Why Did The Us Go To War With Spain

650 Words3 Pages
Why did the US go to war with Spain in 1898? The US declared war on Spain for many reasons, many of which appeared to be selfless and helpful however the underlying reason was much more selfish and a way of getting revenge for an act that was blamed on Spain. Yet later found evidence proves that this in fact had nothing to do with Spain, and in fact was a probably a technical fault. Cuba had been a Spanish colony since Columbus’ discovery of the island in 1492, and had been in rebellion for its independence since 1895. The US therefore appeared to help Cuba by declaring war on Spain in order to achieve Cuba’s independence. The New York World and New York Journal competed to publish to most outrageous conditions that the Cubans experienced from the Spanish, including concentration camps. As a result of this the American people were enraged and encouraged Congress to go to war with Spain. Also, similarly to Cuba, the US had sought to gain its own independence from the British, and it only seemed fair to help another country which was trying to achieve the same. For this reason, many Americans thought it appropriate to enact the Monroe Doctrine, which stated efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention. To ensure the US didn’t take control over Cuba, the Teller Amendment was passed which promised that America wouldn’t invade Cuba, which put the Cubans at ease.However the real reasons why the US declared war were in fact to allow America to gain power and protect itself financially. The US in fact had more selfish thoughts, and worried more over the affect Cuban interdependence would have financially on America and its trade, as $50 million were invested in Cuba and 86% of all Cuban exports were sent to the US, and Cuban independence may have
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