The Growth of American Imperialism The United States entered the arena of capitalism as a world power after the Spanish-American War in 1898. After having routed Spain the United States secured undisputed control of the American Mediterranean -- the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Puerto Rico was annexed. A protectorate was established over Cuba. In Cuba there is invested about $1,000,000,000 of American capital in the sugar industry alone. This is 60 percent of the total capitalization …showed first 75 words of 431 total…

…showed last 75 words of 431 total…population of at least 13,000,000. "Peaceful Penetration" Our imperialists are also engaged in the "peaceful penetration" of other countries. In recent years particular attention has been paid by our capitalists to Canada, Mexico, Central and South America. Because of the collapse of the European market American investors and merchants have been making especially strong efforts to develop these markets. In the Latin American countries the United States has today invested $610,000,000 in public securities and $3,150,000,000 in industries.