All started with the Spanish-American War and our increased presence in the Pacific ocean, which started us on the collision course with Japan. Plus moving Naval resources to the Pacific, made us reliant on the Royal Navy to guard the Atlantic, and thus pulled us into WWI, and all that entailed, during and after.
I like having a powerful Navy. McKinley might b3 called the first neo- con. He believed in bulding an Empire. Tr eas actually LESS Imperialistic. Wilson was a fool. The Cold War was a special case
It marked the first time we engaged in a military campaign to control territory outside the borders of the U.S. without ever intending to annex it as future U.S. states. That’s when the U.S. ended as a nation and officially became an empire.
The die was cast when we annexed Hawaii.