Spanish American War, And The Causes Of The Spanish American War

Imagine this. You wake up one morning in the year 1929, in your luxurious, pricey mansion. You then make your way downstairs to eat that nice big breakfast. Then you kiss your family good bye and head off to your fancy job. You come home that evening and suddenly you’re flat broke. Meaning all your money and life’s savings vanished. Unreal right? Well it was real for hundreds of families on October 29, 1929. The day the stock market crashed and when America’s confidence was challenged greatly.

The Spanish American war started in 1898 and was a fight for Cuba’s independence which resulted in 379 American casualties in combat. The Spanish American War was justified because of the Monroe Doctrine, Correspondence between the United States and Spain, and the Platt Amendment, which were all created to protect American morals and freedom.

On April 19th, 1898, The United States impulsively waged a war with imperialist Spain that would forever change our country for better and for worse. There are many different factors that led to the war, but in my opinion, one key cause is of much greater importance than the others. As a result of the war, American became known as an imperialistic nation and a world power. How could such a “little” war have such a large impact on American society at the turn of the 20th century?

War of 1812 and industrialization- The british blockade forced the united states to develop its own industries

The building of the First Transcontinental Railroad was a key symbol of the Industrial Revolution beginning in the United States. The railroad crossed the middle of the country and connected the eastern portion to the west. The building began in Sacramento, California and continued all the way to Council Bluffs, Iowa, resulting in 1,776 miles of new rails that were a staple for both the transportation of people and goods. Less lives were lost on the hazardous trails through the Rocky Mountains and thus the West Coast experienced an increase in population. The railroad greatly impacted the nation, as it united the people and also allowed for the improvement of the speed of shipment and price of goods throughout the nation. With the constant

The Spanish American War started in 1898 and lasted about four months. Although the war might have seemed focused on freeing Cuba from Spain and gaining independence for Cuba and the Philippines, it was actually stimulated by nationalism and commercialism. Commercialism was a major factor when declaring war because the United States depended on Cuba and the Philippines for trade and business with other countries, especially in Asia and Latin America. Another major factor for the war was that the United States wanted to spread its Anglo-Saxon culture around the world and emerge as a world-wide power. Other minor motives for the war include the United States coming to the aid of the Cubans in their revolt against Spain and the feeling that

During the start of the battle in 1846, when James K. Polk declared war against the Mexican’s, the nation was divided. One part of the war and the other half against. While slave owners saw it as “ a place to extend slavery,” others such as Frederick Douglas saw it as “robbing Mexico of her territory.” The Mexican American War rose out of the desire of expansion and resulted in new discoveries.

Spain treated Cuban revolutionaries horribly and yellow journalism-exaggerated news articles about the happenings in Cuba- emotionally affected Americans and swayed them in considering to help Cuba. The final draw that convinced the United States to intervene and go to war was the sinking of the military ship, the U.S.S Maine. The Ship exploded in Cuba and blame was put onto Spain. After the war ended, Cuba gained independence and the United States gained the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico. The war established that the United States was now a world power and furthered the U.S’s expansion overseas to the Caribbean, Central America and Asia(Document

During the 1920s Wall Street was representing the decade of expanding economic opportunity for every American. During 1927 some American banks failed due to bad investments and low prices for agricultural products. On Thursday October 1929 American stock market failed and millions of investors are plunged into bankruptcy. Over 12,894,650 shares changed hands, many at fire. About two months after the crash in October, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. The slump was made worse by the share-buying fever that infected the country in the 1920s. Everyone wanted to make quick fortunes, therefore they bought company shares on margin. Competitive buying of the shares drove share prices high above their actual value. Then, when cautious

There were many causes for the Spanish American War. The first long term cause was the Wilson Gordon Tariff. This tariff ultimately decreased tariff rates for may Europeans nations excluding the commonwealth of Spain. This ultimately angered the Spanish and weakened international relationship between the United States and Spain. This tariff also instilled an anti-American feeling in Spain. This would lay down the groundwork for the next cause the “Delome Letter”

The Spanish-American war occurred in 1898 between the United States and Spain where the U. S. interrupted Cuba’s struggle for independence which resulted into the Philippine revolution. Some historians explain that the war publicized by the Hearst and Pulitzer newspapers which blame the sinking of the ship U. S. Maine on Spain, which had been sent to protect America’s interest and Americans living there. There was rising pressure on Congress to push the President to retaliate and go to war with Spain, but the main reason was for Cuba to gain their independence from the Spanish colonization. By defending their move they said that Spain attacked them first. The U. S. came out by using strategy to impose a naval blockade of Cuba and attack the Spanish Navy in the Philippines which was successful. (America goes to war, 2016). The war ended as a result of a treaty signed in Paris which allowed the U. S. to have provisional authority over Cuba took over Guam, Puerto Rico and purchased the Philippine Islands for $20,000,000. (America as World Power, 2016) The U.S. emerged from that war as a world power.

The Mexican American War, generally called the Mexican War and in Mexico the American intercession in Mexico, was a prepared conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848. It followed in the wake of the 1845 American expansion of the free Republic of Texas, which Mexico still considered its northeastern locale and a bit of its district after its acknowledged severance in the 1836 Texas Revolution 10 years sooner.

Southern desire to spread slavery went a long way in causing in the Mexican American war, this desire, along with expansion and power, were the main motivators of this fight. The South had wanted to spread its slavery empire westward into Texas through the annexation. Desire was a major factor in the decision to fight for Texas as during this time, a large amount of support was rallied behind the deciding forces. Expansion had meant that slavery would continue spreading westward, and these slaveholders were keen on achieving this goal. Power that came with the acquisition of Texas and the spread of the practice of slavery further motivated pro-annexationists to fight in a war. The following combined elements: desire, expansion, and power, drove slavery supporters so far as to go to war with Mexico in 1846.

On account of the Wallstreet stock market crash which took place in 1929, the nation was put in a huge financial stress. Many people rushed to banks to take out their savings but once they got there, there was no money left. About eight-hundred banks closed and nine million bank accounts crashed (ABC News). Every cent that a family ever

“War is constituted by a relation between things, and not between persons…War then is a relation, not between man and man, but between State and State…” Being between state and state, meant that it was not the people themselves, but a higher power fighting with another higher power. In order for war to survive, it needs opinion, disagreement, a cause, and power hunger. The goal of war is to win, whether that means you either stop fighting or one side won.