The United States workplace has largely benefited from the expansionist policy known as Manifest Destiny. The West has yielded many natural resources such as minerals, farmland, and timber that have proven to be vital to the United States' economic interests. US expansion has also fueled growth, as the availability of cheap land was a major enticement to immigrants during the nineteenth century. Imperialism has also fueled economic growth, as American colonies in the Pacific allowed steamships access to vital Asian markets long before the United States largely abandoned steam travel. Expansion to the Caribbean has also fueled American demand for cheaper agricultural commodities such as sugar.
American imperialism made its businessmen think globally. This led to their need to produce more goods at cheaper costs in order to send them overseas. Demand on the world market has been quite good for American business. In the twentieth century many businesses have moved outside the country in order to find a cheaper workforce and less restrictive conditions. While American expansion has fueled American markets, it has also led to the awareness that goods can be produced cheaper overseas. Expansion has been largely a benefit to the workforce, but for unskilled laborers this expansion has come with a price.
American imperialism refers to the attempt to expand the power of the United States through military or economic control or interference in other countries. Manifest Destiny is the idea that it is the right of the US to expand abroad, militarily and economically. The United States has expanded its economic and military reach into many nations. For example, the US currently has many troops and an economic foothold in Asian nations, including Japan and South Korea. Both of these nations are important trading partners with the US.
Our imperialist policies of today and of the past affect the American workplace because we have access to certain products from other nations because of our military and political importance to those countries. Therefore, because we have access to products such as cars from Korea and Japan, fewer American cars are needed and fewer are produced. We also produce goods, such as agricultural goods, that other nations such as Korea and Japan import. Our economic and political connections to other countries affect what we produce in the US.
In order to answer this question, one must first be clear on the definitions of imperialism and manifest destiny. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, imperialism is defined as “a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force” and manifest destiny is defined as “a future event accepted as inevitable.” In the context of US history, manifest destiny refers to the commonly accepted belief in the 18th century that settlers in the Colonies were destined by God to continue to expand westward across the United States, to the Pacific Ocean. Historically, the concept of imperialism in this context can be taken to mean the expansion of a country’s power by means of acquiring additional lands.
When considering the impact of imperialism and manifest destiny in today’s US workplaces, the inevitable expansion of power and influence does not so much refer to the expansion of territory or land; although it could reference the desire to extend the US business market internationally, and create international business partners. It is more likely, however, that these concepts refer to the economic expansion of US businesses. The US government seeks to influence global markets in a variety of ways, although no longer through the use of military force as was more common in the westward expansion referred to above.
On the local level, a small business may wish to expand their hold on their geographical area’s market. On a much larger level, a nationwide company would seek to extend their market overseas.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/american-imperialism/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifest%20destiny
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