Did the founders of America consider that one day our country might become an empire?

There was no shortage to to references to the Roman Republic in early American lit. That the Roman Republic fell and cratered into plutocracy and empire could not have been lost on the ‘Founders.’ I would question, though, whether this had ever been considered a bad thing.

If they did, they should have compared it to the Romans. That empire failed and so will this one if it keeps on the current road to failure and destruction that it’s presently travelling down.

There was an intent to expand over the North American continent, but no further. It was the stated policy of administrations up until 1917 to stay out of “European squabbles”. The Monroe Doctrine established a “sphere of influence” in the Americas, but went no further. The first grab at territory outside North America was the eastern half of the Samoa island group in 1885 (almost went to war with Germany over that, the British brokered the settlement). In 1898 the US grabbed Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam from Spain, also overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy and grabbed those islands.

There are many examples of the Founders writing about “this rising empire…”. They knew all about Rome and about writers such as Montesquieu and took all of that into consideration when trying to guide things to happen in a better way than what had gone before.

Books have been written about this. The Founders didn’t all think as one single bloc. For a relatively short (yet entertaining) one that attempts to take on some of these issues, and which quotes heavily from the Founders’ legislation, letters, the Federalist papers, etc., I recommend What Would The Founders Do?.

@Ltryptophan Surely the ”founders” that you mention are just a convenient adopted delusion for the occupiers of someone else’s land (judging by all the rules that denote such a designation). Don’t get me wrong because I love all the good things that you occupiers have done and become. But let’s not pretend that you are based in some Country . Or that any of us are for that matter. The time of these clumsy, artificial divisions is now passed. We are now planetary people in terms of our awareness. Planetary people. Enough of these silly divisions. We are one people.
If you don’t yet feel this, then you are out of touch with the reality of today.

well, @lloydbird we got divisions whether you’re feelin’ them or not! We r planetary people! That is stupid to say! Think of it this way instead, if you have a family and one person has a hatchet and is running around trying to whack the kids, well ya gotta stop the hatchet guy even if he’s uncle roy, ok?

And who gets to stop uncle roy, well the person in the family with the nuts and the ability to go stop the guy with the hatchet.

That would be us. Lloydchicken. When the day comes that the world doesn’t need a nanny then you can write of empires. Until then peace has to be won, by blood sweat tears, and putting peoples faces in the mud with your boots. Order, brother, order. New…world….order…. Not new world everyone running around free with flowers. Just not the way it is. Until you feel that you just aren’t living on the same planet as me!

When you say founders of America I assume you mean the framers of our constitution. I don’t think the framers of our constitution actually intended for there to be an American Empire that practices its own modern form of Imperialism. They quoted successes from other empires because many contributed to the birth and spread of the type of republic they were seeking to establish. I think if they saw what was going on today as far as the growth of federal powers, increasing limits on personal freedoms, and “imperialistic exploitation” of the developing world they would turn over in their graves.

I say let the good times roll….

A superpower is not the same as an empire.

@Ltryptophan “Lloydchicken”? }:-( ...?

@lloydbird lol chickens are birds…. so sorry, sincerely

@Ltryptophan That’s ok, I’m almost over it now. ;-)