The Causes and Consequences of the Spanish-American War

During 1898, the United States of America was involved in a war with the Spanish Empire that resulted in an American win and damage of the psyche of Spain. There were several causes to this war and even more consequences that resulted because of it, The sinking of the USS Maine and the demands of Cuban patriots ultimately sealed the deal with a war between the USA and Spain. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris, which gave the United States control of many of Spain's former colonies. One thing about the Spanish-American war remains certain: after their defeat of Spain, the United States established itself as a world power. After the Cuban Revolt in 1895, Spain responded by instituting the "reconcentrado", This was essentially a concentration camp system.

Much of Cuba's rural population was sent by force to live in centrally located towns which were stricken with disease and starvation This created many new American supporters of Cuban rebels, whose feelings were strengthened by the distorted "yellow press” of Joseph Pulitzer's New York Worlds The United States government’s attention was also on Cuba due to their heavy investment losses in the region because of the guerrilla war going on there. Washington was beginning to realize the strategic importance of Cuba and talks of intervening ensuedr Many Americans, however, were reluctant in getting into a war with Spain. But on February 15, 1898, their opinions changed On that date, the US battleship Maine was destroyed by a tremendous explosion, killing 266 American sailors.

The USS Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba by President McKinley to assure the safety and interests of American citizens An investigation was launched by the US. Navy and it was determined that the disaster was caused by an external explosive placed under the ship's powder storage area Although there was no direct evidence to prove that Spain was the culprit, many Americans believed so and support for war began to steadily increased As war began to seem imminent, Joseph Pulitzer's ”yellow journalism", as mentioned before, began to capitalize on the fact. The press of New York City started to produce very exaggerated accounts of Spanish crimes and atrocities in Cuba They also without a doubt blamed the Spanish for the sinking of the USS Maine. This further influenced American citizens that war seemed to be the only answer to the Spanish problem After speeches by several Republican senators and overwhelming public opinion that supported immediate action against the Spanish, President McKinley asked Congress for authority to send troops to Cuba.

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On April 21, 1898 Spain declared war on the United States of America, The war was a two»front war, with action being seen in the Pacific Ocean around and on the Spanish controlled Philippines Islands, as well as Cuba, The war lasted 10 weeks, As Spain was defeated very quickly, the people of the United States began to feel superior and saw themselves as "righteous people given to the service of a righteous purpose'fl One of the consequences of the Spanish- American war is that it gave the citizens of the USA. the sense that they were the "defenders of democracy" and enforced the vision that they were indeed a world power, There were several repercussions that followed the Spanish-American war. The most obvious and serious was of course the enormous amount of territory that Spain lost The outcome of the war resulted in the Treaty of Paris, which required the Spanish Empire to hand over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

This effectively ended any kind of dominance that Spain had once had in the Americas, After acquiring the Pacific Islands of Guam and the Philippines, the United States was able to gain economic dominance in the region. This helped expand economic and foreign policy for many years to come. However, many citizens of the Philippines began to revolt against the US. intervention there shortly after the Spanish-American War. At the time, there was the Philippine Revolution which was the outcome of many citizens wanting to gain independence Eventually, this revolution led to full out conflict, which was the Philippine-American War. The Spanish-American War also led to negative relations with the United States and Cuba, Despite Cuba becoming an independent republic, there was still quite a bit of US. military rule.

There were also many US. companies that began to take over the industry of Cuba, mainly for the nation's abundance of sugar, and they ended up controlling up to 60% of the Cuban sugar industry. Cuba was also experiencing much political turmoil in the years following the Spanish-American War. Cubans were not happy with the US, military intervening every time this happened. As a result, a rift between Cubans and Americans began to develop, The Spanish-American was a turning point in American history. The outcome of the war established the United States as a significant power in the Pacific and the Caribbean, Due to territorial losses and weakening sense of national pride, it also sealed the fate of Spain for decades to come. Cuban-American relations have never fully been healed either as a result of this war, One thing is for sure, and that is that the United States ofAmerica would never again be the same nation it was before the Spanish-American War.

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