At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, under the impetus of the second industrial revolution, the major capitalist countries successively entered the stage of monopoly capitalism, that is, the stage of imperialism. Due to the imbalance in political and economic development, the rising imperialist countries demanded a repartition of the world. Against this background, the first imperialist war broke out. Through this war, the United States demonstrated the strength of the world power and moved towards the war of global expansion. So, what's going on here?
1. The rise of the United States
After entering the imperialist stage, the United States rapidly expanded its economic power and continued to export goods and capital to neighboring countries. However, the markets of neighboring countries are limited after all, and the United States is no longer satisfied with dominating the Americas, but also wants to expand its influence in the Far East and other regions. At this time, another military theorist appeared in the United States, this person was named Mahan, who put forward the famous "theory of sea power." Mahan repeatedly emphasized the far-reaching impact of "sea power" and "maritime commerce" on the country.
He believed that "sea power" consisted of three essential elements: a navy, a merchant fleet, and a colony. Under Mahan's influence, the naval power of the United States developed rapidly. Between 1886 and 1893, the United States increased its military spending from $17 million to $30 million, the number of warships increased from three to 12, and its naval strength jumped from 12th to fifth in the world. However, the world had been carved up among the old colonial powers, and the United States was no match for Britain and France, so it targeted a weakened old empire.
2. Provoking war
The Americans' goal is Spain! During the Age of Discovery, Spain was prominent and had colonies in almost all parts of the world, especially in the Americas. However, after the Latin American War of Independence, Spain lost large swaths of its colonies, leaving only a few regions in the Americas, such as Cuba and Puerto Rico, and the Philippines in Asia. However, Spain was unable to effectively control these colonies, such as the massive uprising in Cuba in 1895.
The Spanish authorities suppressed the Cuban uprising, giving the Americans an excuse. In April 1896, the United States sent a note to the Spanish minister to the United States, demanding that the Spanish colonial authorities implement the so-called "reforms." After being rejected by Spain, the United States began to actively prepare for war. In January 1898, the U.S. warship USS Maine went to Havana for a "goodwill visit." But on February 15, the warship exploded and sank. The United States used this as an excuse to issue an ultimatum to Spain, provoking this "Spanish-American War".
3. The Spanish-American War
There were two theaters of this war, one was the Philippine theater in Asia and the other was the Cuban theater in the Americas. The U.S. Navy's Dewey fleet easily defeated the Spanish fleet first in Manila Bay, and then occupied Manila. In this battle, the United States suffered only 119 casualties, but captured 13,000 Spanish troops. In the battle for Cuba, the American army, although it suffered some losses, was relatively smooth, and quickly occupied Santiago.
In particular, in the naval battle, the United States destroyed the Spanish fleet with a loss of 1 dead and 1 wounded, causing 474 dead and wounded and 1750 prisoners of the Spanish army. Spain was completely defeated and forced to negotiate peace with the United States. On October 12, 1898, the two sides reached the Treaty of Paris, under which Spain handed over Cuba, the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States, and the United States paid Spain $20 million. Through this war, the United States began to enter the world arena as an imperialist power.
References: 1. History of the United States; 2. General History of the United States, Vol. 4: The Age of Rise and Expansion (1898-1929)