American Commodities in an Age of Empire

American Commodities in an Age of Empire is a novel interpretation of the relationship between consumerism, commercialism, and imperialism during the first empire building ear of America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Unlike other empires in history, which were typically built on military power, the first American empire was primarily a commercial one, dedicated to pushing products overseas and dominating foreign markets. While the American government was important, it was the great capitalist firms of America - Heinz, Singer, McCormick, Kodak, Standard Oil - that drove the imperial process, explicitly linking the purchase of consumer goods overseas with "civilization" Their persistent message to America's prospective customers was, "buy American products and join the march of progress." American Commodities in an Age of Empire also explores how the images of peoples overseas conveyed through goods elevated America's sense of itself in the world. As well, the racial and gendered messages apparent in ads for sewing machines, processed food, and agricultural tools were foundational to the development of American imperialism and to American identity. That vision continues to shape American imperialism up to the present. A bold new interpretation of the commercial roots of American global power, American Commodities in an Age of Empire does for the cultural dimensions of America imperialism what Anne McClintock did for British imperialism in her classic Imperial Leather.