Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify a link between nineteenth-century American imperialism in Latin America and the budding field of a profit-based media. Specific emphasis is placed on the formation and success of a profit-based circulation media industry during an era in which the wheels for an American Empire were first put into motion. This media was utilized to provide a sense of justification and rationalization for the obviously-aggressive actions of its own nation. It is my assertion, though, that the media was a passive agent in this process, reflecting representations that its audience desired in order to rationalize imperialism, rather than actively shaping public views. While both the media's place within the domestic and foreign policy of the United States since the Spanish-American War and American portrayals of Latin America have been well-documented, there has been considerably less attention given to this connection prior to 1898. Using extensive primary and secondary resources as a springboard for the creation of a theoretical framework, this thesis represents an effort to expand understanding of the connection between culture and imperialism during the early formative years of the American Empire, and the manner in which American society used the media as a tool to justify its own imperialistic actions.