The United States expanded a lot after the civil war because of the second Industrial Revolution. The second Industrial Revolution brought economic prosperity and overseas expansion. During the beginning of the 20th century, the main topic discussed was foreign policy. There was a divide in the United States. Some people supported the overseas expansion and some people didn't like to get involved in foreign affairs.
Filipinos revolted, but the U.S. suppressed it using the same cruel methods that Hearst wrote falsely about Spain using in Cuba. Cuba made its own Constitution, almost exactly like the U.S. Constitution. They added the Platt Amendment, which prevented Cuban annexation and said that the United States would only intervene if Cubans’ life, liberty, or property were threatened (Conover notes; “Treaty of Paris Ends Spanish-American War”,
The first reason is the main reason the U.S joined the Spanish-American war is territory and resources. According to a document by Jason Colby, Spain took control of Cuba, the Philippines Islands, and Puerto Rico. The U.S was worried that
The U.S. did not believe that the Filipinos would be able to govern themselves because they are uneducated and apparently needed Americans to help them become successful. President McKinley also believed that the Philippines were unfit for self-government and soon would become an anarchy that would misrule, according to his interview. Americans thought that the Filipinos wanted this help and that they wouldn't turn down aid from a more developed country. As stated by Senator Albert J. Beveridge in his excerpt from the “Indiana Senate Campaign Speech, “Would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, human, civilizing government of this Republic to the savage, bloody Spanish rule?” Beverage expands on the idea that the U.S. has more to offer than other
Congress approves force to stop the violence, but Spain declares war. In the end though, the U.S. won. The results led to the Treaty of Paris (1898), the Insular Cases of 1901, and acts/amendments on Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. Cuba: Teller Amendment (gives independence to Cuba) and the Platt Amendment (Cuba is a protectorate if they don’t have agreements with foreign countries without U.S. approval). Puerto Rico: Fonaker Act of 1900 and Jones Act 1917.
Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and Guam. Why?- The Spanish-American War’s main reason for starting was because Cuba no longer wanted to be under Spanish rule, they wanted to be an independent country. The U.S. however intervened in the war after the U.S.S. Maine sunk at Havana Harbor. The U.S. also wanted a colonial empire.
The Spanish American war was a product of Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier thesis and the urbanization of America. In 1895, a rebellion broke out in Cuba, as Cuban patriots wanted independences from Spain. Through the yellow journalism, reports of Spain’s cruel military tactics lead to a public uproar in the U.S. However, most of these stories were exaggerated as a form to promote war. After an American battleship, the USS Maine, was destroyed, America was “forced” to start war and stop Spanish occupation.
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, had said “No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent.” Now picture one’s own home, city, and country being liberated from their past tyrannical rulers by the United States, which goes on to rule them with the same dictatorial hand. That is exactly what happened to the Philippines as the result of the Spanish-American War. The United States’ annexation of the Philippines was a very controversial act that took place in 1898, and it took a great amount of debate over whether it was a good or bad idea to annex it in the first place. This conquest was the result of the United States’ war with Spain, of which the Americans won with assistance from the Philippines.
Differing ideas of national identity shaped views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to a great extent due to the presence of segregation amongst the African American population, acquisition of the Philippines, and encouragement of violence as a result of the Spanish-American War. Imperialism is the policy of taking control over countries around the world for political and economic gain. Since its formation, the United States has imperialized several countries, including the Philippines, Cuba, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Imperialism was incorporated during the Spanish-American War, a four-month battle between the United States and Spain. Then, chaos induced after the explosion of the USS Maine in Cuba.
American wanted to control the Philippines government to get closer to China for trading. Another interest is access to trading. According to Document 1, “Process of three hundred years of superstition in religion, dishonesty in dealing, disorder in habits of industry, and cruelty, caprice, and corruption in government. It is barely possible that 1,000 men in all archipelago are capable of self-government.” US President, McKinley believed they couldn’t govern themselves against other nations.
Introduction Imagine heading into a foreboding ocean, surrounded by armadas of icebergs and ice flows, bitterly cold wind, an unforgiving freezing ocean, nausea-inducing waves, and endless miserably cloud. Imagine doing so on a small fishing vessel at a time when the world was in a desperate war against Hitler’s ideology of hatred, a war in which past enemies joined forces, and millions sacrificed their lives. This is where Lt Leo Gradwell found himself on Convoy PQ17 in June 1942 when Hitler’s troops had cut supply lines to the USSR from the south, forcing the Allies (Britain, the USSR and USA) to find an alternative way to continue supplying food and weapons to the USSR. Churchill’s military strategists devised a route via the North Sea
But the Filipinos could have waited, and eventually become a state, similar to Hawaii, and they would have attained the guaranteed help and protection of the US. After watching the other world powers practice imperialism, the US began its quest for colonies. The US was a great help to the other nations it imperialized, providing peace and defense, among other things, to them. US Imperialism might not have been positive for everyone, but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. If the US hadn’t imperialised, the world would have different nations, and the US might not have become the power it is
The United States mostly expanded into Latin America and Asia/Oceania during this time period. A prominent example of overseas expansion is the Spanish-American War. This conflict, which was caused by the alleged sinking of the USS Maine, led to the United States’ acquiring of Puerto Rico and the Philippines, among others. The U.S. also received significant control in Cuba, where the Platt amendment provided a great deal of power to the United States in regards to building military bases. This acquirement of foreign territory represents a clear example of imperialism.
Americans learned more about what happened during the Spanish American War through articles that exposed the violent tensions in Cuba. The Americans then felt the need that we should help Cuba against Spain. The Americans in power wanted to remain neutral, while the public wanted to go to war. The U.S. Maine was a battleship that was sent to Cuba to spy on them and understand the situation in person. While the ship was there, it mysteriously blew up, the blame was put on Spain for the explosion.
In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was established in order to evenly divide unclaimed lands between Portugal and Spain. This led to the Line of Demarcation, in which the non-European world was divided into two zones. Portugal had rights to the eastern hemisphere, and Spain had rights to the western hemisphere. This allowed Spain to colonize areas in the New World. Even though they had this opportunity, they were not able to colonize specific areas in North America due to competition with other European countries.
