HISTORICAL OVERVIEW: Beginning in the 1890s, the United States began to practice some of the same imperialistic policies that it had previously criticized major European powers for. Spurred on by sugar planters, America expanded its influence in Hawaii and, in 1896, annexed the islands. Americans also pushed for an "Open Door" trading policy in China.

American imperialism is the economic, military, and cultural influence of the United States on other countries. Such influence often goes hand in hand with expansion into foreign territories. Expansion on a grand scale is the primary objective of an empire, a notable example being the British Empire.

The Spanish American War represented the beginning of the expansion of American power beyond the territorial boundaries of the United States.

NEITHER THEODORE ROOSEVELT NOR HIS SUCCESSORS, HOWEVER, COULD GRASP WHAT THIS WOULD MEAN FOR THE UNITED STATES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

THE WARS OF THE REPUBLIC THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: The birth of a nation THE WAR OF 1812: The battle to remain free of foreign entanglement THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN WAR: Manifest Destiny and from sea to shining sea THE CIVIL WAR: To form a more perfect union and make those inalienable rights a reality for ALL Americans

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR WAS DIFFERENT—IT WOULD LAUNCH AMERICA ON THE ROAD TO EMPIRE WITH UNTOLD CONSEQUENCES

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR: WHY DOES IT MATTER? According to author and historian Evan Thomas, “The Spanish American War is little remembered now, but more than the Civil War or World War Two, it was a harbinger, if not the model, of modern American wars.

This war has some eerie parallels to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, which was another war of choice, not vital to our national security, but waged for other reasons. Just as the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction turned out to be bogus in Iraq, the sinking of the Maine—the reason given for America’s decision to go to war in 1898, also turned out to be untrue.

The Spanish American War began as a “Splendid Little War,” according to Secretary of State John Hay. After the Spanish were defeated, however, the conflict turned dangerous and ugly. The United States plunged into a counter-insurgency in the Philippines which cost as many American lives (approximately 4,000) as were lost in Iraq between 2003 and 2009.

The influence by a large, developed country over a smaller, less-developed one is known as "imperialism". We were getting bigger and more powerful. Thanks to Manifest Destiny, we had expanded to the Pacific Ocean. Why stop there? The United States took Hawaii in the 1890s.

Americans then started wanting to free Cuba from Spanish control, and newspapers got into this act. "Yellow journalism" consisted of newspapers increasing their sales by stirring up a desire to go to war. The term is named after a popular comic strip called the "Yellow Kid."

In the 1890s the two leading publishers were Joseph Pulitzer, who published the New York World, and William Randolph Hearst, who published the New York Journal. They were in a "circulation war," with each running more and more sensationalistic headlines to try to sell more papers. The result of their greed for power and influence was the Spanish-American War.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR Two specific events triggered this war: the Spanish minister to the U.S., Enrique Dubuy de Lome, wrote a secret letter insulting our president, William McKinley, by calling him a "low politician." Cuban rebels intercepted it and leaked it to the press. The second event was an explosion on the battleship "Maine" in the Havana, Cuba harbor. The ship sunk, and immediately the press blamed Spain. In fact, the explosion was probably just an accident.

Victory for America was swift in Cuba, and it produced a future president: Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders." The media played up Roosevelt's conquest as much as possible.

Led by William Randolph Hearst, newspapers opposed an American return of the Philippines to Spain, fearing Spain would mistreat the Filipino people. President McKinley agreed with the newspapers and kept the Philippines as an American territory. It remained a U.S. territory until 1946, when the United States granted it independence shortly after World War II.

The United States granted Cuba independence on the condition that it insert the "Platt Amendment" into its constitution. This Amendment gave the U.S. the right to intercede in Cuba whenever necessary, and allowed the U.S. to keep a naval base (called Guantanamo Bay) on the island. The Treaty of Paris in 1898 ended the Spanish-American War based on Spain leaving Cuba, the United States buying the Philippines for $20 million dollars, and the United States also acquiring Guam and Puerto Rico.