Cuba's Involvement In The Spanish-American War

In the late 1800’s, Cuba was fighting for its independence and striving to break free from Spain’s control. On February 28, 1898, the U.S.S Maine mysteriously exploded, which was stationed on the coast of Cuba. This led to the U.S involvement in the Spanish-American War. There were many economic reasons why the U.S joined this war, however, there was nothing significant that would require their involvement. The U.S was already keeping a close eye on the battle between the other two nations; waiting for a reason to intervene. When the explosion of the U.S.S Maine occurred, it gave America the political push they needed to get involved in this war.
When the U.S.S Maine was hit, it stirred and angered the American population. On February 15,

Cuba would lose American influence thus leading to end of slavery. The U.S could not let that happen due to the fact it was the slaves who made Cuba 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 lose 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

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. The U.S had important economic reasons for becoming involved the war however, these reasons were not significant enough to do so until the U.S.S Maine blew up.
There were many immediate and underlying reasons why the U.S got involved Spanish-American War. These reasons mostly caused because the U.S.S Maine mysteriously exploded and the U.S needed to expand its trades into the foreign markets. Politically and economically, both reasons were important enough that it causes the U.S to get involved; however, it was the political reasons that gave the U.S the bigger push to join the