Spanish- American War

Spanish War vs. WWI

In the 19th century the United States was greatly affected by the two major wars they were involved in. One of them being the Spanish American War and the other WWI also known as the Great War. According to historians the United States went to war with Spain because they wanted to liberate Cuba. The United States saw this, as an opportunity to gain more economic power and to gain empire, wanting to free Cuba from Spain was an excuse used by the Americans. When the Great War began in Europe between the Central Powers and Allied Powers the United States was trying to remain neutral however, they were pulled into the this war mainly because of Germany. President Wilson stated that the US went to war to stabilize world order and to make the world safe for democracy. Between theses two wars America had better consequences from the Spanish American War then it did with WWI.

For ten years straight Cuba was having a war with Spain, fighting for their independence but weren't successful. The US intervened in this international issue because they saw that they had a lot to gain such as, controlling Cuba's economy. Before the US proposed to help Cuba fight Spain ninety percent of Cuba's sugar was being exported to the US. One of the reasons war was declared by the Americans resulted from the publication of William Randolph Hearst's in which he publicized a stolen letter written by the Spanish minister. The letter expressed contempt for President Mckinley. Also on February 15, 1898 Spain sunk the US battleship in the Havana Harbor killing many Americans. By this time the US was dominating Cuba's economy such as, the sugar mining, tobacco, and utilities industries causing the US investments to double. President Mckinley declared that this war was for the cause of humanity.

The US won the Spanish American War and on April 1898 congress declared Cuba free and independent from Spain and that's when they passed the Teller Amendment. By August 12th Spain signed an armistice, the Treaty of Paris, in which they liberated Cuba from them and gave Puerto Rico, Philippines, and the pacific island of Guam to the US for $20 million. The outcomes the US had from this war were very beneficial to them because they did gain more economic power and empire. The US used the Teller Amendment to justify the international control they had over Cuba because the American government believed that Cuba wasn't ready for self-government.

When the Great War began to rise President Wilson kept the US away from it all however, he wasn't able to keep them out for too long. The war began in Europe because of