The American Pageant by Kennedy Cohen-Bailey Essay

The American Pageant by Kennedy Cohen-Bailey - Essay Example Most of it was brought about by the need to expand the trade borders of the American people. America was linked in many ways to Cuba than just at the time of the war. Cuba was one of the major producers of sugar and major suppliers to the USA. The Wilson-Gorman tariff imposed on Cuba by America to protect the sugar growers in America invariably raised the price of sugar and the Cuban economy suffered as a result. The misrule by the Spanish of its colony in Cuba created a lot of unrest. The Cubans fought the 10year battle of independence from 1868 to 1878 and tried to drive the Spanish away by destruction of property including cane fields and blowing up of passenger trains. The situation peaked when Spain sent tyrant General Wyeley in 1895 to Cuba. Wesley took it upon himself to crush the rebellion and opened up re-concentration camps, imprisoned and isolated the Cuban revolutionaries from the Filipino revolutionaries in their war of independence. Many perished and â€Å"died like do gs† (Bailey, 629). from unsanitary conditions in the camps. The American people rose against this atrocities to the Cubans and wanted war but the then president Grover Cleveland was against it and even motioned to strike against congress if they were to declare war against Spain and send troops to Cuba. This resolve, however, did not last very long as there were many other factors at stake than America was unwilling to admit to at that time. US also had a stake in the war because it was not really comfortable with having a European colony that close to its own borders. The unrest in Cuba was straining US trade relations in the region and threatening US investments in Cuba. There was also fear that its access to Panama would affect future sea trade routes.