The colonial expansion of the United States, from the very beginning, acquired the features of neocolonialism. The USA does not declare the countries of Latin America as its colonies. Formally, they remain sovereign states. But, taking advantage of the economic weakness of these countries, US capitalists import their capital there and exploit national wealth.
Explanation:
After 1900, with the beginning of the era of progressivism, large-scale social and political reforms were carried out in the USA, after which many areas of government, education, and other aspects of the American way of life acquired a modern look.
During the second industrial revolution that took place during this period, America developed new technologies, such as telegraph and telephone, the Bessemer process of steel production, railways, and explored rich natural resources of its territory: coal, wood, oil, agricultural land.
The two most important US wars of this period - the Spanish-American and World War I - were victorious for America. As a result of the Spanish-American War, Cuba gained independence, and the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam were ceded by Spain under the Paris Peace Treaty after US paying $20 million (today's $575,760,000) to cover Spain’s infrastructure projects.
The economic development of the United States in the early 20th century was marked by the growth of monopolies. In 1900, US investment abroad amounted to about $500 million, and by 1914 - already $2.6 billion. Nevertheless, the United States continued to be a debtor state; about 5 billion dollars of European capital, mainly English, were invested in the American economy. The efforts of American monopolists since the beginning of the 20th century have been aimed at changing this situation in a short time and gaining for themselves the sphere of profitable investment of capital.
After the capture of the Philippines, the expansion of American imperialism turned to Latin America. In the person of Theodore Roosevelt, the United States declared itself the supreme judge in the affairs of the entire Western Hemisphere, having appropriated the rights of an "international police force." In particular, they considered the Caribbean Sea and the countries adjacent to it as a sphere of their exclusive influence.
The American imperialists sought to ideologically substantiate their aggressive policies in Latin America. Theories of the "superiority" of the Anglo-Saxon race in relation to the "lower" peoples of the Latin American countries spread. The concepts put forward earlier that proclaimed in a more or less veiled form a claim to domination of the entire American continent — the Monroe Doctrine and Pan Americanism — were supplemented in 1895 by the so-called Olney doctrine on the monopoly “right” of the United States for the role of arbiter in Latin American affairs, and then formulated by President Roosevelt in 1904, "the big stick policy " in relation to the countries of Latin America.
At the same time, the American imperialists strengthened their rule over Cuba. In 1901, Congress passed the so-called Senator Platt amendment to the draft Cuban Constitution. The essence of the amendment was that Cuba was deprived of the right to independently conclude agreements with foreign states and to receive external loans from other states; in addition, the United States created naval bases in Cuba and acquired the “right” to intervene in the country's internal affairs.
In subsequent years, the United States established control over the finances of the republics of San Domingo, Honduras, and Nicaragua, which essentially meant the establishment of American protectorate.
The colonial expansion of the United States, from the very beginning, acquired the features of neocolonialism. The USA does not declare the countries of Latin America as its colonies. Formally, they remain sovereign states. But, taking advantage of the economic weakness of these countries, US capitalists import their capital there and exploit national wealth.
