Among many people that opposed imperialism were Mark Hanna (New York financier), Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, and John Muir, to name only a few that formed the Anti-Imperialist League (1889) to fight the annexation of the Philippines. From this league more national and federal leagues were formed.
John Muir and many others wanted uninhabited regions to be preserved in their “natural state” without dams, mines, or logging operations being built. In 1892, he founded the Sierra Club, who were devoted to preserving the wilderness. In 1899, he and the Northern Pacific Railroad lobbied (successfully) for two national parks. William Jennings Bryan openly condemned the American presence in the Philippines in readying for the presidential election in 1901.
Teddy Roosevelt was a both a preservationist and a conservationist. He allowed dams and reservoirs to be built providing many regions with water and electricity. John Muir had been his scout in the beautiful Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Muir and the Sierra Club campaigned to protect this piece of land, but the Raker Act in 1913 passed, allowing the city of San Francisco to build a dam and flood the valley.
Some critics wanted the United States to mind its own business and felt we had no business in other countries disputes. One such American was Mark Twain. Others such as Social Darwinists used racial hierarchies to oppose expansion (Jones et al. 2011.)
Jones, Created Equal, Brief Third Edition, Volume 2
CSMH History Class/1900-Hawaii becomes US territory (2010). Retrieved from http://csmh/
Pbworks.com/w/page/7309543/1900%20-%20Hawaii%20becomes%US%territory.
No comments:
Post a Comment