Mark Twain once warned us that “America cannot have an empire abroad and a republic at home”. However today America expresses both these traits with its status as a republic and a major controlling power. Despite clear signs, Americans are largely ignorant of our status as an empire in the modern world.
In his 2019 book How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States, Daniel Immerwahr examines the reasons why the American empire has gone unnoticed for so long. The key way he does this is through the use of the “logo map” which conveniently neglects America’s offshore territories. Immerwahr writes in an attempt to change the perspective of Americans by discussing early colonial control and the newer modern system of influence.
Background:
How to Hide an Empire is split into two parts, the first, “The Colonial Empire ” involves discussions from colonial America up until World War II. The second, “The Pointillist Empire” takes a look at American history from World War II up until the present day. Immerwahr identifies World War II as a key shift in the way the American Empire exerts influence. Previously during the colonial era, America focused on controlling territories much like other empires would control colonies. After World War II, the influence was gained through points of interest such as military bases.
Introduction:
Daniel Immerwahr introduces a few key ideas to the reader in the introductory chapter. First, he discusses the “logo map” or the traditional map of the United States. The logo map is by far the most widely known map of the United States in history. It typically includes the mainland United States with the addition of Hawaii and Alaska. However, what Immerwahr points out is that the logo map does not account for the numerous territories possessed by the United States. Therefore Americans are typically unaware of the many places that are under United States influence throughout history. Furthering this is the government, which has tried to hide the American Empire. Proving this is his analysis of the overseas territories possessed by the United States in the 20th century. Immerwahr notes that the mainland was surveyed both by a different agency and with different parameters to external territories. Essentially what this has caused is statistical segregation of both the mainland and overseas territories. Although the census may not seem critical, what it represents is that the government has continuously pushed for America to not be viewed as an empire. Furthering this is the logo map which leaves citizens unaware of the influence the United States possesses. All of this would culminate in a lack of support for the territories of the United States. We can see this historically with the event of Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked Hawaii it was not an isolated incident, in two days they carried out several bombings in various locations. Manila in the Philippines is a showcase of this as the city was largely destroyed by Japanese bombs. However the American public forgot about Manila, Roosevelt chose to stress the importance of Pearl Harbor and barely acknowledged Manila. Despite being a U.S. territory, the Philippines was forgotten. Immerwahr’s key takeaway from this section is that ignorance can be deadly, as the Americans rallied to go to war, Manila was forgotten.
Part 1:
Part 1 of How to Hide an Empire largely focuses on a colonial style of empire that is typically more familiar to people. Immerwahr starts by examining the westward expansion of the United States and encroachment on Native lands. Initially, the founding fathers of America envisioned that the Western territories would be inhabited by small farmers that could easily be managed. This would all change with population booms that rapidly transformed America from a country that had centralized power in the East into a quickly expanding nation of settlers. Native lands would soon cease to exist as settlers pushed for more and more land. Significantly, this shows the clash between the founder’s vision for the country and the inherent desire of its citizens to expand. Time would only worsen the divide as leaders began to accept the desire for conquest possessed by their citizens. Soon the government would propose making a state for Native Americans that would largely end up being occupied by squatters. These squatters would soon become the majority and despite the pleas of the Natives, the government did nothing to remove them. Over time this would result in the Native Americans becoming a minority in lands designated to them. The next key event Immerwahr looks at is the use of Guano for fertilizer. As America became more and more intensive in its farming use a new fertilizer was needed. The solution was the Guano bird, whose droppings were the solution to farming problems. What this then led to was explorations for these birds eventually causing Congress to pass the Guano Islands Act in 1856. What this act said was that any American who found Guano on an unclaimed uninhabited island would be able to claim it for the United States. What Immerwahr hopes to achieve by mentioning this is showing how U.S. foreign policy is changing over time and slowly becoming closer to that of an empire. Although bird farms are largely unimportant, these islands would soon become military bases. The empire’s thought process only grew more prevalent with each passing decade and would be crucial for the development of the nation. Although America gained territories, this was oftentimes at the expense of the territory. The Philippines are a great example of this as America’s gain led to 14 years of civil war. Furthering this was WWII which would be a transition point in America’s rise as an empire.
Part 2:
Part two of How to Hide an Empire focuses on life after WWII. The biggest cause of WWII itself was Germany’s rapid expansion across Europe whilst adding to its empire. As negotiations on The Paris Peace Treaties commenced it was decided that Germany was to give up what it had gained and more. Although the treaty was aimed at Germany, it would also affect America. America at the time had been a key player in the war and emerged as the most dominant power in the world. However, leaders recognized the hypocrisy of making Germany give up its territories whilst we still held our own. Immerwahr notes that WWII led to America decolonizing its four biggest territories in some form or fashion. Subsequently, we see the modern American Empire emerge, the pointillist empire. Daniel Immerwahr identifies a few key ways that the new America keeps its influence and power. First by using technological superiority the United States can make sure it stays at the forefront of any new developments in the world and weaning itself of the need for other countries to produce goods. Next by linguistic supremacy, Immerwahr mentions that one in four humans on the planet can speak the English language. Lastly, we see increased militarization and the building of foreign military bases. The biggest idea that Immerahr makes with this is that America no longer needs to formally control colonies, it can now do that from abroad simply using its strengths.
Connection to the Modern Day:
Daniel Immerwahr makes many explicit and implicit connections to the modern day in his book How to Hide an Empire. To understand the first and arguably largest connection we have to revisit the concept of the pointillist empire. The biggest way that a pointillist empire functions is through the use of military control. Immerwahr takes this idea and relates it to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. He chooses to quote Osama bin Laden when he says “Your forces occupy our countries; you spread your military bases throughout them.” Immerwahr’s thought process with this is to say that 9/11 was in retaliation for the United States’ actions in the Middle East. We can even connect Immerwahr’s thoughts to even more current events such as the war in Ukraine and the Israel – Hamas war. Taking Immerwahr’s perspective, the war in Ukraine now has a new meaning. America’s reason for funding Ukraine is not just to keep it away from Russia, but also in the hopes that it will gain another partner it can influence in the future. Ukraine’s position in Eastern Europe would make it a key point of influence for the United States if they were to win the war. Here we can see how even today America still functions as an Empire simply through funding another country. We can also connect these same thoughts to the war between Israel and Hamas. America has been staunch in its support of Israel and has consistently supported its efforts to eliminate Hamas. However, if we apply Immerwahr’s perspective once again we can see that America’s support does not just build influence but also guides Israel in the direction the American government wants it to go in. In both Israel and Ukraine, America attempts to gain influence and align smaller countries with its ideals. How to Hide an Empire also has one last goal it aims to accomplish, and that is opening the American public’s eyes to their status. In the introduction, Immerwahr discusses the logo map or the map of the U.S. mainland. With his book, Immerwahr attempts to show people that there is much more than just a mainland, that America is a country with much more to its history than we are told.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I think that this book offers a fresh perspective on American history that can be in turn applied to Foreign Policy. It’s a great book that doesn’t require background knowledge and reads almost like a story. Anyone who does Foreign Extemp would find this book to be a valuable read.