the largest sugar producer. Without slaves and the high production and access to sugar, Cuba is almost useless economically. The U.S saw this island as a source of sugar and a place for trading. They placed large amounts of investments into Cuba and the U.S was not going to lost it all; nearly over $50 million was invested.(3) The U.S spent money and time in Cuba to make more money, not to lose it. The only way to protect their investments was to rid of Spain and to do that the U.S needed to join the war against Spain
When the U.S joined the war, they also hoped by winning, they were able to expand across the hemisphere. There were plans to have a naval base in Cuba; this would allow the U.S to have a greater access to other countries in the western hemisphere. Americans would stay in Cuba to have the ability to have an influence on them, and from there they could expand into foreign markets. This is important due to the fact more customers to sell to meant more money to be made. By joining this war, the U.S could rid of Spain in the western hemisphere and expand into the rest. Even though the U.S had important economic reasons for joining the war, these reasons were not significant enough to join until the U.S.S Maine blew up.