Imperialism has changed countless lives throughout the course of history and destroyed the governments of many countries. Imperialism is the total economic and political takeover of an entire country or a portion of one. Many European countries had already joined the race for Imperialism around the world by 1900, but the United States had not yet decided whether or not to join the Imperialism race. At the time the US had control over the Philippines and was having conflicts with the Spanish over Cuba, but many of the politicians had very different views about what to do with Imperialism.
The Democrat William Jennings Bryan a US presidential candidate running for office in 1900, did not like the idea of the the US partaking in anything to do with the Philippines; moreover, he thought they should let the Philippines govern themselves and leave them to their own devices "We are told that the Filipinos are not capable of self-government; that has a familiar ring... The Filipinos are not far enough advanced to share in the government of the people of the United States, but they are competent to govern themselves" (William Bryan). He was one of many who opposed Imperialism in the United States, but others thought they where insane for not seeing the advantages of Imperialism. The Republican Theodore Roosevelt responded to the speech given by William Bryan opposing Imperialism with his own speech supporting the matter "Many of their people are utterly unfit for self-government and show no signs of becoming fit"(Theodore Roosevelt). In this short sentence from Roosevelt's speech he clearly states that the Filipinos are unfit for self-government. This was his way of saying that the US should hold on to the Philippines for their sake.After the Spanish-American War the US granted Cuba their independence, but Senator Orville H. Platt put together a set of requirements, known as the Platt Amendment, that Cuba had to meet "That the government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba"(Orville H. Platt). This rule that Platt came up with implied that the US did not want Cuba to become a victim of Imperialism again. It also seemed that the US liked to have control over other countries as a higher power, but they also wanted to protect the people of other countries.
I think that the US should protect the rights of some countries that might still be targets of Imperialist nations, but should not become a Imperialist nation. I agree with the speech spoken by William Bryan about letting the Philippines govern themselves. I am going to say that the United States should not become a imperialist nation and should let all the countries under US control practice self-government.
-Cordel Bever
