2 Running head: US HISTORY “From the time of the Spanish American war to present the United States went from relative isolation to increased global involvement because they wanted to establish dominance over other nation’s political, economic and social systems. The consequences on the American society was societal growth and global dominance mainly characterized by economic superiority over other nations.” The war between the Americans and Spain marked the beginning of a new era in the American history. It was the beginning of the United States future involvement in global issues. The war bore ideas and created a desire to dominate and control global affairs focused on politics and economic gains.1The main objective of the war with Spain was to bring to an end to the Cuban civil war. After the Americans defeated the Spaniards they instituted a democratic system as a substitute to Spain’s cruel rule. The American ambassador John Hay, described the war as a righteous cause which had several economic benefits. However, historical evidence asserts that the United States attacked Spain colonies due to popular opinion from the public. The Americans saw themselves as superior and wanted to show their superiority to the rest of the world.2 It was a commercial expansion. Theodore Roosevelt saw the war as a perfect excuse to acquire critical naval bases in the Far East. Liberating the Spain colonies gave the Americans access to naval bases in the Caribbean, Hawaii and Guam. These ports gave the business men sea ways to transport their commodities to and from the “Far East”. Businessmen such as LaFeber claimed that they were eager to take their markets to East Asia. 1For moreFelix Gilbert, The End of the European Era: 1890 to the Present(New York, NY: Norton, 1970); B.J.C.McKercher, Anglo-American Relations in the 1920s: The Struggle for Supremacy(Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 1990) 2John Maynard Keynes, Economic Consequences of the Peace(Harcourt, Brace and Howe, 1920).
