Uncle Sam's War of 1898 and the origins of globalization / Thomas Schoonover ; foreword by Walter LaFeber.

Maps on lining papers.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [153]-164) and index.

Exploration and new territories, 1780s-1850s -- The great powers in the Caribbean Basin, 1800-1890s -- The great powers in East Asia and the Pacific, 1840s-1890s -- U.S. domestic developments and social imperialism, 1850s-1890s -- Three crises: the 1893 depression, China, and Cuba -- The War of 1898 in the Pacific Basin -- The legacy of the crises of the 1890s.

"Uncle Sam's War of 1898 and the Origins of Globalization examines the growth of the American empire from its early nationhood to its first global military conflict. As the fledgling nation's military, industrial, and economic strength developed, the United States created policies designed to protect itself from challenges beyond its borders. According to Schoonover, a surge in U.S. activity in the Gulf-Caribbean and in Central America in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was catalyzed by the same avarice and competitiveness that motivated European adventurers to seek a route to Asia centuries earlier." "Schoonover locates the origins of American globalization and expansionism in the Spanish-American War. American involvement in the War of 1898, he argues, reflects many of the fundamental patterns of our national history - exploration and discovery, labor exploitation, violence, racism, class conflict, and concern for security - that have shaped America's course since the nineteenth century. Uncle Sam's War of 1898 and the Origins of Globalization is the first work to identify the source of the United States' economic, political, and social policies abroad - and the actions that established it as the only remaining superpower."--BOOK JACKET.