What are the two ways the U.S expanded it's influence in the pacific?
150505
There are probably more than 2 ways. It depends on what time frame we are talking about. Here are some potential ways the US expanded its Pacific influence:\n\n1. Admiral Perry opened up Japanese Ports 1853.\n2. The US defeated Japan in WWII.\n3. The US took over Hawaii. \n4. The US took over Spanish possessions in the Phillipines etc. \n5. The US completed the Panama Canal. \n6. US merchants supplied opium to China\n7. The US supported South Korea in its war with North Korea\n8. The US purchased Alaska\n9. The US acquired California\n\nand so on.
329515
In the central Pacific, the role of the Hawaii-based 7th Air Force had been primarily a defensive one and after the Battle of Midway, the enemy had made no serious effort to advance in that theater. But, by late 1943 as growing U.S. naval strength permitted a more aggressive strategy in the central Pacific, the 7th's aircraft regularly were sent to "soften up" those islands scheduled for amphibious assault or to neutralize enemy forces on those islands of little strategic value which were to be bypassed by Allied forces island-hopping through the Gilbert and Marshall islands. Missions often were flown against targets more than a thousand miles away and operational difficulties proved more of a hazard than enemy opposition. When bases and targets were mere pinpoints in a vast ocean, any appreciable error in navigation meant ditching at sea with a good chance of never being rescued.
395978
Click and Paste is great, but it just shows you don't understand what you are answering.\n\nThe primary reason for Japan attacking the US fleet at Pearl Harbor is because Deterrence as a long-term source for peace simply does NOT work. By imposing trade sanctions against Japan and the concentrating both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets at Pearl Harbor, the US wanted to send the message "if you do anything, we will destroy you." The message the Japanese received was "if we DON'T do anything the Americans will destroy us!"\n\nJust like Vietnam, the US was drawn into World War II by trying to prop up a dying European colonial empire, again it was France. When Germany destroyed France in June of 1940 the new government was called Vichy France because the city of Vichy was the only unoccupied city that could handle the number of bureaucrats in the French government. When General De Gaulle ran away leaving his fellow countrymen to face slavery and humiliation, he began politically luring some of the French posessions to follow him. In early 1941, the island of New Caledonia had a coup which ousted the Vichy governor and installed a Free French administration. Japan, which had already made an agreement with the Vichy government in Indochina to occupy what is now Laos and North Vietnam to stop supplies from reaching the Chinese army, decided it must act before a similar event took Indochina out of their reach as well. Japan launched an amphibious invasion of all of Indochina. This is the reason for the economic sanctions against Japan.\n\nJapan knew it could not hope to win a long war, simply because of the logistical problems involved. As a small island nation, not only did Japan have to import almost all of its natural resources, but almost half of those resources arrived via cargo ships flying American, British and Dutch flags. Japan's economy was already realing from the huge expense of building a gigantic military and a modern navy (and, like the USA, cheating on the restrictions!). Any sort of long embargo from America would surely send Japan back into Depression, but any sort of political retreat would surely provoke the Japanese military to once again seize power like they did in the early 1930's. By destroying the combined fleet at Pearl Harbor at one blow, along with the British and Dutch posessions in the western Pacific, Japan felt they could be in such a strong position that they could dictate terms to America before she was able to recover. As Admiral Yamamoto had said, for the first six months I can run wild through the Pacific, but after that I can promise nothing.\n\nJapan's problem was that the strike force sent to Pearl Harbor was able to inflict severe damage on the actual fleet but was simply not strong enough to do the sort of damage to Pearl Harbor's logistical capabilities that was necessary (the dry docks, the repair shops, the fuel storage tanks, etc). By leaving Pearl Harbor relatively untouched, America's distance to strike back at Japan was cut more than in half. If the US Navy had to work out of San Francisco rather than Pearl Harbor in 1942, it would have been a drastically different war!\n\nAnd don't EVEN get me started on the ridiculousness of the FDR "conspiracy" to get Pearl Harbor bombed so the USA could enter the war. The vein in my forehead is pulsing again!
342821
it helped delay Japanese advancement through the Phillippines and through the Pacific as a whole, which possibly could have saved Australia from a potential invasion by Japansese forces.  \n\nIt gave time for the US to get their fleet back in order to continue the war, and it cost the Japansese some of their finest troops.
141398
the atlantic is growing, the pacific is shrinking.
660342
Dollar Diplomacy. Started by President Taft. But the U.S. doesn't/can't just keep printing more money. It doesn't work like that. I wouldn't call it "fooling other countries" though. It's more like investing in what the U.S. wants.
838207
Their placement is strategically important.  They can mobilize to any confrontation in the eastern hemisphere.  It's important for the US to have a large military presence that's across the Atlantic and the Pacific.
470985
There wasn't much of a coherent argument. People were scared because of the Panic of 1893 that the US was running out of natural resources and capital, and businesses feared that they would need to have new land to be able to be competitive in the industrial world. The actual expansion that took place was justified by accusations that Spain was abusing its colonies, and so we had a moral obligation to come to their aid, but that's clearly not why we went to war with Spain.
