Reasons For Us Involvement In The Spanish American War
In April 1898, conflict between the United States and Spain over the island country of Cuba resulted in the Spanish American War. As a result of the war, the victorious U.S. forced Spain to grant Cuba its independence and turn over control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. Although many supported the United States involvement in the War,America’s motivations were not pure and, therefore; I do not believe that U.S. was justified in its involvement in the War. In the late 1800’s Cuba was a prized colony of Spain located just 90 miles south of Key West, Florida. The significance of the small island country centered around the fact that it was the major sugar producer in the New World. The export of sugar
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It is true that Spanish General Weyler’s brutally mistreated the Cuban people and forced many Cuban’s to live in concentration camps. But, as history would show in later years, the U.S. had also been guilty of crimes against its subjects and people. It is ironic that while the U.S supported the independence of Cuba from Spain, it did not give full U.S. citizen rights to the countries that it acquired from Spain at the end of the war. When the U.S. received the Philippines as a part of winning the Spanish American War, the Filipino people thought they would also be granted independence. This was not the case and, similar to Cuba, the people of the Philippines had to stage a war against the United States to gain their own independence. Just as Spain had done at the beginning of the War, the U.S. brutally mistreated the people of the Philippines which resulted in a yet another war. This time for the independence of the Filipino people from the U.S, beginning in the mid 1800’s the U.S. believed in the concept that it was the inevitable and justified “Manifest Destiny” of the United States to expand its land holdings across North America. The Manifest destiny is “ a belief that was widely held that the destiny of American settlers was to expand and move across
It is true that Spanish General Weyler’s brutally mistreated the Cuban people and forced many Cuban’s to live in concentration camps. But, as history would show in later years, the U.S. had also been guilty of crimes against its subjects and people. It is ironic that while the U.S supported the independence of Cuba from Spain, it did not give full U.S. citizen rights to the countries that it acquired from Spain at the end of the war. When the U.S. received the Philippines as a part of winning the Spanish American War, the Filipino people thought they would also be granted independence. This was not the case and, similar to Cuba, the people of the Philippines had to stage a war against the United States to gain their own independence. Just as Spain had done at the beginning of the War, the U.S. brutally mistreated the people of the Philippines which resulted in a yet another war. This time for the independence of the Filipino people from the U.S, beginning in the mid 1800’s the U.S. believed in the concept that it was the inevitable and justified “Manifest Destiny” of the United States to expand its land holdings across North America. The Manifest destiny is “ a belief that was widely held that the destiny of American settlers was to expand and move across