Perhaps the most curious and compelling issue associated with the War of 1898 is that, unlike most other wars in which the United States has engaged, there is no clear consensus on why, exactly, the nation went to war, and what outcomes Americans expected from the war. Aside from a moment of “war fever” in the summer of 1898, issues like intervention in Cuba and other lands, or war with Spain, were highly controversial both in the prelude to and aftermath of the war. Using the various secondary and primary sources for this lesson, advance an argument as to what the most dominant reason was for the U.S. decision to go to war in 1898. Was this an imperial adventure spurred on by leaders like Beveridge and Roosevelt to gain prestige and territory? Was this a case of the public, egged on by the “yellow press,” forcing the hand of a recalcitrant President McKinley into liberating an oppressed Cuba? Was this war fought simply (and cynically) to preserve and advance American economic interests? Or is there some other explanation? In your essay, take a hard stand and support it with evidence and examples.
