Spanish American Imperialism

At the end of the Spanish-American War, in 1898, The United States of America acquired many new territories and protectorates, making it a global colonial power. America was able to achieve Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico as protectorates as an outcome of the Spanish-American War. Other nations were also occupied by America. America was able to do this through imperialism; when a nation expands its influence and power through economic, military, and diplomatic means.

One way America was able to have power in other countries was through military means. A major example on this was the Spanish-American War itself. As noted in the summary notes, “The Spanish-American was fought over influence- It was about imperialist and expansionist drives.” The United States went into war because it wanted to have more influence and power over the Caribbean. The United States did not go to war with Spain with the sole purpose of helping Cuba gain independence. The oppressive treatment of the Spaniards to the Cubans was only used to justify going into war. The U.S was the victor of the Spanish-American War because they were closer to Cuba and had a larger navy than Spain. This victory meant that the U.S was able to attain the islands in the Caribbean through the Treaty of Paris. This Treaty gave Guam,

Imperializing through diplomacy was the act of investing in a foreign country with the hope that it would improve diplomatic relations with other nations and help stabilize the foreign country’s governments while preventing other nations from having power over the foreign country. This particular kind of imperializing was called Dollar Diplomacy. It left Nicaragua and Haiti in American occupation for 13 years and 19 years, respectively. Another kind of diplomacy was Missionary Diplomacy. This version of diplomacy urged oppressive governments to take on a more democratic government like the United