Wanderlust World Wanderlust World In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the United States pursued a Pacific expansion strategy driven by naval power, commerce, and geopolitics. Three island groups were pivotal:
Located roughly halfway between North America and Asia, Midway offered a strategic coaling station and later a critical naval airbase. Its position allowed the U.S. Navy to project power across the central Pacific—decisive in the 1942 Battle of Midway.
The deep, sheltered harbour at Pago Pago was a perfect coaling and repair stop for steamships. The 1899 Tripartite Convention split the islands; the U.S. took the eastern group (American Samoa), securing a foothold in the South Pacific and a stepping stone to the Philippines and Asia.
Hawaii's central location—"Crossroads of the Pacific"—made it the linchpin of U.S. Pacific strategy. Pearl Harbor's vast, defensible anchorage became the home of the Pacific Fleet. The 1898 annexation (after the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy) was driven by sugar interests, naval advocates, and fear of Japanese or British control.
Together, these outposts created a defensive arc and logistical network that underpinned American dominance in the Pacific through World War II and the Cold War.