The American Empire   By: Scott Nearing (1883-1983)

by

SCOTT NEARING

Author of "Wages in the United States" "Income" "Financing the Wage Earner's Family" "Anthracite" "Poverty and Riches," etc.

New York The Rand School of Social Science 7 East 15th Street 1921

All rights reserved

Copyright, 1921, by the Rand School of Social Science

First Edition, January, 1921 Second Edition, February, 1921

CONTENTS

PART I

WHAT IS AMERICA?

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Promise of 1776 7

II The Course of Empire 14

PART II

THE FOUNDATIONS OF EMPIRE.

A. THE CONQUEST OF AMERICA.

III Subjugating the Indians 26

IV Slavery for a Race 38

V Winning the West 49

VI The Beginnings of World Dominion 60

B. PLUTOCRACY.

VII The Struggle for Wealth and Power 74

VIII Their United States 88

IX The Divine Right of Property 103

PART III

MANIFEST DESTINY.

X Industrial Empires 120

XI The Great War 143

XII The Imperial Highroad 158

PART IV

THE UNITED STATES A WORLD EMPIRE.

XIII The United States as a World Competitor 177

XIV The Partition of the Earth 192

XV Pan Americanism 202

XVI The American Capitalist and World Empire 218

PART V

THE CHALLENGE TO IMPERIALISM.

XVII The New Imperial Alignment 229

XVIII The Challenge in Europe 243

XIX The American Worker and World Empire 256

The American Empire

I. THE PROMISE OF 1776

1. The American Republic

The genius of revolution presided at the birth of the American Republic, whose first breath was drawn amid the economic, social and political turmoil of the eighteenth century. The voyaging and discovering of the three preceding centuries had destroyed European isolation and laid the foundation for a new world order of society. The Industrial Revolution was convulsing England and threatening to destroy the Feudal State. Western civilization, in the birthpangs of social revolution, produced first the American and then the French Republic.

Feudalism was dying! Divine right, monarchy, aristocracy, oppression, despotism, tyranny these and all other devils of the old world order were bound for the limbo which awaits outworn, discredited social institutions. The Declaration of Independence officially proclaimed the new order, challenging "divine right" and maintaining that "all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Life, liberty and happiness were the heritage of the human race, and "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government laying its foundations on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem likely to effect their safety and happiness."

Thus the rights of the people were declared superior to the privileges of the rulers; revolution was justified; and the principles of eighteenth century individualism were made the foundation of the new political state. Aristocracy was swept aside and in its stead democracy was enthroned.

2. The Yearning for Liberty