How the United States rose from ashes to its present-day glory
How the United States rose from ashes to its present-day glory
A story of how America became a THE world superpower
As a result of a brief but devastating war, the global equilibrium that had permitted the United States to thrive and prosper in virtual isolation since 1815 was shattered permanently. Domestic support for Cuban independence embroiled the United States in a conflict with Spain over the island nation's fate in 1898. The choice to assist the Cuban opposition was a significant divergence from conventional American liberal nationalism, and the repercussions of that decision were far-reaching. The Treaty of Paris, which ended the war in 1898, granted Cuba freedom while also ceding to the United States major Spanish possessions, including Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and the little island of Guam. The United States had become a colonial power overnight.
This embrace of colonial obligations represented not just the fleeting enthusiasms of 1898, but also a significant shift in the United States' diplomatic position. Because the nation had transformed, the foreign policies of the early nineteenth century were less relevant at the turn of the twentieth century. The United States possessed practically all of the characteristics of a great power, outnumbering or almost outnumbering almost every other country in terms of population, geographic size and placement on two seas, economic resources, and military might.
To adapt to these new conditions, foreign policy had to adjust. In his instructions to the American delegation negotiating the Treaty of Paris, President William McKinley called attention to the new circumstances. "We cannot be unmindful of the fact that the war has brought us new tasks and responsibilities that we must face and perform as a strong country whose growth and career the Ruler of Nations has explicitly inscribed the lofty command and vow of civilization from the beginning."
George L. Rives, a contemporaneous observer, expanded on this notion. "Whether we like it or not," he said, "it is clear that the country is now entering a time in its history in which it will be forced to have significantly deeper and more intricate contacts with all the other major Powers of the globe," an event that would render traditional foreign strategy obsolete. "From now on, we will be seen as having abandoned our usual isolationist mentality."