USA HISTORY

What ideology or ideologies were the leading cause of imperialism among American and European powers?

(A) Phrenology

(B) ** Social Darwinism

(C) Manifest Destiny

(D) ** White Man’s Burden

Concept note-1: -Conquest in the poem is not portrayed as a way for the white race to gain individual or national wealth or power. Instead, the speaker defines white imperialism and colonialism in moral terms, as a “burden” that the white race must take up in order to help the non-white races develop civilization.

Concept note-2: -“The White Man’s Burden” presents the conquering of non-white races as white people’s selfless moral duty. This conquest, according to the poem, is not for personal or national benefit, but rather for the gain of others-specifically, for the gain of the conquered.

Concept note-3: -What is imperialism in history? Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other territories and peoples.

Concept note-4: -The racialized notion of the “White Man’s burden” became a euphemism for imperialism, and many anti-imperialists couched their opposition in reaction to the phrase.