Summary of Anders Stephanson's Global Competition and Manifest Destiny Essay

Summary of Anders Stephanson's Global Competition and Manifest Destiny on the Cusp of the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Notably, America’s imperialism and world power can be dated back to its first endeavors in Asia and the 1899 Open Door policy.   The Open Door policy has for long been identified as a watershed, delimitating a shift in America’s China policy from a de facto â€Å"follower† of British diplomacy to an independent player. This allowed the United States to reap economic, political and religious benefits as well as creating animosity with nations who had interests in China. According to Stephenson, the United States was a latecomer on the international scene and had the zeal to take apart the impediments to entering a geopolitical arena that was dominated by Great Britain. The American interest in China had a typically American flavor, which was the American way. Stephenson seems to show the assertiveness of the American intuition for competition (Gjerde & Elizabeth 104-106). Through the essay, Stephenson shows how the United States acted pragmatically, through undermining the other nation’s attempts in China. The splitting up of China and the jumble for spheres of influence amounted to political aggression as a tactic in power competition, opening up China was also common economic aggression employed by the United States.