Discuss The Causes Of The Spanish-American War

There were several causes of the Philippine-American war. One of the most noticeable was that during the Spanish-American war, the U.S. promised the Philippines independence after the war’s end. (At this time, the Philippines were a Spanish colony) However, after the war, Spain sold the Philippines to America for $20,000,000, as stated in the Treaty of Paris. Filipino nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo, to whom the U.S had earlier promised his nation’s independence, was righteously enraged upon learning this. Another cause that contributed was the contrasting viewpoints of America and the Philippines. Americans wanted a way to get in on business opportunities in Asia, and believed that if they didn’t take control of the Philippines, another power
would. Meanwhile, the Filipinos wanted a chance to explore their rights and freedoms as an independent nation. When this independent spirit encountered American colonialism, it became one of the primary causes of the Philippine-American war. All in all, the Philippine-American war had many causes, which included the Treaty of Paris and the fact that most Filipinos wanted and had been promised independence, then had it snatched away from them.