American Global Power from Empire to Superpower

Introduction

This unit focuses on American imperialism related to territorial expansion, trade, and immigration in the Americas from 1846 to the present. The unit primarily examines relations between Mexico and the United States. It explores the role of U.S. imperialism on people and countries in the Americas as it relates to immigration and a Latin American population in the United States.

U.S. territorial expansion from the acquisition of Florida in 1819 to the colonization of Puerto Rico in 1898 transformed the economy of the United States. Land gains benefited the United States giving it access to natural resources, trade routes, and territory for Americans to settle. Territorial annexation incorporated Mexicans and other Latin Americans into the United States’ population. The expansion of the U.S. border through military aggression and coercion captures the Latino sentiment of “the border crossed us.”¹ American imperialism through military intervention in the 20^th century benefited the U.S. but weakened Latin American countries.

Beyond the use of military force, this unit highlights how American economic imperialism in the 20^th century fueled Latin American immigration to the United States. The United States implemented free trade agreements in the Americas. These agreements benefited elites in both countries but worsened social conditions for many people in the Americas. The resulting lack of opportunity spurred many Latinos to immigrate to the United States. Policymakers in the United States directly contributed to immigration but have not developed safeguards that guarantee migrants basic protections. 

The anchor text for my students to study U.S. relations in Latin America will be Voces Sin Fronteras: Our Stories, Our Truth. The book is a collection of biographical comics written from the unique perspectives of sixteen Latin American youth immigrants. Their stories narrate contemporary immigration experiences to the United States from El Salvador, Guatemala, Cuba, Mexico, Ecuador, and Honduras.

Voces Sin Fronteras helps humanize American immigration policy. For example, Tato, a high school junior from Honduras, recounts his journey to the United States. He left Honduras to help his mother and to escape violence in his community. Tato documents difficulties in his trip including his experience riding on "The Beast," a dangerous freight train network used by immigrants to travel through Central America to the United States border.² Children like Tato often make this trip alone. Migrants sleep on top of the freight trains as they pass through Mexico towards the United States.³

The stories in Voces Sin Fronteras capture struggles and sacrifices made towards a better future. The afterword states that young immigrants leave their countries "to escape violence, poverty, and corruption."⁴ The various stories in the book provide personal examples of societal insecurity that lead to immigration but these reasons do not explain the root causes of poverty or violence in Latin America. This curriculum unit provides historical background on the United States’ role in worsening social conditions in Latin American countries that contribute to immigration.