Rise Of American Imperialism In The Spanish American War

The Rise of American Imperialism in the Spanish-American War

This historical analysis will define the rise of American imperialism in the Spanish-American War of 1898. During the late 1890s, the growth of American military intervention had become a part of the political and economic factors that allowed the invasion of Cuba during the Spanish-American war. President McKinley was initially reluctant to engage in an international war with Spain, yet pressure from pro-war political parties, industrial interests, and popular anti-Spanish sentiment led to American military assistance in Cuba. Under McKinley, governmental leadership established the rationale for invading Cuba as part of a larger imperial objective to control trade and political …show more content…
The outrage against the Spanish government’s control of the sovereignty of Cuba had become a major issue in terms of a nearby threat to American democracy and trade. The American government had taken a divided view of the issue of Cuban independence due to a long-standing tradition of neutrality in foreign affairs. In terms of economics, Cuba was an important trade part by providing sugar and other imports to America, which were under continual threat to due to the subversive influence of the Spanish government: “The extremely destructive war between Cubans and Spaniards of 1895-98 left the sugar economy in a disastrous condition. During the war, the sugar fields became the part of the economic battlefield” (Ayala 77). In this context, the economic interference of the Spanish government had a direct influence on the economy of the United States. More so, public sentiment viewed Spanish imperialism s a direct threat to the U.S. mainland. In this manner, the military intervention of the U.S. in Cuba defined a the first major military campaign that defined an imperial style of intervention into the political and governmental affairs of another sovereign nation: The Spanish-American War is often seen as the United State’s first step on the road to imperialism” (Saldin 32). This type of military action defines the origins of …show more content…
Therefore, McKinley’s traditional views of neutrality in foreign affairs had been seriously altered in favor of invading Cuba and removing the Spanish government from the Caribbean. The underlying power of the American mass media (ala. newspapers), American industry, and the political pressure to use military intervention in the Cuban War of Independence had now become part of McKinley’s role as a wartime president. These are important factors that define the political alteration of American neutrality in favor of military intervention at the fringes of America geopolitics with the invasion of Cuba and Puerto Rico. In this manner, the Spanish-American war was a major shift to a proactive military style of aggression that marked the beginning of American imperialism against the Spanish government. After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. government then rationalized the invasion of the Spanish-controlled Philippine islands, which resulted in the Philippine-American War that followed the end of the Cuban war. Certainly, the Spanish-American war was the first major military engagement as part of an imperialistic plan to replace the Spanish government as the dominant political and military influence in the Caribbean. President McKinley’s leadership defines an important foreign policy