Do you think that the America's involvement in the Spanish-American war was a good thing or bad? And why?

Question

Give details and reasons for your thoughts please. This question is for serious history (specifically U.S History) experts only! Please no stupid answers. Thankyou.

Yeah I guess it was good in that sense...But you have to consider all the men we lost in that war and all the damage America took. And it wasn't even our war...But I guess it can be debated both ways whether it's good or bad for America.

Answer 1

The Spanish-American War, through the annexation of Wake, the Philippines, the Marianas, Puerto Rico and many other territories propelled the US into the ranks of the Imperial Powers. While I do believe that the empire (and the resulting war against the Philippians insurgents) was incompatible with the noble ideas of liberty espoused by the founding fathers, it also established the US as a major industrial power with global reach. Without the US presence in the Pacific, it is most likely that Imperial Japan would have gained regional superpower status in the aftermath of the first world war. So while I do still question the morality of the United States of America becoming a de facto if not de jure empire, such events paved the way for the American Hyperpower. Could something be better than it? Possibly. Could something be far worse that it? Definitely.

Answer 2

Well, for the U.S was really good and cheap... acquiring a new Empire (Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico) at a very low cost.

The real question is, was it fair???

As a Spaniard, I see that war as the inevitable consequence of the unrealistic foreign policy followed by our governments at those times, when the world had become an imperialistic theatre in which the "bigger fishes" had obvious "rights" to eat "smaller fishes", like Spain, a non-alligned country in the middle of a dangerous world of alliances, Spain, which was by then a minor world power holding only the remnants of what once was a global Empire.

But the attitude of the U.S was highly unfair. Monroe doctrine?? well, why didn't they attacked the British or French colonies in the Americas then??
Seriously, did USA really care about the freedom of the Cuban people?? Why did they also attacked the Philippines if the dispute was about the future of Cuba? And did the U.S really care about the freedom of the Philippines?? If, so, why was there, immediately afterwards, a Filipino uprising against the Americans??

It wasn't about "freedom". It was about the new "big stick" U.S policy in the Americas and becoming a global power with its own Empire, and reassuring American power, trade and influence in the Pacific region. It was about controlling the Caribbean region, controlling the Americas (considered only as the American private backyard) and proving to the real big powers the American might. It was about promoting an artificial revolt in Panama (then part of Colombia) to segregate, and immediately afterwards take control of Panama as a puppet state and then build the so much wished channel...it was an expansionistic war for a country and a mass media that was still dreaming of Walt Whitman's dreams of a star-spangled America from the North Pole to Patagonia...

Yes, America won an easy and desired war (the USS Maine wasn't sunk by the Spaniards) against a much weaker country, but, lost definitely its reputation of "stronghold of freedom and anti-imperialism" in the eyes of the world. Particularly, in the Americas.

Answer 3

well in view of the present situation, i believe we could have avoided the whole thing, because I'm just a history buff nothing great and this is off the top of my memory but isn't it a fact that is was a plot by our government it the beginning to cover a miss handled situation over a ship loss that started it, the opportunity to seize control of what we wanted to develop down there was an opportunity that Roosevelt wanted and use this incident to gain control of the area and has since back fired as we let the panama canal go back to the Panamanians and the drugs that are causing total chaos in the north South relations is so full of bad money that who know who owns what any more

Answer 4

The foreign policy of America is only focused in expansion even using threats to obtain what they think is "fair".
With this frame of mind, and the Monroe doctrine the American army justify the war against Spain to get Cuba.
The beginning of the conflict was not provoked by the Spanish in Cuba, the American navy in the Cuban coast burn their ships and blame the adversaries.

Answer 5

Good.

It made a statement that we were no longer going to tolerate European influence in this hemisphere. This limited the involvement of the Americas in future "Imperial" wars and denied European powers to use the Americas to wage war in this part of the world.