Which best represents Alfred Thayer Mahan’s position on US imperialism in the late 1800s? Maintaining a strong navy was important for defense, rather than using resources for colonization. Choosing not to establish colonies would prevent the need for a strong navy, saving US resources. Establishing diplomatic ties with nations around the world would ensure support for a strong US navy. Establishing a strong navy would help the US establish colonies, which would keep the navy strong.

Establishing a strong navy would help the US establish colonies, which would keep the navy strong.

Explanation:

Alfred T. Mahan was a historian and theorist in American geopolitics, the main instigator of the formation of the United States as a naval power.

Mahan developed his theories in the latter part of the 1880s, when the British Empire was in all its glory. Analyzing the power of Great Britain, Mahan identified that the main dominance factor of this empire was its extensive naval capacity and its network of ports distributed around the world, which gave it almost immediate response capacity in any sector of the planet. This in turn acted as a major deterrent, which had implications not only on the military side, but also on the trade and political relations of the British Empire.

Thus, Mahan established that for the United States to achieve the same power, they must expand their naval capacity and establish ports or colonies in different strategic places on the planet. Under this theory was that the United States acquired Hawaii, the Panama Canal and Puerto Rico, expanding its strategic presence in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.