Hi Dan

You caught me at home time yesterday, and I see this has opened up a lively little debate.

My point was not that the US is an aggressive imperialistic nation, in modern times, but that the fact of its existence shows that it was, and it has never had to relinquish its empire. I refer mainly to the founder states of the union, that gradually spread out, taking more and more land from the indigenous people, till a whole continent had been conquered, from sea to shining sea, carved up into states like Africa had/has been. Russia did a similar thing, but she carried on during the 20th century, till most people thought of the USSR as synonymous with Russia.

GB did all it's acquiring in the last few centuries but not the 20th, but we never managed to conquer a whole continent, similarly France, Portugal, Spain. All these have practically had to give up all these possessions.

Americans spread out from the original eastern seaboard states and took all the land. But it was never called the American Empire, conveniently the USA. If you think it was all fair, equitable and dandy then read "Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee". Whatever happened to the Iroquois, Mohicans, etc. even in the very early days of settlement? But of course, it wasn't the USA back then, more a British colony.

Terry



>OK, Terry, I'll open. And, since people that get paid to think about things like this, let me quote a few websites:
>
>Is the U.S. an Empire? By Paul Schroeder:
>...