What, in your own words, is imperialism?

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States and several European countries were engaged in a seemingly never-ending quest for territories outside of their own borders in other areas of the world, especially those areas predominately populated by peoples of color. Based on your reading of the text and understanding of the following Political Cartoons, respond to the following in an essay that does the following:
• What, in your own words, is imperialism?
• How do the Cartoons discuss and describe America’s role in the hemisphere and their global power?
• What are the burdens and benefits to forming an Empire?
• What role, if any, did racist beliefs play in the imperialistic policies pursued by the United States and other countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
• You must reference at least THREE of the cartoons, You may simply state which Document you are referencing (for example, in Doc 1…).
• You must use and cite TWO sources as evidence (one can be your textbook but the other must be from an academic source from our library Use books and articles found at our library. You may use jstore and other internet databases do NOT use generic/popular websites like History.com or Wikipedia.com.