Why did the US invade Cuba?

Why did the U.S. invade Cuba?

     As Americans we love to show our pride and love for gaining land. Manifest Destiny made us expand our borders more than "sea to shining sea." Manifest Destiny continued into the late 1800's and early 1900's because we wanted to expand our borders. U.S. invaded Cuba because of the Maine explosion and the way the Spanish treated the Cubans. Though the Maine explosion has been proven to be a cause of a coal explosion, most Americans thought it was a direct attack by the Spanish.

  

   Cubans under Spanish rule were treated like animals. The Spanish treated them as lesser beings. The U.S. Saw this and was astounded by the treatment. Little did they know the treatment of the Cubans was a lot like how whites treated slaves.The Americans saw how the Spanish made the Cubans live in poor conditions and wanted to liberate them. In president Mckinley's state of the Union speech he said "we owe it to our citizens in Cuba to afford that protection and identity for life and property which no government there can will or afford." This ideal of liberating people in need continued in Vietnam, Iraq, and Korea.

    

 

 

The U.S. had no real involvement in Cuba until one U.S. ship, the Maine, mysteriously exploded because of an accident in the coal room. Immediately after this happen Americans thought the Spanish planted a mine causing the coal room to explode. Americans felt the Spanish wanted to start a war and strike the U.S. into chaos. This animosity towards the Spanish was perfectly written in the poem "Awake United States."

     So should the constitution follow the flag? It shouldn't because the land gained would have to change the culture and political aspects entire to US ideals. There is a court case supporting this ideal, Downes vs. Bidwell, this court case dealt with a tax on import goods though the land it was coming from was an United States territory. Inevitably the court founded the constitution only follows the flag if laws are enacted for the particular territory.

     The U.S. invaded Cuba to help the Cuban people and to get back at the Spanish for attacking the Maine. The U.S. felt Cuba was necessary because Manifest Destiny. We wanted to expand our borders past the "sea to shinning sea" idea.