Essay Sample on US-Spain War: Economic Causes of 1898 Confrontation

Introduction

In 1898, a war broke out between the United States and Spain to end the imposing Spanish decree in the United States. The war resulted to the Americans acquiring Spanish terrains from the Western Pacific and Latin America as a buck up during the war period.Becker In this paper, we are mainly going to dwell on the economic causes that resulted in the Spanish-American war. We can say that the American-Spanish war did not favor America's businesses. The war initially began when the Cubans took on the Spaniards in an attempt to acquire independence. Although the war only lasted for about ten weeks, it had in-depth effects for both Spain and the United States. Although Cuba was the main contributor at the beginning of the war, the battles between the United States and Spain were taking place all around the world from the Philippines to other colonies of Spain. The essay critically depicts the review of the drastic economic causes of the Spanish-American war.

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Firstly, one of the causes that encouraged the Americans to go to war was the bombing and plummeting of the USS Maine, which took place at Havana Harbor. Two significant explosions hit the USS Maine causing it to sink immediately. This happened on February 15th, 1898, in the wee hours of the night. The tragic and terrific accidentclaimed the lives of over 266 people. Although this was never proven, it caused a major political uproar in the United States due to suspicions that the Spaniards were responsible for this attack. The Americans later declared war on the Spaniards because of this reason. During the war, the Americans chanted the slogan, "Remember Maine," which means that they still carried the rage of the bombing of the USS Maine.

The Americans were known to be a greedy nation and wanted to build an empire. They capture Guam and the Philippines, which were both Spanish colonies in a bid to acquire coaling stations in the Pacific for its ships to reach the vibrant markets of China. In the novel, The Influence of Sea Power upon History, the author Alfred Thayer Mayan wrote that for a country to have inevitable world power, they needed sea power. The United States needed to build more ships and acquire more coaling stations to promote the economy and gain an unconquered empire.

Consequently, much of the American property was deliberately destroyed by the Insurrectos of Cuba to push the Americans to intervene on their behalf. The Insurrectos, intending to attract attention from the Americans, continued to burn the sugar and tobacco plantations to deprive the American government of its resources and weaken its economy. They also destroyed the land and fortified towns. Subsequently, the Americans suffered from diseases and hunger. In an effort to save their property and strengthening its economy, the United States had to get involved, and this lead to a war involving the United States and Spain.

Moreover, The United States was known to be a nation with very many business people who had investments all over the world. Many of the country's investment interests were in Cuba. The United States became weary of their properties and investment opportunities in Cuba and intervened in the war to help Cuba fight the Spaniards. The American businesspeople were afraid of massive losses if Spain conquered Cuba and thus a war brought out. The United States had to protect its business people's business to improve the country's economy. The United States valued its economic growth more than anything, even to the point of declaring war on Spain to promote investments in Cuba.

Additionally, Cuba was known to be a country with a large trading market. Consequently, the United States is known for being shrewd in the pursuit of market opportunities. During the Spanish-American war, America had to ensure that it was involved in Cuba's war with the Spaniards to save the Cuban market, which in part they in business with. America's involvement in the war contributed to Cuba opening up as an international trading market and expanding exports to other trading markets all round the world. The United States had to be involved in the Spanish-American war because it was looking for international trade to sell its domestic products in Cuba. The most vital business interests which bellowed for intervention in Cuba was the Cuban sugar industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the United States-Spanish war was mainly based on economic factors, as stated above. The United States primarily declared war on Spain because they were interfering with their economic growth. The United States-Spain war had far-reaching consequences to both parties involved, both economically and politically1. The United States intervened in the war after the Spaniard's invasion of Cuba affected their economic status and growth. This even allowed the Americans to conquer other Spanish colonies to acquire their coaling stations to increase their business with the large markets of China. All in all, the United States-Spain war was mainly due to economic reasons.

Bibliography

O'Connor, Nancy Lenore. "The Spanish-American War: A Re-Evaluation of Its Causes." Science & Society (1958): 129-143.