381162
First, understand the Monroe Doctrine, formulated by President Monroe: that the US is the dominant power in the Americas, and that European powers should not interfere in and dominate the countries in North and South America.\n\nThe Roosevelt Collary is that the US would become a police power in the region, and that the US *would* interfere. It's related to the statement about speaking softly and carrying a big stick.\n\nIt was replaced by FDR, with the Good Neighbor Policy, in 1934.
532549
I assume you meant if the attack had not of happened.\n\nThe answer is Yes. Japan was coaxed into attacking Pearl Harbor by the US. We had been blockading Japanese trade routes with  Navy ships prior to the attack. It could be argued that the attack on Pearl Harbor was justified, given the circumstances (though the reasons for the blockade and Japanese aggression in Asia should also be mentioned).\n\nThe War in the Pacific against Japan and the War in Europe against Germany were two separate wars. Japan and Germany were loose allies, primarily because of their common enemy. They did have some similar policies - namely, belief in their own racial superiority and the desire to expand their empires - but they would've eventually been enemies if the outcome of WWII was different.\n\n---------------\n\nOne additional point: The US Government WANTED war with Japan because they were adversely affecting our interests in Asia. However, the US was just recovering from the Great Depression, and World War I was still fresh in the public's mind. There was no public support to go to war in either Europe or the Pacific. The attack on Pearl Harbor changed that very quickly.\n\nDoes that sound similar to, say, 9/11 and WMD's in Iraq? Figure that out for yourself!
578381
WWII and Hirosima and Nagaski bombing.\nWWII established US's superiority in the world, and A-bomb started the cold war, which shaped US policy for 50 years and caused the technological progress that we are enjoying today.
271933
The Japanese movement into the Southern Resources Area (Phillipines, Dutch East Indies).  The campaign in New Guinea.  The Solomon Islands.  The Central Pacific drive by the US (Marianas and Marshalls), the Southwest Pacific drive by MacArthur's forces (New Guinea, the Palaus), both drives culminating in the Phillipines.  Then the campaigns against Iwo Jima and Okinawa, concurrent with the bombing campaign against the home islands by USAAF and USN aircraft, and the submarine campaign.  \n\nToo many to list to go into detail.............
129768
Protection of shipping/trade routes.  Imperialism was beginning to come to an end.  The small island nations that would become territorties or puppet regimes of the U.S. were used as docking/filling stations for the Navy and commericial ships of the U.s.
692121
Its a new form of colonisation i suppose. The more countries u get under the USA's influence, the more trade oppurtunities it brings to the US.\n\nEven when it comes to wars sponsored by the US, the weapons and equipment brings in money, not only to the economy but to the poilticiens as well.
1012644
probably a little bit of both.  It is indeed a growing power but has many problems that it faces.  The outcome will depend on how the problems are dealt with and whether the growth is fostered.
747087
In the old times it was  by fighting and killing the invaders.  Now if any nation wants to get  liberty and there is resistance, they have to try to move the world's opinion and make it clear of the situation that exists in the subdued country. By pacific ways is the only alternative today, which is better but almost impossible to obtain results  as long as there is no  real purpose to make a decision. The wise manipulation of  the public opinion that is possible today makes this proposition almost impossible \nThe invader will pretend to hear the affected nation but nothing will be done.The United Nations is not functional. It is organized in such a way that the power lies on a small group of large nations which protect their interests among them. The power of the weaker nations is nil.  They may only get honorary positions there.  As long as there is an economic or strategic interest on the other nation they will stay there and get the lion's share. They will try by all means to change the opinion in the subdued nation  by several ways including bringing in their people to displace the natives and making them feel inferior. In Alaska the proportion of non native able voters was overwhelming over the natives.  It does not matter whether the subdued country is friendly or not.  George Washington is a hero now but if the war against England would have been lost he would have been classified in a very offensive way.by the English and the local conservatives. He may have even suffered serious sanctions.
46305
historical and geopolitical reasons.  \n\nfirst, during world war 2, the united states found itself allied with the chinese nationalist movement (kuomintang) headed by chiang kai-shek, because they had a common enemy in japan.  american airplanes bombed japanese targets in manchuria in support of kuomintang offensives and the kuomintang provided logistical support to american troops in the region.\n\nafter the war the united states continued to support the kuomintang government during the communist revolution.  mao's communists defeated the kuomintang who retreated to taiwan, where they have remained a powerful political party to this day.  this continued alliance was natural for the US, which believed itself to be engaged in a "global struggle against communism" from the fifties up through '89.\n\nwith wars in korea and vietnam, having an ally in asia was important to maintaining the global reach of the american military.  taiwan is highly dependent on american protection; without american warships lurking in the china sea and US-supplied weapons, they probably would have been overrun long ago.  this has paid off nicely for taiwan, which has reaped considerable economic benefits from the close relationship with the US.\n\nthese days the protection given to taiwan can be seen as one of loyalty, but a more practical reason is that the US government needs allies around the world to conduct its military operations, particularly in areas like the middle east and SE asia.  also, there is a genuine belief in the US that open, democratic societies should be protected and nurtured; so the threat of military reprisal is used in places like israel, taiwan and south korea that would probably otherwise be taken under by hostile neighbors.