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1 - One Man and No Dog

An Entrepreneurial Theory of American Pacific Imperialism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2024

Miles M. Evers
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Eric Grynaviski
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington DC
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Summary

This chapter provides an entrepreneur-led theory of American early Pacific imperialism. The central argument is that changes in commodity prices provided incentives for American imperialism. It outlines how price changes encourage imperialism through a sequence of three mechanisms: price, threat, and lobbying. The price mechanism posits that commodity rushes led American entrepreneurs to relocate overseas. The threat mechanism describes the turn from entrepreneurs into lobbyists. The lobbying mechanism describes how entrepreneurs built support for their imperial schemes. In making these arguments, the chapter highlights the structural differences between American and European empires in the mid-nineteenth century by drawing comparisons to economic theories developed to explain European empires.

Type
Chapter
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The Price of Empire
American Entrepreneurs and the Origins of America's First Pacific Empire
, pp. 20 - 46
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • One Man and No Dog
  • Miles M. Evers, University of Connecticut, Eric Grynaviski, George Washington University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Price of Empire
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396356.002
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  • One Man and No Dog
  • Miles M. Evers, University of Connecticut, Eric Grynaviski, George Washington University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Price of Empire
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396356.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • One Man and No Dog
  • Miles M. Evers, University of Connecticut, Eric Grynaviski, George Washington University, Washington DC
  • Book: The Price of Empire
  • Online publication: 28 March 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009396356.002
Available formats
×