The Role Of American Imperialism In The 19th Century

*A major outcome of U.S imperialism in the 19th century was that it provided stability towards uncivilized countries (such as granting independence.) Take for instance the Philippines, which was acquired after the Spanish-American War in 1898. During that time, the Philippines was under Spanish rule, which ultimately called for their full sovereignty. On August 1898, US troops defeated the Spanish, as a result Spain gave the Philippines to the United States in exchange for $20 million under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of December 1898.* Once the Philippines was annexed, the US took it upon itself to educate, civilize, and Christianize the Filipinos as well as implement the Jones Act (1916) granting them independence after 10 years. These measures were means of stabilizing the Philippines as it gave time for a proper government to develop as they were “unfit for self-government and would soon have anarchy and misrule there worse than Spain’s was.” - President McKinley (Document 3.) In accordance with the Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto and Guam to the United States and renounced control of Cuba. On the contrary, Cuba was not annexed but rather used to set up a military government. Mckinley had intentions of establishing stability in Cuba thus appointed a governor, Leonard Wood, to manage the newly acquired land. (US Textbook pg 121)Wood began building schools and a sanitation system, however, disease persisted as a primary obstacle. …show more content…
n the year 1900 Walter Reed was assigned to find a possible solution to yellow fever; After numerous experiments amongst Reed and his volunteers, the disease was linked to mosquitoes.Knowing the cause led to health officials being able to contain and prevent any possible spread to other