Code Switch Is the U.S. 'empire' beginning to show cracks?
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Apr 18, 2026 
Daniel Immerwahr, historian and author of How to Hide an Empire, explores hidden U.S. colonization and territorial reach. He talks about why Americans deny being imperial, how U.S. bases reshape local economies and law, and whether recent policies are weakening or reshaping American hegemony. The conversation maps history onto current global shifts.
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United States Is A Differently Shaped Empire
- The United States is an empire shaped differently from European models, with territories, holdings, and colonial subjects integrated into its history.
- Daniel Immerwahr discovered U.S. colonial legacies in places like the Philippines and Hawaii that are often omitted from standard U.S. narratives.
Manila Made U.S. Colonization Tangible
- Daniel Immerwahr's trip to Manila revealed physical traces of American rule like streets named after U.S. presidents and transit from Army jeeps.
- That visit transformed abstract knowledge of U.S. rule in the Philippines into a vivid, teachable reality for him.
Colonial Subjects Were Numerically Significant In WWII
- At the start of World War II, more people were U.S. colonial subjects abroad than Black Americans in the U.S., yet those colonies fade from historical consciousness.
- This invisibility shapes how Americans misunderstand events like simultaneous attacks on U.S. territories in 1941.
