Dbq on New Imperialism

Between 1870 and 1920 European imperialism grew due to the economic, political, and social forces. The Industrial Revolution stirred the ambition of European nations. With the advances in technology these nations we able to spread their control over less developed areas. The balance of power created an empire building frenzy. Imperialism caused certain countries to dominate with power. With this power they were able to take over less developed areas. The French took over the majority of Africa (document 9). This gave France more ports for shipping exports and receiving imports of goods which helped out the economy (OI). The French dominated these areas with their huge army (document 8). Countries had no chance against them so all they could do is take the deal the French gave the. This could include protection, education or medical care (OI). Another cause of imperialism would be the social forces and ideas of other countries. For example, in document 4, the Britons believed they were the finest race in the world; the more the better. Even though this helped out the Britons it still caused many problems. Racism caused many problems such as killing innocent people and the false accusations of others (OI). Another social aspect would be social Darwinism. This was the teaching that stated only the strongest survive and you should do anything to get there (document 5). Social Darwinism is an ideology of society that seeks to apply biological concepts of evolutionary theory to sociology and politics, often with the assumption that conflict between groups in society leads to social progress as superior groups outcompete inferior ones (OI). The final force that was for new imperialism was the economy. The American factories were making more products than the American people used (document 2). This created a surplus which is very good for your economy. Since the Americans had so many products they were able to create trading posts around the