The effects of the Spanish-American War
The four month war, in Roosevelt's eyes, did wonders. The press captured people from the North and South fighting together for a common goal, helping end hatred toward each other from the Civil War. This war was America's ticket into world affairs, and it entered a long period of population and economic growth.
This war also ended the Spanish Empire. As an imperial power, Spain had already been declining since Napolean's invasion, and losing Cuba caused a "national trauma" because it was viewed as a province of Spain.
The Senate had passed the Platt Amendment, which forbade Cuba from signing other nation's treaties. Imperialists were for this because they wanted to "project" America's power-and that's exactly what it did. The amendment gave the U.S. the right to stabalize Cuba if/as needed and it served as a permanent naval base.
Roosevelt returned to the U.S. as a war hero, and soon was elected vice president.
Again, this war tremendously helped relationships between the north and south. For the first time, there was a common enemy and friendships could be made between soldiers of each side. This was a big deal, considering many of them were children of veterans from the Civil War
To pay the costs of the war, Congress passed a tax on long distance phone calls. At the time, it only affected the fortunate Americans who had phones. Surprisingly, Congress hadn't repealed it after the war ended, and it remained intact for 100 years until the IRS announced it wouldn't collect the tax anymore.
I think this war helped with the relationships in America the most, even if it did give us unneeded land. The greed in the U.S. is incomprehensible, even back then.
Comments
Good topic choice and well done!