American imperialism is often said to have begun in 1898, when Cuba and the Philippines were the main prizes. What was new at this time, however, was only that America took control of countries beyond the North American continent. As John Bassett Moore, who had been an assistant secretary of state at that time, later wrote: It is true that the expansion of 1898 involved . the taking of a step geographically in advance of any that had been taken before; but so far as concerns the acquisition of new territory we were merely following a habit which had characterized our entire national existence. This statement is of utmost importance, because it points out that, already in 1898, imperial conquest was a long-standing habit of American policy makers. America had been engaged in expansionism from the outset. 1. The Creation of the American Empire Maintaining that US imperialism began only in 1898 depends on an artificial distinction between "expansionism" and "imperialism," holding that conquests are imperialistic only if a sea has been crossed.

If that distinction were otherwise enforced, the Mongol Empire created by Ghengis Khan and his sons, the most extensive empire created until that time, could not be called an empire. Historians who reject this artificial distinction date the origin of America's empire much earlier. For example, in his important book The Rising American Empire, Richard Van Alstyne reported that "before the middle of the eighteenth century, the concept of an empire that would take in the whole continent was fully formed." The War for Independence, he added, was fought "under the spell of [the] imperial idea . that the continent of North America belonged, as of right, to the people of the thirteen colonies." The right referred to here was a divine right. One way of expressing this sense of divine authorization was to call America the "new Israel." But the phrase that really caught on was "manifest destiny," which John O'Sullivan, urging the annexation of Texas, coined in 1845 to signify the mission of the United States "to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions.

" One problem with this assessment of the divine will, of course, was that "our" millions encountered the millions of people who were already here.