Spain used ruthless brutal tactics to bring down the revolt where the U.S intervened due to sympathy for Cuban rebels. During the Spanish American war stories of Cuban righteousness and Spanish brutality were front page. The yellow journalism covered the war extensively and often inaccurately favoring the Cuban rebels but conditions in Cuba were bad enough. After defeating Spain U.S acquired new territories one of them being the Philippines making the United States the “new Spain” .The U.S faced a decision whether they wanted to annex the Philippines or not ultimately approving annexation. In
The war that erupted in 1898 between the United States and Spain was preceded by three years of fighting by Cuban revolutionaries to gain independence from Spanish colonial rule. From 1895–1898, the violent conflict in Cuba captured the attention of Americans because of the economic and political instability that it produced in a region within such close geographical proximity to the United States. The long-held U.S. interest in ridding the Western Hemisphere of European colonial powers and American public outrage over brutal Spanish tactics created much sympathy for the Cuban revolutionaries. By early 1898, tensions between the United States and Spain had been mounting for months. After the U.S. battleship Maine
The Spanish-American War The Spanish-American War was a small conflict between Spain and America that lasted from April to July of 1898. The war was the first step that the United States took to reach a great military and imperial power. A number of factors contributed to the U.S. decision to go to war against Spain. These factors included the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain, the sinking of the U.S Maine and the motivation for American imperialism. As a lot of Americans call it, the Spanish-American war was a splendid little war.
Spanish-American war * In Cuba, then a Spanish colony, angry nationalists known as the insurrectos began a revolt against the ruling Spanish colonial regime. When Spain sent in General "Butcher" Weyler to stabilize the situation in Cuba, he put much of the population in concentration camps. The US, which had many businessmen with investment interests in Cuba, became concerned. * In 1898, the US dispatched the USS Maine on a "friendly" mission to Cuba. The ship was to wait, ready to rescue US citizens who might be endangered by the conflict in Cuba.
Empire & Spanish-American War After the Spanish-American war, the US government understood that the Spanish could not sail through easily. The war left a large destruction especially on the Spanish side. The initial situation affected the economy of the America following lack of market for their produce. The root reforms to the war remain Economic, Geopolitical and Cultural. The Americans had the strong desire of resolving the surplus problem.
In 1902 Cuba becomes independent with Tomas Estrada Palma but the Platt Amendment keeps the island under US protection and gives the US the right to intervene in Cuban affairs. This caused Cuba to become annoyed. In 1909 Jose Gomez becomes president following elections made by the US. This is soon tarred by corruption. In 1912 the US forces return to Cuba to put down black protests against discrimination.
Numerous factors triggered America’s climb into both economic and social expansion. For example, high tariffs were placed on America-made products, which then gave the US a stable and protected trade interest. In addition the Spanish – American war of 1898 was a major turning point in USA expansion. The war was based on the grounds that Cuba (a colony of both America and Spain) had been declaring independence from Spain, and the USA having created the Monroe Doctrine, which supported the Cubans fight for independence from Spain in The USA, was to be involved for what can only be described as for their own best interest, due to Cuba having a oil supply. And on February 15, 1898, the USS Maine sank in Havana, in which an explosion caused 266 deaths.
In 1898 the United States went to war with Spain. But before that, the United States had become more aggressive, expansionistic, and jingoistic than it had been since the 1850’s. Within that time, the United States was on the brink of war Italy, Chile, and Great Britain over three minor incidents in which no American national interest of major importance was involved. William E. Leuchtenburg was known as William Rand Kenan in which he was a professor of history at the University of North Carolina. He explains in his essay that there was no shortage of “aggressive, expansionistic, and jingoistic” feeling in America during the early 1890s.
The USA was influenced to war heavily by Cuba, which was still part of Spain’s American empire, In 1895 Cuba wanted to become independent however it was still under the Spanish control which made it hard to become free. When Cuban nationalists, led by Jose Marti, began a revolt against Spanish rule they were backed by America however they were quickly dealt with by the Spanish army. The president at the time William McKinley also believed in the moral perspective of the Whiteman’s burden so they supported the Cuban population. The harsh methods of the Spanish (to stop the Cuban revolt) were criticised by the Americans, where there was a strong support for American intervention in Cuba. In February 1989 those who were seeking intervention got a big opportunity as the warship, the USS Maine, was blown up whilst stationed on the harbour of Havana.
Should the United States Have Annexed the Philippines? The United States had gone into war with Spain in the summer of 1898. The reason for war was the bad treatment of the Cuban people by their Spanish masters. There was more to the story but the United States quickly became a major power to the world. In the next couple years Cuba was granted a kind of semi-independence and the Philippines Island became another matter.