A figure of factors contributed to the U.S. determination to travel to war against Spain.
Since the early old ages of the nineteenth century, many Americans had watched with sympathy the series of revolutions that ended Spanish authorization throughout South America, Central America, and Mexico. Many people in the United States were irritated that the Spanish flag continued to wing in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The ferociousness with which Spain put down Cuban demands for a grade of local liberty and personal autonomy aroused both understanding and choler. Support for the cause of Cuban independency had deep historical roots in the United States, and this cause became the declared aim of the war. However, I believe that the U.S. ground for traveling to war was chiefly due to their the turning imperialism and Cuba s independency was merely a good alibi for them to seek to widen American influence overseas cognizing that they would be able to get the better of Spain.
The United States was dining industrially and without a foreign market, the state would hold been to the full saturated and really small consuming could be done. Therefore, contending Spain for a baronial cause would do them look good every bit good as be able to coerce Spain to give up much of their districts for the US to do usage of. This is precisely what happened after the US won the Spanish-American War. The Spanish withdrew from Cuba, go forthing the island under impermanent U.S. business. Cuba was given it s independency as promised, doing the US look like heroes, while Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were ceded by Spain to the United States. Then on December 1898, the United States announced the constitution of U.S. military regulation in the Philippines.
The US tried to warrant taking over the Philippines. They argued that the United States could non uprightly manus the islands back to Spain because Filipinos were “unprepared for self-government” and the islands would merely fall quarry to Germany or another power if U.S
. forces left the part. I feel that this was all talk because the United States knew that the Philippines would do a good military base and because it has been under Spanish regulation they rationalized that it was their responsibility to educate the alleged backward races. However, it seems obvious that this statement was made merely because they knew of the economic chances that existed in Asia and the U.S. Navy’s desire for a base in the Philippines.
If the United States was genuinely concerned with the well being of the citizens in the Philippians, so I don t think they would hold gone into such a barbarous war with them. The US knew that the Philippines didn T genuinely stand a opportunity in war, but they fought them irrespective because the primary involvement in the Philippines was the Americans nonsubjective. To me it seemed more like the US would make anything, even kill thousand of Philippine citizens contending for their independency merely to set up a base in that state and control parts of the Asiatic market. The people who the US were claiming that they were looking out for ended up losing the most and being the biggest also-rans in the war.
All in all, the Spanish-American war could hold been considered a baronial cause merely if after allowing Cuba its independency, the US besides gave the Philippines their independency when the citizens made it their major end. The US could hold taken another attack in fixing the state for self-determination instead than merely taking it over and set uping military bases. It was surely non necessary to travel to war with a state who is clearly no lucifer and stop up killing so many people merely to stop up allowing them what they wanted from the really get downing. I feel that the Spanish-American war is one of the greatest illustrations in history of the United States utilizing moral issues as a manner of acquiring the things that they want even if their agencies of acquiring them were flagitious. It looked like everything is all right and whatever they did didn T truly matter every bit long as it s all for a good cause.
