American Imperialism In The United States Into The War Of 1898

The subject of American imperialism spans much of history starting from the early nineteenth century. By the end of the nineteenth century American religious imperialism was at an all-time high. The reasoning for this peak of religious imperialism and the effects of it varied depending on the country or region that the United States had focused their attention towards. Many historians focus on the events of the War of 1898, formerly called the Spanish-American War, which involved Cuba breaking away from the control of the Spanish empire while fighting for independence. The involvement of the United States into the war of 1898 started with concerns for the Cuban population expressed through political actions towards Spain, instead of beginning
White Man’s Burden, a burden from the white man to save the brown and intervene in order to try and save a culture from suffering was being used as justification for American intervention. The application of White Man’s Burden into the events of 1898 allows scholars to set the stage for gaining a better understanding of the justifications used for American imperialists
draws from research that involves the issues of White Man’s burden in his book, The War of 1898 (Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1998), Perez states that the events of 1898 helped create a sense of nation and nationality in America due to their need to intervene in the events regarding Spain and Cuba. His book explores the complex relationship between Cuba and the United States. The U.S. had decided that if Spain did not control Cuba then by default it would fall into the hands of the United States. This would ensure U.S. security by making the union complete. It would also limit the Cubans ability to govern themselves, even though they had begged for independence. Americans would suppress the Cuban want for independence and use it as a sign for American intervention in conjunction with White Man’s burden. Perez says, “The United States could hardly release Cuba into the family of nations so utterly ill-prepared for responsibilities in self-government.” Americans used the concept of White Man’s burden to expand their want for economic capital. The use of the White Man’s burden to provide justification of American imperialism is used as a basis for Perez, and is seen as a staple in Matthew McCullough’s argument even though they diverge into different conclusions. McCullough’s argument focuses on the religious intervention done through missionaries in order to spread American morals. Whereas Perez views the application of White Man’s