Trump wants to go back to the old days when the United States simply grabbed what it wanted in the world.
Almost every American president who served during the 19th century, starting with Thomas Jefferson, mused about annexing Cuba. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward orchestrated the purchase of Alaska, thereby expelling Russian power from North America. Seward also suggested that the United States acquire Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Virgin Islands, Canada, Iceland, and — yes! — Greenland.
A generation passed before the American public was ready to swallow up more foreign territory. During a ravenous 55-day spree in the summer of 1898, the United States seized control of five far-flung lands with a combined population of 11 million: Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. That set off one of the most important debates in the history of the US Congress.
During that debate, Representative William Hepburn of Mississippi reminded his colleagues of a stark truth of American history that is also true for other great nations: “We have not a foot of territory that we have not taken from others.” He asserted that without imperialism, Britain would not be “giving her laws, her literature, and her civilization to the rest of the world.… This same ‘greed,’ this thirst for annexation, this desire for new territory, this passion for extending civilization, has blessed the earth.”
Others, however, were outraged by what they saw as a betrayal of America’s mission of peace and freedom. They agreed that expanding within North America was “manifest destiny” but argued that going further would turn the United States into what the Boston patriarch Charles Ames called “one more bully among bullies.”
Anti-imperialists lost that debate. The United States set off on the path to world power. Trump evidently believes we still aren’t big enough.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, is naturally attractive to the United States. It is an autonomous territory of Denmark but geographically part of North America, so by terms of the Monroe Doctrine — which is supposedly no longer in force — it should not be controlled by any European country. Greenland could also be valuable for geopolitical reasons as competition for the Arctic intensifies. The United States recognized Danish sovereignty over Greenland in 1917, complying with a condition the Danes set for selling us what became the US Virgin Islands. The northernmost American military base, housing a ballistic missile monitoring station, has secured a US presence there since 1941.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom around the world,” Trump declared on Truth Social, “the United States feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
He seems to feel the same way about the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt ordered its construction after staging a bogus revolution that transformed Panama from a province of Colombia into an independent country. Permission to build the canal was his payback. The canal opened in 1914 and remained under American control until 2000. It was turned over to Panama with the condition that it remain perpetually open and neutral.
Trump thinks that was a bad deal. He says the United States is “being ripped off” by Panama and wants the canal back. President José Raúl Mulino of Panama replied that the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to be so.” Trump fired back with a social media post saying, “We’ll see about that!” and another showing an American flag over the canal with the motto “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
Denmark is a NATO ally. Panama is a key part of US plans to curb migration from South America. Nonetheless, Trump doesn’t seem to mind threatening them. He has also mused about sending troops to fight drug gangs in Mexico and said he’d like to enlarge the United States by adding “the Great State of Canada.” The concept of national sovereignty doesn’t seem to appeal to him.
Trump may have plenty of ways to pressure Panama and Denmark into giving him what he wants. But what if they maintain their positions and refuse to bargain away their territories? Any act to seize them by force would horrify many world leaders. It might quietly please some others. After all, if the United States can take territory from weaker countries, it would be difficult to deny the right of Israel, Russia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Turkey, or other land-hungry nations to do the same.
An ancient principle of diplomacy is “pacta sunt servanda” — treaties must be kept. That remains true even if conditions and national leaders change. By signing treaties under which we recognized Danish sovereignty over Greenland and Panamanian sovereignty over the canal, the United States gave its most solemn pledge. Seeking unilaterally to abrogate those treaties would open the way to global anarchy. If that is the price for expanding American power in the world, Trump may be willing to pay it.
Stephen Kinzer is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
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Publish date : 2025-01-01 19:00:00
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