Spanish American War Imperialism

Gami 1
Imperialism, a commonplace practice at the end of the 19th century, involves gaining new territories and establishing a nation’s political and economic dominance of another territory or country. The main aim of imperialistic countries was an expansion of their territorial possessions. This period was marked by a series of American accomplishments, as well as bloodshed and chaos. The United States’ had a strong presence in China and wished to install an Open Door in China’s trade, which led to the Boxer Rebellion. Moreover, American involvement in Cuban affairs during the Spanish-American war was unnecessary and primarily caused by the usage of yellow journalism. Although the United States’ practice of imperialism in the late 1800s appealed
The causes given for the Spanish-American war are completely irrelevant, and do not justify imperialism at all. For instance, Spain was accused of causing an explosion aboard an American battleship called the U.S.S. Maine. Several investigations at the time were conducted, showing the explosion was most likely caused by a fire on the ship (Unger 233). The excuse for entering the war was the rebellion by the Cubans against Spanish rule and the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine. Additionally, when Congress passed the Fifty Million Dollar bill, which granted the president 50 million dollars to prepare for a war before it was declared, it made more and more people become proponents of a war with Spain. The Spanish colonies gained independence in the early 1800s, but both Cuba and Puerto Rico remained Spanish territory. Many Americans sympathized with Cuba, after seeing their plight for independence. Furthermore, Americans collectively owned nearly 50 million dollars worth of real estate and industry in Cuba. William McKinley became President of the United States in 1897, and later that year the Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, was assassinated (Golay 2). People saw these as reasons for America to become involved in the war. The Spanish-American war lasted only nine weeks, and was considered a "splendid little war." However, it led to 379 battle deaths and 5,000 American servicemen dying of disease (Hastedt 2). The Spanish-American war was a tragedy marked by a superfluous fight between two warring nations. Furthermore, President McKinley was not in favor of the war, going as far to say that "War should never be entered on until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war in almost every contingency" (Golay 3). Evidently, McKinley was not