The US's Role In The Spanish American War

The Spanish American war started in 1898 and was a fight for Cuba’s independence which resulted in 379 American casualties in combat. The Spanish American War was justified because of the Monroe Doctrine, Correspondence between the United States and Spain, and the Platt Amendment, which were all created to protect American morals and freedom.

The Spanish-American War was known as the beginning process to the United States establishing itself as a world super power. This would be the beginning to becoming a strong and powerful Empire. This process to building a powerful Empire is something that America has built up for hundreds of years.

On April 19th, 1898, The United States impulsively waged a war with imperialist Spain that would forever change our country for better and for worse. There are many different factors that led to the war, but in my opinion, one key cause is of much greater importance than the others. As a result of the war, American became known as an imperialistic nation and a world power. How could such a “little” war have such a large impact on American society at the turn of the 20th century?

The Spanish-American War began as a humanitarian effort to free Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp and ended with the United States itself acquiring territory overseas and fighting a dirty guerrilla war with Filipino nationalists who, like the Cubans, sought independence. Behind the contradiction stood the twin pillars of American foreign policy: The Monroe Doctrine made Spain’s presence in Cuba unacceptable, and U.S. determination to keep open the door to Asia made the Philippines attractive as a stepping-stone to China.

Even though the United States Originally thought about the idea of expanding its economic, military, and culture beliefs on other countries during the 1840’s, known as the Manifest Destiny theory, it did not take foot until the Age of Imperialism during 1890’s. Reasons for this is because of the destructive forces from the Civil War, as well as the industrial revolution (Small Planet, n.d.). The United States was currently trying

American imperialism of the late 1800s and early 1900s demonstrated the same cultural and social justification of previous expansionism. The original doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which emerged in the 1840s to accompany westward continental expansion, advocated a belief that America was destined by God to expand its borders across the continent. For the most part, the United States’ need for more land was primarily to keep other nations (mainly European powers) out of the western hemisphere. The United States continued to expand westward and gain land. After a war with Mexico over the rights to Texas, the country gained much of the southwest including the land of California. They also gained the Oregon

The Spanish-American war consisted of a series of influential battles that pitted America and many of Spain’s colonies against Spanish rule, and ended with Spain losing its colonies and America gaining control over more and more land. In 1898, America joined a war being pit against Spain to force the Spanish to relinquish all control of their colonies, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. This same war ended only a few months later, with Spain suffering huge losses and America gaining money and territories. The Spanish American war could be split into three main points of interest: How and why the Spanish American war started, The battles of Manila, Santiago de Cuba, Asomante, and Las Guasimas ( And the Rough Riders) , and the aftermath of the war. One of the most interesting territories was Cuba. Although the Spanish american war was not a long and costly war, it changed many people's lives indefinitely.

The Spanish-American War of 1898 could be seen as the pivotal point in foreign policy as it marks America’s first engagement with a foreign enemy in the dawning age of modern warfare however, one could also argue that the idea had always existed in American politics.

During the twentieth century the United States of America became involved with three major conflicts that resulted in the nation shifting from a regional power into a global power. Through these conflicts the United States grew territorially, economically and industrially. Foreign policies were altered to allow the United States to gain ground on the world stage and to make their mark on the world. Through careful analysis of primary sources and scholarly document s it is clear to see that the United States involvement in the Spanish American war was the first step for the United States to grow on the world stage. The American victory in the war led to the acquisition of island territories and expanded economic and military capabilities in the both the western and eastern hemisphere as well as an increased involvement in Asia. World War I ended with American democratic ideals to be spread all across Europe. Led by President Woodrow Wilson, the United States led a one sided foreign policy that used intervention, peace treaties and military intervention to endorse international order. Despite a limited role in the war President Wilson was able to outline the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations and both of their presences can be found today.

The Spanish American War started in 1898 and lasted about four months. Although the war might have seemed focused on freeing Cuba from Spain and gaining independence for Cuba and the Philippines, it was actually stimulated by nationalism and commercialism. Commercialism was a major factor when declaring war because the United States depended on Cuba and the Philippines for trade and business with other countries, especially in Asia and Latin America. Another major factor for the war was that the United States wanted to spread its Anglo-Saxon culture around the world and emerge as a world-wide power. Other minor motives for the war include the United States coming to the aid of the Cubans in their revolt against Spain and the feeling that

The start of the Spanish-American war also marked something bigger- American entry into world affairs. Since then, the U.S. has continued to have a significant hand in various conflicts around the world, and has entered many other treaties and agreements. In 1914, at the start of World War I (WWI), President Woodrow Wilson, in a declaration of neutrality, vowed to keep America out of the war. Inspite of this, Americans were spurred on by German aggression, violation of international law, and protecting economic interests. The U.S. had entered the war, creating a major turning point. The war ended with Germany's defeat. As a determining force in the victory of the war, America became almost soley in charge of creating a post-war agenda. But,

The Manifest Destiny was the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. Manifest Destiny was mainly accomplished by the Monroe Doctrine, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican-American War, but we were not a true continental power yet. After 1850, the Civil War, westward expansion, and the rise of big business made the United States a true continental power.

In the 1890's, the Isolationist movement took a back seat and American foreign policy followed heavy Expansionism. After the total expansion into the west, Americans perceived notion of Manifest Destiny changed. They believed that since they were superior to other nations, their policy needed to change from just territorial acquisition within its borders, to outside. The United States had to

One hundred years ago, in 1898, the United States was fighting the Spanish-American War. The victory over Spain made the United States a colonial power. The Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, as well as the formerly independent nation of Hawaii, became American possessions.

"American imperialism in 1898 was not a sudden abandonment of anti-colonial tradition but was a logical extension of commercial expansion, something the US had been doing throughout its history" (SparkNotes: The Spanish American War, 1898-1901,: Effects of the Treaty). President McKinley was not interested in wars of conquest or of territorial aggression. His interest in expansion was "to make the United States first in international commerce and as a means to implement its humanitarian and democratic goals" (Faragher, J., Buhle, M. J., & Armitage, S. H. ,2008, Out of Many, A History of the American People, 6th ed., Vol. 2, p. 561). McKinley would eventually be forced to act in a humanitarian effort for the people of Cuba and to protect