Overview: Emergence of the American Empire (Late 19th–Early 20th Century)

Global context and US strategy

  • By 1900, European powers dominated much of the world; the US sought a place in the game.
  • Alaska had been acquired; Cuba and the Philippines emerged as focal points as the US considered overseas expansion.
  • Alfred Mahan argued that sea power and a strong navy are essential to building an overseas empire.
  • Theodore Roosevelt championed an aggressive expansionist approach and the idea of the US backyard in the Western Hemisphere via the Monroe Doctrine.

Why Cuba and the Caribbean mattered

  • Cuba’s long struggle for independence included Spanish reconcentration camps and humanitarian concerns.
  • Yellow journalism (Hearst and Pulitzer) sensationalized Cuban atrocities to push US public opinion toward war.
  • The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor inflamed American sentiment and was blamed on Spain at the time.

War and theaters

  • The Spanish–American War was short; most casualties came from disease, not combat.
  • The Philippines theater: Filipinos initially welcomed Americans as liberators; after defeating Spain, the US fought a brutal two-and-a-half-year war to retain control, with thousands of Filipino deaths.
  • Guam: captured with minimal resistance; becomes US territory.
  • Puerto Rico: postwar status unsettled; ultimately becomes a US territory; citizenship granted to Puerto Ricans in 1917; later established as a Commonwealth (1952) with ongoing debates about statehood.

Key figures and moments

  • Alfred Mahan: sea power thesis influencing US policy.
  • Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders: San Juan Hill victory boosted TR’s national prominence; African American troops contributed significantly, though their roles were sometimes downplayed in later histories.
  • The war was often described as a “splendid little war.”

Aftermath and long-term effects

  • The US emerges as a world power with territories in the Caribbean and Pacific (Cuba, Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, Guantánamo Bay).
  • Cuba gains formal independence in 1902 but remains under US influence via the Platt Amendment.
  • The Philippines becomes US territory and is governed until after World War II.
  • Guantánamo Bay remains a US naval base.
  • Puerto Rico’s status evolves toward statehood debates; citizenship granted in 1917; current status as a commonwealth continues to be debated.