USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

[SOURCES]
In addition to Puerto Rico, which of these were gained by the United States as a result of the Spanish-American War?

(A) Japan and China

(B) Hawaii and Alaska

(C) Jamaica and the Bahamas

(D) ** the Philippines and Guam

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -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-2: -The strategic value of Puerto Rico for the United States at the end of the nineteenth century centered in economic and military interests. The island’s value to US policy makers was as an outlet for excess manufactured goods, as well as a key naval station in the Caribbean.

Concept note-3: -U.S. victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish claims on Cuba, and to cede sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States. The United States also annexed the independent state of Hawaii during the conflict.

Concept note-4: -As a result of this treaty, Spain lost the last of its empire in the New World. The United States was ceded Puerto Rico and Guam, liquidated its possessions in the West Indies, agreed to pay 20 million dollars for the Phillippines, while Cuba became independent.

Concept note-5: -As a result of the war, the United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines as territories.