Spanish American War Research Paper

Although there are many reasons why the Spanish-American war took place, the most important was Spain's resentment of Cuba's desire to also become an independent nation. Since Cuba was one of Spain's last territories, they were unwilling to allow independence. As a result, conflict between the two parties erupted. Since Cuba was smaller and less equipped to fight than Spain, their economy took a tumble. Due to the fact that the United States had a great deal of money invested in Cuba's sugar resources, many Americans felt the need to wage war. Additionally, there were separate events that caused anger to American Citizens. One such event was the destruction of a U.S. ship used to protect the American citizens in Cuba. Although the ship's

In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was published by president James Monroe that stated that any effort of European nations to try to colonialize any parts of North America or South America would be seen as unfriendly by the United States. The expansion of the Monroe Doctrine to include Olney Corollary which said that it gave the U.S authority to mediate conflicts in its own hemisphere This corollary foreshadowed the the events of the Spanish-American War because which ended in 1898 with the Spanish ceding the Philippines and Cuba. The need for the United States to gain territory and intervene led to the war with the Philippines because after the Philippines was ceded to the United States, the Philippines didn’t want another colonial ruler so they sought independence by a war with the United States (Engel, Lawrence and Preston, 47). Imperialism caused the U.S to intervene with the Spanish which then angered the Filipino because they didn’t want a new colonial ruler. The Philippines created an opportunity to project American power into the pacific. With the Filipino leader, Aguinaldo, as president demanded independence but Washington refused so Aguinaldo declared war. The U.S didn’t want to give land away that they just received as well as the Philippines was considered a hotspot because it would allow the U.S to refuel on their long journeys back from Asia

Spanish - American WarTopic: Spanish American WarQuestion: How did the Spanish - American war start?Thesis: Getting treated badly by one another.The causes of the Spanish-American War relates directly to Cuba, and the sinking of the ships such as the U.S.S. Maine. 1In 1895, Cuba was extremely out of control and not organized at all , and was beginning to go against Spain. The American people were very disgusted in the way the cuban citizens were treated and by the way the Spanish treat the Cubans in the beginning of the Spanish - American war. The Cuban’s soon adopted a conception that the more damage that they did to the Cuban mainland, the faster the Spanish would leave Cuba, and the Americans would then help the Cubans to win their independence against the Spain. After they win their independence they would then be free without being mistreated by the Spaniards.The Americans soon came to Cuba in a try to help and assist the Cubans in their fight for freedom.2 The Spanish intervention with Cuba threatened the trade routes that America had near, and with Cuba. By helping the Cuban’s America would be saving itselfs economy because this would be the way to greatness . During this time you must remember that the U.S had a new and 1 https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/2 https://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/printable/section.asp?id=7

The Spanish-American War was considered short lived and relatively mild in terms of American casualties compared to the many wars that our nation has fought. However, it served as a historical marker that set the imperialistic momentum of our nation. It played a significant role in our nation’s strategic move towards acquiring trade routes and further strengthened our naval power. Throughout my research paper I will touch on what led to the Cuban revolution against Spain, America’s political climate at the time, and why our nation eventually decided to intervene and aid the Cubans in their fight for independence.

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 first reason for the Spanish American War was public opinion. In 1895, American citizens took notice of a Cuban revolt against their corrupt Spanish oppressor. The Cuban insurgents reasoned that if they did enough damage , the US might move in and help the

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.

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

This had worked for many many years, but times had changed and the U.S grew both in power and economically. Ideas such as social Darwinism-survival of the fittest-, nationalism-loyalty and support of one’s country-, and imperialism-a stronger nation extending its power by inhabiting a weaker country-supported overseas expansion. The major turning point for the United States was the Spanish- American war, in which America intervened in the conflict between Cuba and Spain. Cuba was controlled by Spain, but Cuba wanted to gain independence.

Though after the Spanish-American War, Hawaii was able to gain attention as expansionists envisioned ships sailing from the eastern seaboard through a Central American canal to Hawaii and then on to China. It took President McKinley to successfully maneuvered annexation through Congress by means of a majority vote. Cuba was also played a part in American foreign affairs during the turn of the century. After the United States imposed the Wilson-German Tariff, Cuba, depending on imports heavily, fell in to a deep economic crisis. This caused the Cubans to launch a revolution in 1895. Though the Spanish government did provide modified reconcentration and promised some autonomy for Cuba. President McKinley was a known imperialist that wanted independence of Cuba achieved without an U.S. war if possible. Though the revolution seemed to have no end, so the U.S. set the battleship Maine to demonstrate U.S. concern and protection for Americans in Cuba. After its explosion, the U.S. declared war on Spain. The U.S. forces would quickly defeat the Spanish in Cuba and also in the Philippines. The U.S. took the Philippines saying that it was a Spanish colony even though the war was going on in another hemisphere. There were also other incidences in other parts of the world. The U.S. asked China to keep an Open Door policy. This meant that China had to respect the principle of equal trade opportunity for all nations in their spheres of influence. This caused the Boxers to hold

After that Congress declare war to Spain. For the Americans, USA went to war to help the Cuba people and make the American rest assure in mind peace and to end economic instability. However, the real reason was to gain territory in Cuba and the Caribbean

The excuse for entering the war was the rebellion by the Cubans against Spanish rule and the explosion of an American battleship U.S.S. Maine. The Spanish colonies in mainland North and South America became independent in the early 1800s, but Cuba and Puerto Rico remained Spanish. Many Americans in the U.S. sympathized with Cuba, which began in 1895, and also, maybe more importantly, U.S. citizens

Many events led to the U.S. changing from an Isolationist country into an Imperialist country, such as the Spanish American War, the Open Doors Policy, and the American Philippine War. One of the factors that led to America becoming an imperialist power was the Spanish American War. The Spanish American war was a war between the United States and Spain, the United states supporting Cuba for their independence. The event that led to the war was the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana, which was supposedly an internal explosion, not caused by an attack, but Yellow Journalism, or fake news, led to the American public calling for war and the President calling for Spain to free Cuba.

Another reason I think caused the war is the US wanted Cuba and the Philippines and Spain controlled. The Americans wanted but Spain didn’t want America to have them. A third reason is the US needed Cuba so nobody could sneak attack them. I think this cause was fear because they didn’t want Spain or anybody else to attack them. The conflict between the United States and Spain over the Spanish American war was caused by Jealousy, fear and, most importantly, miscommunication.

The Spanish-American War was fought mainly for economic reasons. The United States' primary motivation for entering the war was “purely economic” (Spanish-American War). The United States had a vested interest in Cuba – almost fifty million dollars invested in the island nation. Additionally, America had a sound trade history with Cuba: trading more with the Spanish colony than its motherland (Cuba). The rotting Spanish Empire provided a hindrance to American business interests. Tariffs and trade fees were especially troublesome to American businessmen. After the war, America had successfully the profitability of their investments. This was done through the Platt Amendment. This amendment had essentially dictated Cuba's economic policy: allowing Americans to check Cuban national debt and foreign treaties (Platt Amendment).