ABSTRACT

An outstanding result of the industrial revolution was the appearance of a “new imperialism" after 1870. Essentially this term meant a struggle for control of markets, raw materials, and new investment opportunities. Noneconomic purposes of the new imperialism included the attainment of national security, power, prestige, and the spreading of Christianity. European nations, where industrialism developed first, led in the movement. Until the 1890’s the United States, preoccupied with national development and having no surplus capital for investment abroad, was little interested in foreign affairs. Near the end of the nineteenth century, however, conditions changed, and the United States began to engage in imperialist activity.