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The US had three main reasons to why Imperialism was so important to them, they include:
1. To gain military power
2. Belief in cultural superiority
3. Thirst in new markets

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It took a long process to gain Hawaii. The reasons why we wanted Hawaii is because we needed a Navy base and they had tropical fruit and sugar cane. The US came to the conclusion that if Hawaii was a US territory they would no longer have to pay tariffs for their resources. The first step was to convince the current king of Hawaii to change the constitution to only allow land owners to vote. The significance of this was because most landowners in Hawaii were American business men. When the king died his sister came into rule and she decided that she did not like this plan. The Americans realize that's a problem for them and they have to do something about it so they build Pearl Harbor. A lot of marines led by Sanford Dole go to the queen and request for her to change the constitution creating the Hawaiian government to be mostly controlled by American land owners. In 1898 Hawaii became a US territory, and in 1959 it became an official state.

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Alaska was a rather simple state for the US to gain that came along with many more benefits than expected.  The Russian government owned Alaska before William Seward made a deal with the Russian government to buy Alaska for $7.2 million. (About 2¢ an acre.) Many people were upset with the deal because they thought they had just purchased a giant ice block, but really they bought a new territory with many natural resources including timber and oil.

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The Spanish American War was triggered by the explosion of the US ship The USS Maine. The public newspaper wrote that the Spanish had blown up their ship, when later on it was discovered that it was something inside the ship that triggered the explosion. The war took place in four locations: Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico, and The Caribbean. As an outcome of the war the US gained control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, The Philippine Islands, and Guam.

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Cuba was really set on being independent. The Platt Amendment was signed in 1903 stating Cuba had to lease the US a naval base and gave the US the right to intervene with their affairs. The only part of the Platt Amendment that still stand is the base. Cuba became a protectorate because it was the closest thing to being interdependent for them.

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The Philippines reacted really angrily to becoming a territory of the US so they started a rebellion, led by Emilio Aguinaldo. A three year war to claim the Philippines costed the lives of 20,000 Filipino rebels, 4,000 Americans, and $400,000,000.

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In the beginning Puerto Rico wanted to be an independent country but the US realized they were the last large island entering the Caribbean and it would be a great place to build a Navy Base. Puerto Rico governs themselves while still having to follow our constitution. Every few years the US gives them the option to stay a territory, become a state, or become independent.

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John Hay issued the "Open Door" Act. The Open Door Act stated that anyone who wanted to trade with China was able to do so. The people of China began to dislike that people, businesses, and goods from other countries in their country so the built the Boxer Rebellion. In the Boxer Rebellion the Chinese rioted until the Open Door act was closed.

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Background: Monroe Doctrine in 1823 declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to European powers. Not until after the Spanish American War could the US put his word into action because they were not strong enough until then. In 1904 Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary.
The Roosevelt Corollary believed in the "Big Stick" diplomacy. The US pledged to use force to prevent European countries from sizing territory in Latin America. This was issued without seeking Latin American approval.

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Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the US. Woodrow believed in a moral diplomacy. He promoted American economic interests in other countries and using such economic power to achieve goals for the US.By 1914 the US government had invested 1.6 billion dollars into Latin America. Moral Diplomacy required sending US troops to Latin America to enforce what the US wanted. The US achieved several foreign goals in the early 20th century. It expanded access in foreign markets, built a modern navy, and put police power to use to ensure dominance in Latin America.