USA HISTORY

Why is the Spanish American War of 1898 often considered a major turning point in U.S. History?

(A) ** It revealed that the U.S. had become a world power.

(B) It marked the first American victory over a European power.

(C) It demonstrated the need for better communications in wartime.

(D) It showed American support for European economic interests in East Africa.

Concept note-1: -The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain’s colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power.

Concept note-2: -The Spanish-American War was a conflict between the United States and Spain that effectively ended Spain’s role as a colonial power in the New World. The United States emerged from the war as a world power with significant territorial claims stretching from the Caribbean to Southeast Asia.

Concept note-3: -Representatives of Spain and the United States signed a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898, which established the independence of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and allowed the victorious power to purchase the Philippines Islands from Spain for $20 million.

Concept note-4: -Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading to United States intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. The war led to the United States emerging predominant in the Caribbean region, and resulted in U.S. acquisition of Spain’s Pacific possessions.