Looking back over weeks 7-9, what in your view was
the 1) most common and 2) most effective strategy for American expansion abroad
in the period 1890-1920. Formal empire? Dollar diplomacy? Americanization? Or an
interplay of all three? (80-100 words, by 5pm Friday October 5)
American expansion abroad changed as both America and the global community developed. This means that all three strategies for expansion were used at different times, with different aims. None was therefore, the most “common”.
ReplyDeleteArguably Americanisation is the most effective of the three strategies as it has continued into the present day, and allows for American influence without the necessity for control or interference. While America’s foray into formal empire was short-lived, it had an important impact on the development of dollar-diplomacy, which, in turn was one of the key factors in allowing Americanisation to become so prevalent.
I agree that it is almost impossible to pick one of these strategies apart as the most common. All occurred at some point and all were effective in their own way. As has happened frequently this semester, we could argue for much longer than this blog post about whether formal empire really took place at all in American expansion. Americanisation, in my view, has been the most effective strategy in the twentieth century, however this is particularly post-WW2. As such, in the period 1890-1920 I believe Dollar Diplomacy most allowed America to entrench itself in other countries and exert maximum influence over their affairs, and therefore was the most effective strategy for American expansion internationally.
ReplyDeleteAmerican expansion abroad was something that changed with eras and different times. Different tactics and methods were used for expansion at different times, so it is hard to argue that one method was more effective than the other. I agree that it was an interplay of Formal Empire, Dollar Diplomacy and Americanisation, all at different times, and therefore it is hard to determine which one was the most "common."
ReplyDeleteAs for most effective, I would agree with Eleanor in that Americanisation, in hindsight, proves to be the most effective as it has carried into the present day, however a strong argument could be made for any of these strategies.
Out of the three options I would say that Americanization was the most effective, though only marginally as Dollar Diplomacy and Formal Empire were more concentrated in specific locations eg. The Philippines for Empire and Latin America and East Asia for Dollar Diplomacy. Americanization however had a global reach, expanding the American influence back to Europe through the world fairs and through their industrial products, any American product that could be taken abroad was and was in turn embraced by the people of the world. Americanization allowed the American presence to be known without having to control or intimidate.
ReplyDeleteFormal empire, Dollar Diplomacy and Americanization all played a vital role in American expansion, however Americanization was employed most regularly and most effectively across this period 1890-1920. The use of formal empire and Dollar Diplomacy were effective to an extent, however they were limited by the need to maintain positive international relations with neighbouring countries and to an extent European powers. Americanization was not limited as it was often a far more subtle approach that was frequently welcomed by other countries, making it the most effective way of spreading American culture and values around the world.
ReplyDeleteThere was no one strategy that dominated America's expansion during the 1890-1920 period as different strategies were applied to different areas, depending on what was considered the best way of exerting America’s influence. Dollar diplomacy was effective as it gave America actual control over affairs in countries, but this was limited to a few areas. The four ways in which Americanisation worked; empire by invitation, cultural imperialism, hybridisation and Americanisation in reverse meant that American ideals infiltrated a greater number of countries and therefore Americanisation can be considered more effective as it had a far greater outreach than the other two strategies.
ReplyDelete- Bec Torsello
It is hard to highlight a specific strategy as the most common or most effective as they all played vital roles in different times and regions and it was the combination of all these strategies that helped drive American expansion from 1890-1920. The way these strategies interacted with each other makes it difficult to determine which one was the most common. An argument could be made though, that Americanisation was the more effective strategy of expansion, if only by a small margin. Americanisation did not require any military action/intervention, its impact could be felt globally and unlike the other two strategies, there was very little risk of a angering or a deterioration of relations with other nations.
