USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

[SOURCES]
What was the most important result of the Spanish American War for the United States?

(A) The Philippine Islands gained their independence.

(B) ** The United States became an imperial power.

(C) The United States supported the sovereign rights of Cubans.

(D) The battleship, Maine, was blown up.

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: -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-3: -How did the Spanish American War make the United States a world power? The US victory in the Spanish American War resulted in the Us gaining possession and/or control of many new territories. These and other territorial gains resulted in the creation of a new far flung empire.

Concept note-4: -Closely tied with becoming a world naval power, the Spanish American War resulted in the U.S. becoming worldwide economic power, able to extend its commercial reach while under naval protection. This was very closely tied to item#1, above. Prior to the war, the U.S. had no commercial fleet of which to speak.

Concept note-5: -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.