Interesting stuff, which further reinforces my contention that the Civil War served to finally separate us from Britain, and enabled us to become that 'great nation'.
It actually served to make us more connected to Britain rather than separated - as things like the Industrial Revolution connected nations around the world and caused them to make others in their nations who were not a part of that in trouble. There was never "separation"except for distance in certain issues - but economy wise and culture wise, many things connected Britain to us in damaging ways ....while other nations arose around the world/had their own strong relationships. I'm reminded of the work of Eric Williams in his book entitled "
Capitalism & slavery"....an amazing read discussing how "slavery was not born of racism: rather racism was the consequence of slavery." Williams outlined the shifts from enslavement of the local Indian populations, to the use of white convict or indentured labour to black slavery. In Williams' words, the origin of black slavery lay with economic, not racial motives...believing that "It had to do not with the colour of the labourer, but the cheapness of the labour."
According to Williams,
Slavery helped finance the Industrial Revolution in England. Plantation owners, shipbuilders, and merchants connected with the slave trade accumulated vast fortunes that established banks and heavy industry in Europe and expanded the reach of capitalism worldwide. Binding an economic view of history with strong moral argument, Williams's study of the role of slavery in financing the Industrial Revolution was to many a refutation of traditional ideas of economic and moral progress and firmly established the centrality of the African slave trade in European economic development. He demonstrated in rather convincing ways that mature industrial capitalism in turn helped destroy the slave system. And many other scholars have adopted the same mentality
For more on Williams’ work, one can go
here/
here. And for other good reads on the issue,
That said, actions can come back to haunt others - for although Britain had outlawed slavery and the American world sought to do so later, there was still corruption/greed present - and those things set the stage for where we are today. People still remember what happened when it came to Britain carving up China and
forcibly opening it up for trade ( more at
Comparison and Contrast Example of 19th Century China and Japan ) - although it alongside other nations has risen to prominence since then and other nations have become subservient. Likewise, in the U.S, although the Civil War was won, the reality is that it wasn't a good thing all around and many groups suffered severely - although they've risen to prominence - and other nations around the world have arisen as well in awareness of history/been doing much to address the ways the nation NEVER became truly "great" on multiple levels because of how we've harmed others.
In example, as said earlier in #
35 , the mistreatment of Native Americans did much damage and was often avoided when it came to retribution for them - and the Chinese were mistreated alongside that. Additionally, there's no escaping the fact that we in the U.S allowed for the indentured servitude of Japanese.. first with Japenese Immigrants who were used for the
Railroad System development - specifically beginning in the Northwest in the 1880s, when federal legislation that excluded further Chinese immigration created demands for new immigrant labor. (
with it being the case that these men were known for their willingness to work long hours at low wages, and railroad companies sent agents to China and Japan to hire workers ). It led to a host of
developments that harmed the Japanese.....for first, it was the Chinese workers, which more than 200 thousand were legally contracted for the cultivation of Californian fields - with racism and xenophobia from Caucasians obligating legislators to approve the Chinese Exclusion Act. ..and then later, Japanese workers substituted for the Chinese in the same appalling working conditions as them but, the Japanese were thrown out in 1903 and replaced by Filipino workers.
Of course, after the development of the railroad system in the U.S being complete, apology for it would seem hollow since the use of migrant labor was already done for the job - and real apology would be in proper compensation. Even
agricultural wise, there was a lot of discrimination - and one example of how others had grown tired of it can be seen in what happened in
1903 when 1,500 Japanese and Mexican sugar beet harvesters in Oxnard staged California's first recorded agricultural strike...a
truly multi-cultural event and
one many Japanese Americans have never forgotten when it came to treatment they recieved.
And later, a lot of exploitation occurred
especially in the Interment Camps during the Second World War. Many U.S citizens, to this day, deny that anything done to them was wrong (even
if it concerns Japanese soldiers/veterans who were harmed AND not
honored for a long time) - and the same goes for denying wrongs that were done to many Asians by the American government. As it concerns the U.S expanding afterward, many have noted that the U.S already had so many issues of hypocrisy to deal with that anything it did which others deem "great" can often be overinflated. For in many ways, "greatness" is seen only in the sense that America had willpower to use on others even when it was not necessary. And in many ways, although we may not be like the British Empire taking over areas by force in rapid ways currently, I think it'd be off to not realize that
we in America are indeed an empire amd one that was highly destructive -
made possible by the Civil War.
The U.S acting as an Empire really isn't a new concept necessarily - as a lot of people still remember history very well in regards to how the United States made Hawaii a territory of the U.S at the same time that the Philippines were occupied. ..and although Americans toyed with the idea of keeping the Philippines as American territory, they eventually granted it independence after World War II.... But they kept military bases on the islands to enable them to extend their power to the Asian mainland. The Philippines were unique in that way having become territory of the United States that achieved independence.....and that indepedence was well-earned in light of what was done by Roosevelt
who carried out a genocide in the Philippines where populations of rural villages were lined up on bridges above rivers and executed....and many forget to consider the occupation of Iraq from perspective of the 1898 US invasion of the Philippines and the murderous colonial rule that lasted for 12 years, as the racism, cruelty and economic greed the US brought with it became the template for the 20th century imperialist interventions.
Wanting to add more influence around the globe was not necessarily the best thing for everyone - and in light of how the U.S sought to gain more influence into certain parts/areas of the globe...just as it was with the Philippines and Hawaii when it came to expanding into Asia's backyard and earlier in the Caribbean - it is problematic when it becomes an issue of using force to cause anyone we want to submit to us.
The
Spanish American war had a lot of consequences when it came to turning the U.S into a Empire throughout Latin America - and setting the stage for a lot of suffering/death that NEVER had to occur.
But of course, when looking back on the Civil War, it's no surprise to see the ways that numerous wars that've cose the lives of many began - for the reality of the matter is that there was precedent set in the Civil War and earlier for the U.S to have a "taking" mindset of the ends justifying the means....and looking to war to establish might and then, in hindsight, saying that there was somehow no other way. Lincoln could've avoided the Civil War on multiple points and addressed some of the economic issues (i.e. agriculture, slavery, etc.) if he had wisdom - but instead, the view is "Might makes right" - and it led to a lot of mess.
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In 1793, Britain tried in vain to establish a trade treaty with China. However, her overtures to the Qing court were rebuffed. Britain's traders took the matter into their own hands and began a clan[/FONT]