U.S. Foreign Policy from 1898 to World War II: Causes and Consequences

The Spanish-American War of 1898: Causes and Consequences

The causes of the United States' entry into the Spanish-American War of 1898 are numerous and include political, economic, and social factors.

From a political perspective, the United States hoped to gain some of Spain's possessions in the Pacific Ocean, such as the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The acquisition of these overseas territories would have placed the U.S. among the select set of imperialist powers and secured its status as an international power. Furthermore, internal political conditions were well suited for external expansion: the West Coast had already been reached, and the indigenous populations within U.S. territory had been largely subdued.

From an economic perspective, the opening of U.S. access to the Pacific Ocean created significant trade interests with China and Japan. This meant that territories such as Guam and the Philippines could serve as valuable naval bases. Economic motivations also included substantial American interests in Cuba, where U.S. citizens held properties worth approximately $50 million in industries such as sugar and tobacco. Spanish rule in Cuba posed a potential threat to the protection of those American interests.

Finally, from a social perspective, there was a genuine expansionist spirit in the United States at the time. Economic successes had elevated the U.S. among the world's leading nations, and many citizens believed that political and colonial success would further reinforce that standing.

The peace treaty established U.S. dominance over the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, while Cuba received a limited form of independence. The consequences of the war were far-reaching, however. The United States was now firmly on the imperialist road, much like the other great powers of the nineteenth century, and would go on to play an important role in the conflicts that followed.

Theodore Roosevelt and the Shift Toward Active Foreign Policy

Theodore Roosevelt's terms as U.S. president marked a distinct departure from the preceding century of American foreign isolation, as decreed by George Washington and later formalized through the Monroe Doctrine. Roosevelt transformed U.S. foreign policy into one of active engagement in world affairs. Most significantly, he added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which authorized American interventionism in Latin American countries when circumstances were deemed to require it.

Roosevelt's foreign policy was motivated primarily by economic factors. The two most consequential foreign policy actions of his presidency — the Spanish-American War and the construction of the Panama Canal — illustrate this clearly. Both were aimed at securing better commercial access to the Pacific economic sphere and at encouraging trading relations with East Asian nations such as Japan and China, as well as with the British and French empires active in the region. The acquisition of the Philippines and Guam, for example, gave the United States a network of naval bases across the Pacific that proved useful for both trade and military operations, as demonstrated during World War II. The construction of the Panama Canal facilitated the commercial route between the Atlantic and the Pacific and ensured that this strategically vital position remained within U.S. influence well into the twentieth century.

Roosevelt's foreign policy was also a policy of reaffirmation — of reasserting American global presence. The initiative known as the Great White Fleet served as a public relations effort aimed at demonstrating the potential role the United States could play on the international stage. The Spanish-American War and the building of the Panama Canal similarly carried a propagandistic dimension alongside their strategic and economic purposes.