Lesson 3: The United States Becomes a World Power

Lesson Focus

After the Spanish-American War, America faced a new role as a world power. This lesson explores the challenges of governing new territories like the Philippines and Cuba while debating the meaning of American ideals.

People to Know

William McKinley, William Howard Taft

Learning Objectives

• Explain why the Philippine Islands were the most difficult new territory for the United States to govern.
• Discuss the constitutional questions that arose from America's new role as a colonial power.

The U.S. victory over Spain left it controlling former Spanish colonies, sparking a fierce debate over annexation.
Imperialists argued for expansion, citing ideas like social Darwinism and the “white man’s burden.” Anti-imperialists saw this as a violation of American democratic traditions.
Ultimately, President McKinley decided to annex the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico, driven by economic and strategic motives and setting America on a new path as a world power.

After the U.S. decided to annex their country instead of granting independence, Filipino patriots turned against their former American allies.
This ignited a brutal three-year war beginning in 1899 that required 60,000 U.S. troops to suppress.
After the conflict, the U.S. installed a civil government under William Howard Taft, who began preparing the islands for self-rule. Pay special attention that full independence was not granted until 1946.

America’s new overseas empire created a constitutional crisis over the question, “Does the Constitution follow the flag?”
This raised a debate on whether inhabitants of new dependencies like Puerto Rico deserved the same rights as American citizens.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not automatically apply overseas, giving Congress the power to govern these territories and determine the civil rights of their people as it saw fit.

Although the U.S. had promised Cuba independence, it sought to maintain control over the island after the war.
In 1901, Congress passed the Platt Amendment, which was forced into Cuba's constitution. It gave the U.S. the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to control naval stations.
This amendment effectively made Cuba an American protectorate—a nation controlled by a stronger state—and limited its sovereignty for over 30 years.

Yellow fever posed a deadly threat to the U.S. Army’s occupation of Cuba, hindering American control.
A medical team under Dr. Walter Reed proved that mosquitoes spread the disease. Based on this discovery, Major William C. Gorgas led a massive sanitation campaign to eliminate the mosquitoes in Havana.
By 1901, this effort eradicated the disease from the city, making the American occupation safer and demonstrating U.S. power in the region.

The Spanish-American War spurred the U.S. to secure strategic locations for its new global role.
Recognizing its value as a naval base en route to the Philippines, the U.S. annexed Hawaii in July 1898. The U.S. also chose to keep Puerto Rico as a permanent territory.
This solidified an American presence in both the Pacific and the Caribbean, with Puerto Ricans eventually being granted U.S. citizenship in 1917.