DBQ CHUNKING STRATEGY

Chunk 1

Throughout the 19th century, the United States experienced rapid industrialization and westward expansion following the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The railroad transported raw materials from the agrarian, growing Midwest to the eastern industrial manufacturers, fostering a surplus in tradable goods. Westward expansion accelerated through the forced assimilation of Native Americans and new agricultural mechanization, such as the steel plow. By 1890, the Census declared the frontier officially closed, causing Manifest Destiny to redirect its efforts towards expansion overseas.

Chunk 2

Although American imperialism in the late 19th century and early 20th century introduced a "new" policy of governing foreign peoples without extending full political rights, it was to a much greater extent a continuation of previous expansionist policies driven by the historic desires of territorial expansion, along with continued assimilistic policies, demonstrating that overseas expansion extended the logic of previous U.S. expansion. (This is part of your *thesis*.)

Chunk 3

US overseas imperialism served as a continuation of the United States' historic yearning for expansion. *Document 3 HIPP:* Victor Gillam's political cartoon depicts Uncle Sam progressively maturing, reaching its peak in 1899, holding a naval ship and being offered the territories of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. Historically, this cartoon was taken from the context of the Spanish-American War, and when the U.S. was debating the annexation of overseas territories. It was intended to persuade Anti-Expansionists that imperialism was a natural extension of US growth, not a new policy. Gillam thus asserts his perspective that the United States has been in a perpetual state of growth since its founding, reaching the eventual overseas empire.

Chunk 4

This continuation can also be supported by the Homestead Act, which encouraged settlement westward by offering white settlers 160 acres of land to farm and improve the land for five years, reflecting the federal government's long-standing support of expansion. Thus, it can be proven that US imperialism served as a continuation of the United States' historic desires for expansion rather than being materialized as a "new policy." (Outside evidence included.)

Chunk 5

American Imperialism served as a continuum for expansionist policies by implying lasting assimilistic ideologies that portrayed US control as benevolent and necessary for the "less developed" populations. *Document 1 HIPP: Provides a before-and-after image of Sioux Boys at the Carlisle Indian School, showing their transformation from traditional attire into Westernized clothing, reflecting cultural suppression of Natives, which justified forcing other cultures into white society. Historically, this photograph was produced during debates over U.S. intervention overseas, intending to persuade Americans that imperialism aligned with the goals of white society and the continued assimilation of Native cultures. Document 5 HIPP:* In 1899, President McKinley gave a speech to a Methodist Church Group, where he used the ideologies of Social Darwinism to argue that Filipinos were unfit to civilize themselves and needed U.S. intervention. This reflects a continued racist ideology that other non-white societies required U.S. guidance to be "civilized."

Chunk 6

*Document 2 HIPP: Helen Hunt Jackson provides significant insight supporting the idea of both historical continuation of expansionist and assimilationist policies. She critiques the federal government's long-standing mistreatment and forced control over Native Americans, which carried into overseas imperialism, reflecting the exploitation of foreign nations and cultural suppression. Complexity sentence:* Overall, despite imperialism introducing new methods of governing people overseas, it relied on historically prevalent expansionist and assimilationist ideologies already present during westward expansion.