ReplyDeleteAmerican expansion took several forms, each of which were effective in the different period in which they were applied. As different periods of time required different methods to achieve expansion it is difficult to say that one was more common than another. However, I believe it can be argued that Americanization was the most effective strategy over Formal empire and Dollar Diplomacy as it meant that countries were accepting American influence and subsequently control; whereas the other two methods faced more potential opposition. This acceptance may explain why Americanization is still present today.
ReplyDeleteTo suggest that only one of these factors were most effective or common would seem impractical when looking at the progression of American expansion. Throughout this time there were many changes to the social structure and economic climate in the United States therefore I would suggest that it is an interplay of all three of these factors that contributed differently to the success of American expansion. Earlier in this period Formal Empire worked to fulfill ideas of America’s manifest destiny to spread their notions of civilization. Dollar Diplomacy reflected the strength the American Banks during the early decades of the twentieth century which at the time was the most effective form of expansion for American benefit. Finally Americanization assisted the expansion process during a time where cultural exchange was a new and interesting frontier for spreading American ideals. Thus a combination of these three factors all impacted American expansion in different ways and at different periods of time between 1890 and 1920.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the period of 1890-1920, the implementation of Formal Empire, Dollar Diplomacy and Americanisation all played their part in specific regions of American Expansion. Of these three though, Americanisation would be seen as the most effective expansionist strategy. While Formal Empire and Dollar Diplomacy worked effectively in the immediate vicinity of America, the implementation of Americanisation allowed the US to expand its cultural and political influence throughout the world, especially into Europe. Without the use of the military and being a far more subtle approach to expansion than its counterparts, Americanisation was for more readily accepted by other countries.
ReplyDeleteFormal empire was an effective, albeit geographically limited method of expansion inthe period of 1890 to 1920. It was untennable and did not allow the expansion that Americanization did. Taft's Dollar diplomacy did allow and effective economic grasp on much of the weaker nations - though was restricted to poorer nations, and mostly in the Latin-American region. Americanization, however, was the most efective method of expansion in the period discussed. It allowed a 'bottom-up' approach to expnasion, one that is still in effect today.
ReplyDeleteTheir was change in the strategies used for American expansion in the period from 1890-1920 as their was a gradual shift towards avoiding physical expansion towards the end of the 18th century. The discussion surrounding how to integrate the new formal acquisition of the Philippines arguably highlighted the fact that expansion overseas was likely to be far more complex than the Western expansion across the North American continent. Therefore there was a shift to informal expansion, particularly dollar diplomacy and cultural expansion (Americanisation). In terms of the most common, during this period of transition, all three were used equally. Leading on from this idea, Americanisation can be argued as the most effective because it is the method of expansion that prospered and survived this period of time and is still used, arguably indirectly, by the US today.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that during the period 1890-1920, dollar diplomacy, formal expansion and Americanization each produced an effective upon American expansion. I believe that Americanization became a very effective strategy in encouraging expansion into areas further afield than the American continent. American culture was frequently and successfully thrust upon multiple countries as such things as American sport, food and entertainment flourished in them. Indeed, its success is perhaps due to the subtlety of such expansion, and remains effective to this day.
ReplyDeleteThe interplay that occurred between all these strategies makes it difficult to determine the predominant factor in American expansionism however; Americanization was employed most regularly and most effectively across this period 1890-1920. While formal empire and dollar diplomacy played a vital role in expansionism, Americanization didn’t require any acts of military intervention and its impact could be felt internationally. In addition unlike the other two strategies, there was very little risk involved angering or upsetting diplomatic relations with other nations.
ReplyDeleteI believe that all three factors of formal empire, dollar diplomacy and Americanization contributed the gradual expansion of American territory, as well as their spread of influence. All three elements were used with a different purpose and largely targeted different areas across the globe. Formal empire could be seen in the Philippines, whilst dollar diplomacy occurred in Latin America. Americanization I would argue however has had the most significant impact as not only did it influence a wider spread across the globe, but the influence of culture has lasted into modern times and still continues to remain the USA’s most powerful force.
ReplyDelete