Students must write a research paper–using both primary and secondary sources–that answers the following question:
J.A. Hobson, a British theorist, and Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary and leader of the Bolshevik (later Communist Party) in the Soviet Union, both criticized late 19th century imperialism as a capitalist conspiracy by big business to subjugate colonies for pure economic gain. Colonies provided cheap raw materials and guaranteed markets for European and U.S. trusts and monopolies. But what about ideological factors such as the idea of the civilizing mission or Manifest Destiny? By the late 19th century, the U.S. joined other European powers in constructing an empire. The question is this: what were the primary motivations and factors that led to the U.S. shift from isolationism and continental expansion to imperialism by the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
Make sure you have a thesis (a general argument) and provide examples and details from your sources to support your answer (please refer to the rubric on Canvas).