How Did The Us Influence The Cuban-Filipino War

The United States became a key influence in the Cuban-Filipino war of 1898 in order to expand their economic sphere as an imperial power. The intervention in Cuba and the surrounding islands in this way were to protect U.S investments and businesses from foreign encroachment. Spain was that foreign presence at the time as they lingered in South America since its discovery for the past 400 years. The island of Cuba at the time was bustling with sugar production whilst the creole residence was plagued by slavery from the Spaniards. After “The Ten Years’ War, Creole land ownership was crippled which gave way for American investors to seize land. This would be a stepping stone for increasing U.S interest as more land increases production output.
This prompted an East Coast reporters William Rudolph and Joseph Pulitzer whom documented Spanish brutality upon the land. In February 1898, USS Maine exploded and sank leaving 250 servicemen to perish. With U.S Citizens knowing the looming possible threat of Spain, the gov’t decided to place the blame on Spain in order to initiate war. In a measly four months, Spanish Fleets collapsed under the U.S naval fleets. This gave the U.S gov’t controlled over the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico along with Military occupation over Cuba. This was the perfect setup for the U.S to have a power surge in economic benefits. Resources and land are what drive expansion for any country. In the United States case, at the time they already seized land from the East Coast to the West. It would seem reasonable for the gov’t to dip its toe in expanding out to Southern America with little to no contenders. The sunken ship only gave leeway for the U.S government to keep one of it’s mission statements of which to protect its surrounding