperial power in the 1890s?

Haw(annexaiian Islandsed 1898)

Americ(annexed 1899)an Samoa

(purchased fromAlaska

Russia, 1867)

Aleutian Islands(1867)

Midw(annexay Islandsed 1867)

Wa(annexke Islanded 1898)

Guam(ceded by Spain after

Spanish-American War, 1898)

Philippines(ceded by Spain after

Spanish-American War, 1898)

(ceded byPuerto Ric Spain,o

1898)

MONGOLIAOUTER

KOREA JAPAN

CANADA

UNITED STATES

MEXICO

RUSSIAN

EMPIRE

CHINA

BeringStrait

Atlantic

Ocean

Pacific

Ocean

Indian

Ocean

0

0

1,000

1,000

2,000 miles

2,000 kilometers United States territory

AMERICAN EMPIRE, 1898

As a result of the Spanish- American War, the United States became the ruler of a far- flung over-
seas empire.