The document discusses whether the US should have been an imperial nation, pointing to several instances where it took on imperial-like behaviors between the late 19th to early 20th century: 1) The US annexed Hawaii in 1898 and sought to establish naval bases like at Pearl Harbor for strategic control of the Pacific. 2) Through its Open Door Policy, the US attempted to maintain influence in China and prevent European powers from dividing it into exclusive spheres of control. 3) As a result of the Spanish-American War, the US gained control of former Spanish colonies like Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, though there was resistance to American rule in some places like the Philippines.