Introduction
The nineteenth century saw the conquest of new territories for the
United States, Great Britain and Japan. It is important to understand why
these conquests were important for nation-building and why some territories
were incorporated into countries, while others were created as colonial
systems.
Nation-Building
At the end of the nineteenth century, "new world powers embraced the
nation-state system and territorial expansion began to emerge
(http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/index/index.htm)." It was felt that
"territorial expansion complicated the needs of the nation-state by
introducing a new people' outside the people defined by the nation
(http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/index/index.htm)." However, many countries
such as America, Japan and Great Britain contended that the "benefits
outweighed the costs (http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/index/index.htm)."
During this time, "nation-state competition for colonies led to a
scramble' for land that consumed the entire globe and led to goods and
people crossing borders at an incredible rate
(http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/index/index.htm)." While the colonies
were given the benefits of modernization, the citizens did not receive
equal rights from the Imperialists.
Industrialization vs. Colonialization
There were differences in the way the United States, Great Britain
and Japan handled their territories. "In the Americas, elites moved to
build strong nation-states based on inclusive government and territorial
expansion. Expansion, however, did not involve colonialzation so much as
conquest and incorporation of frontier territory into the nation-state
itself (http://www.wwnorton.com/worlds/index/index.htm)." The United
States was successful in creating a solid nation-state after the Civil War,
and "territorial expansion provided a means of unifying the country as well
as bringing prosperity to the white farmer
(http://www....