Imperialism Theme of Imperialism

This might surprise you, but Bryan's "Imperialism" speech was about, well, imperialism. Try to hold back your astonishment.

By the late 19th century, the U.S. was really just beginning to dip its toes into the waters of empire building. But Americans couldn't quite decide whether they thought the water was too hot or cold to jump right into. Or maybe they just hated swimming altogether.

Bryan tried to play the role of that lifeguard at the pool, the one screaming "Danger, swim at your own risk!" He wanted the Democratic Party (and anyone else paying attention) to know about the hazards of an imperial state and what he believed was empire's incompatibility with true-blue Americanism.

1. Bryan brought up the Mexican-American War (paragraph 70) as an example of how the U.S. avoided imperialist policy. Was the Mexican-American War not an imperialist war? Why/Why not?
2. Using what you know about Progressive-Era politics, how did Bryan's words fit right in to the era?
3. Using what you know about modern U.S. History (and especially the Cold War), has the U.S. continued to be an empire? Is it possible to imperialize using economics? How about imperializing someone's culture?
4. Even after Bryan gave his speech, the U.S. went the route of empire in the Philippines? Why do you think this happened?

Reading Bryan's words you can almost imagine the Founding Fathers and Mothers scolding a young 19th-century United States with "if Europe jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?" By viewing U.S. history in this way, Bryan contributed to the whole American Exceptionalism narrative, believing that the U.S really was on a historical path that differed from that of Europe.

Bryan may not have wanted to see the growth of American imperialism, but he sure was a proponent of American fantasy-ism. Sure that's not a real word, but Bryan did help to create an American fantasy where the nation did not view itself as an empire. Not an empire? Yeah, right. What about Manifest Destiny? What about the annexation of Hawaii? The U.S was an empire before, during, and after Bryan gave his speech. Simply put, he was wrong.