Orientalism functioned as fuel for colonial conquest before American independence.

Evidence

Orientalism was essential to Europe’s colonialist, imperialist project; it was the fuel without which foreign conquest into Muslim-majority nations could not have run—and the early colonists carried it with them into what would become known as the United States. Orientalist discourses have shaped state policy since before American independence. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 162

Categorization

• XREF: Colonists carrying Orientalism to the U.S. maps onto Rana’s ‘twice-born’ account of the American racial apparatus. — connects to: Orientalism began as discourse before hardening into material institutions and state policy. — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 160; US post-war hegemony repurposed Orientalism and modernization theory to justify empire. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 28; Nineteenth-century Orientalism essentialized Muslims as intrinsically inferior during colonial expansion. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 201 (+5 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 162

Broader Connections

• US post-war hegemony repurposed Orientalism and modernization theory to justify empire. #expands (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 28
• Orientalism supplied the pre-existing tropes that the War on Terror redeployed against Muslims #expands (0.70)
• Nineteenth-century Orientalism essentialized Muslims as intrinsically inferior during colonial expansion. #corroborates (0.65) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 201