Imperialism In The Philippines Essay

Cubans fight in Ten Years War, a war between Cuba and Spain, but the Spanish emerged victorious. Then in 1895 violence erupted again, and the Cuban War of independence began. Meanwhile the United States was he great power in the Western Hemisphere and wished to expand their influence for decades. Americans wanted to take over Cuba; on various occasions the United States attempted to buy the island and there was also discussion in Congress about taking islands militarily. Back in Cuba, the Spanish rounded people into re-concentration camps where many died of hunger and diseases The Yellow Press in America used this in a few fabricated claims to rouse the U.S. population to demand war. The United States Government was also unhappy about the guerrilla warfare as it was causing heavy losses to the large American investments on the island. In February 1898, a U.S. battleship called Maine, which was sent to protect U.S. interest on the island, …show more content…
victory in the Spanish-American War, that the dedication of the U.S. government to imperialistic expansion became evident. In October 1898, a conference was held to determine the fate of the Philippines. The Americans were given three choices: to hand the islands back to Spain, to give the Philippines its independence, or to annex the territory. While many anti-imperialist Americans were against annexation, President William McKinley believed that it was God’s will for the Americans to uplift and civilize and Christianize them. McKinley believed that Filipinos were unfit for self-government; he also believed if the United States failed to annex the Philippines, it would leave a power vacuum in which Germany or other rivals might be quick to fill. On February 6, 1899, the Treaty of Paris was approved by the United States Congress and was signed by McKinley the next day; the Treaty of Paris resulted in the United States gaining possession of the islands of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines