The US Influence In The Spanish-American War

America’s entrance in the Spanish-American War was primarily due to the random explosion of the USS Maine on February 15, 1898, which killed 267 service men aboard. This attack leads to Congress’s vote to go to war against Spain. The United States’ desire to expand military overseas also played a part in the American entrance to this war. Economically speaking, the U.S. wanted Cuban crops to come to America, and not only Spain. “The war enabled the United States to establish its predominance in the Caribbean region and to pursue its strategic and economic interests in Asia” (“Spanish-American War”). The United States wanted sole control over the island of Cuba in order to grow the American economy, and the congress stated that President William

would not actually be going to war due to President Woodrow Wilson’s implications. Minor events, including the sinking of the Lusitania, occurred before the United States made its appearance in the war. The U.S. suddenly became a target when Germany began the strategy of “submarine warfare”. Any ship that brought supplies to Great Britain or France at the time would be destroyed with torpedoes. Only a few weeks later, four American ships were sunk, and fifteen people were killed from German submarine attacks. German submarine warfare was a new type of strategy that broke a one hundred year rule that restricted naval warfare. Though the sinking of these American ships may not have tempted the U.S. into joining the war, the secret communications between Mexico and Germany certainly did. Germany secretly offered U.S. territory to Mexico if they promised to join the war on the side of Germany in exchange. This offer was sent through a telegram to Mexico City, but Great Britain intercepted the message and shared the information with the United States. This event led to the United States declaring war on Germany on April 6, 1917. The economic reasons as to why the U.S. entered WWI boiled down to the investments in Great Britain and in France. If Great Britain and France lost the war, they would not be able to repay their debt to the United States. “The U.S. economy could have potentially collapsed if debts were not paid back. France and Great Britain were using loans from the U.S. to pay for their war. Also, they were purchasing vast amounts of arms from the United States, all of which on credit” (“Why Did the U.S. Enter World War I”). Ideologically speaking, President Woodrow Wilson wanted to “make the world safe for