The Conquest of the United States by Spain

The Conquest of the United States by Spain by William Graham Sumner

“The great foe of democracy now and in the near future is plutocracy. Every year that passes brings out this antagonism more distinctly.”(1, Sumner)

The definition of a plutocracy is as follows; A plutocracy is a form of government where the state's power is centralized in an affluent social class. The degree of economic inequality is high while the level of social mobility is low.

This summarizes Sumners argument the best, he feared that the imperialism and expansionism that began to take place in the United States following the War of 1898 would lead to the end of democracy. He foolishly believed that the United States would have been able to sustain as a democratic system without the military actions and expansions we took in the beginning of the 20th century. He also seemed to state that there would be a elite ruling class and everyone else would suffer and be poor if we allowed “militarism and imperialism” to take place. He implies that Spain actually won the war because he thinks that ultimately our victory will lead to a loss of democracy in the end.