Cause of Spanish American War
The Spanish American War of 1898 was a turning point for United States foreign policy because it established us as a world power by becoming a Imperialistic nation. Although the United States had been debating about Imperialism for a period of time and had many rationales for it including Darwinism, Strategic reasons, and economical reasons, it kept an isolationism policy, except in trading and international affairs. We kept this policy until the mid 1890's when situations in Hawaii, Chile, Venezuela, and foremost Cuba sprung up. The Cuban Revolution, which eventually led to the Spanish American war, made us become a imperialistic nation and thus a world power. Long before the Cuban Revolution, intellectual leaders such as John Fisk took Social Darwinism and applied it to the United States. They believed the U.S. should compete with other nations for wealth and power in the world. They saw the territories, markets, and the raw materials Europe had gained by Imperialism, and concluded the U.S. had to do the same to prosper and develop as a nation. Using the beliefs of Darwinism we had a belief of Anglo-Saxon supremacy and it was out destiny to venture out into the world, which became to b
Leaders such as secretary of State William H. Seward(Lincoln, Andrew Jackson Administrations) and James G. Blaine(Garfield, Harrison Administrations) pushed for a Imperialistic approach. Blaine was the most successful, regarding Hawaii an important part of the American System and thought it was a key territory in the trading with China. United States influence started to grow in Hawaii and although it was still governed by natives, as more Americans came creating plantations, we began to control the economy. We eventually took over Pearl Harbor, and soon after for market access we quickly began trying to annex Hawaii, thus Beginning Imperialism as a result of expanding trade. Also, by getting involved in a land dispute between Great Britain and Latin America, the United States passed the Monroe Doctrine which claimed American superiority in the Western Hemisphere, which made bad blood with Latin America, and further strained relations by deciding the terms of how the dispute was settled. This also is the beginning of a Imperialistic approach from the United States. Although the Spaniards agreed to include the Philippines in the treaty, there was a lot of opposition of the treaty in the United States. This group of people became known as the Anti-Imperialist League which campaigned against the treaty because they felt Imperialism was contradicting the religious and political reasons of why this country was created. They felt by the U.S. conquering nations overseas we were taking away our commitment to liberty. However, due to fear that other countries will claim the Philippines and just a feeling of wanting to end the war the treaty was approved, thus turning the United States into a Imperialistic nation
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1165
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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