The US at the time.

Through the age of imperialism in Europe, powers were spread around the world. The United
States, being a world power, would not give up the opportunity to expand control other weaker countries. The US was quite powerful, but was looking to continue to spread their territory, make themselves even stronger, and have multiple trade routes to have all the resources they needed and wanted.

There were three major policies that the US used during this era. The big policies used by the US during this period were the "Big Stick" policy, social darwinism, and "the white mans burden". These were tools used to fuel the imperialistic boat around the Atlantic and across the Pacific oceans. 

 To the left is a cartoon appealing to the anti-imperialism culture of the US as the natives of north america tell of what happened to them when they were promised prosperity by the colonists to those of the Philippines. 

The decision to annex the Philippines was not without domestic controversy. Americans who advocated annexation evinced a variety of motivations. The desire for commercial opportunities in Asia, concern that the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule, and fear that if the United States did not take control of the islands, another power (such as Germany or Japan) might do so. However, American opposition to U.S. colonial rule of the Philippines came in many forms, ranging from those who thought it morally wrong for the United States to be engaged in colonialism, to those who feared that annexation might eventually permit the non-white Filipinos to have a role in American national government. Others were wholly unconcerned about the moral or racial implications of imperialism. This was the white mans burden to care for a lesser country in the midst of stronger opponents in search of this land as well. To the right is "The Battle of Manila" in 1899 help push public opinion in America toward taking possession of the Philippines.

Interest in Hawaii began in America as early as the 1820s, when New England missionaries tried in earnest to spread their faith. Since the 1840s, keeping European powers out of Hawaii became a principal foreign policy goal. Americans acquired a true foothold in Hawaii as a result of the Sugar trade. The United States government provided generous terms to Hawaiian sugar growers, and after the Civil War, profits began to swell. A turning point in U.S.-Hawaiian relations occurred in 1890, when Congress approved the McKinley  Tariff, which raised import rates on foreign sugar. Hawaiian sugar planters were now being undersold in the American market, and as a result, a depression swept the islands. The sugar growers, mostly white Americans, knew that if Hawaii were to be Annexed by the United States, the tariff problem would naturally disappear. At the same time, the Hawaiian throne was passed to Queen Liliuokalani, who determined that the root of Hawaii's problems was foreign interference. So a revolt would take place by the people of Hawaii. In January 1893, the planters staged an uprising to overthrow the Queen. At the same time, they appealed to the United States armed forces for protection. Without Presidential approval, marines stormed the islands, and the American minister to the islands raised the stars and stripes in Honolulu.