Yes and no. US imperial ambitions don't really begin until the late 19th century in terms of protecting world trade, taking over lands outside of North America, ruling over foreign populations, etc etc. By the early 20th century it was indisputable that the United States was an imperial power, despite most folks in the US specifically avoiding that term. However, the US clearly had imperial ambitions within the North American continent from the start, and almost immediately began genociding natives and taking foreign lands with impunity. The amount of treaties the United States broke with both Native Americans and Central Americans is too numerous to count, most often for sheer territorial and economic gain. If that counts as an empire then sure, it was from the beginning.
Yeah in a lot of ways that initial experience of totally eradicating a native population and settling their lands help set up the United States (and subsequent colonial nations, looking at you Nazi Germany) to be very effective at imperial projects elsewhere. The US's handling of the native populations of places like Hawaii and the Philippines was directly inspired by their dealings with Amerindians.
I'm reading the indigenous people's history of the US right now, and would have to say yes. The British Empire was holding settlers back from nonstop westward movement, but once 1776 hit, the settlers began to expand and begin a campaign of annihilation of indigenous ppl. This is also why most tribes allied w/ the Brits. An empire since day 1!
I'd say so, yeah. New York and Philadelphia were the metropole and the South and west (talking about Ohio Valley in the 1780s) were the peripheries. Basic empires work with a metropole drawing wealth and investment from periphery colonies. So it was a small internal empire from the beginning and only became an oceanic empire in the later 19th century.
Was the US an empire immediately upon founding?
Yes and no. US imperial ambitions don't really begin until the late 19th century in terms of protecting world trade, taking over lands outside of North America, ruling over foreign populations, etc etc. By the early 20th century it was indisputable that the United States was an imperial power, despite most folks in the US specifically avoiding that term. However, the US clearly had imperial ambitions within the North American continent from the start, and almost immediately began genociding natives and taking foreign lands with impunity. The amount of treaties the United States broke with both Native Americans and Central Americans is too numerous to count, most often for sheer territorial and economic gain. If that counts as an empire then sure, it was from the beginning.
The robbing of agency, life, and lands from native americans is an ongoing aspect of the American empire, perhaps its core aspect.
Yeah in a lot of ways that initial experience of totally eradicating a native population and settling their lands help set up the United States (and subsequent colonial nations, looking at you Nazi Germany) to be very effective at imperial projects elsewhere. The US's handling of the native populations of places like Hawaii and the Philippines was directly inspired by their dealings with Amerindians.
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I'm reading the indigenous people's history of the US right now, and would have to say yes. The British Empire was holding settlers back from nonstop westward movement, but once 1776 hit, the settlers began to expand and begin a campaign of annihilation of indigenous ppl. This is also why most tribes allied w/ the Brits. An empire since day 1!
geez how much of a homocidal maniac do you have to be that even the Angloids are a better option than B*rgers
good question, not sure how that'd be evaluated myself
expansion into native lands, slave-based economy, wars with neighbor states/colonies
so maybe like just a little ambitious empire initially?
any history buffs want to weigh in?
Sure acted that way
I'd say so, yeah. New York and Philadelphia were the metropole and the South and west (talking about Ohio Valley in the 1780s) were the peripheries. Basic empires work with a metropole drawing wealth and investment from periphery colonies. So it was a small internal empire from the beginning and only became an oceanic empire in the later 19th century.
New York is the Empire State :thonk: