New struggling, independent and democratic colonies were arising in the South of America and in the Caribbean, as specific examples the Philippines and Cuba. Those colonies tried to find help from America since they had a good relationship with each other. Their future however was risky because European countries were fighting for the control over their territory. The Monroe Doctrine was also really important because European colonies were warned that they weren't allowed to colonize in South America or the Caribbean anymore.
In the early 1898 the USS Maine was sent to rescue Americans, who were in the Cuban rebellion. Moreover it was sent to show that the US was ready to act out their Monroe Doctrine. On February 15th, 1898 a naval officer awoke President McKinley with new stunning news, namely that "the Maine" exploded in Havana, Cuba. The majority of the Americans thought that this was in Spain's intention. This was followed by the USA declaring war to Spain screaming: "Remember the Maine!".
On May 1st, 1898 Admiral Dewey came to the Philippines to help them fight against Spain.
After the war there was the big question what to do with the Philippines, in history people always have different opinions. As an example Senator Cabot Lodge's point of view was, that it was " A competition with european powers to control foreign markets for domestic goods during a lingering international depression " (Video, 2:39 minutes).
However the Filipinos didn't want to be lead by the US. Under the lead of Emilio Aguinaldo the Philippines fought back. This was the start of the Philippine-American war.
The US clearly dominated the war and sent the Filipinos to "protection zones" where thousands of them died.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_GCyEnEgo
Textbook: pgs 560- 562
In my opinion the content of this video combined with the knowledge I got out of the textbook made me understand everything way better. How everything got together and why it all ended up in this war.
The video also gave a lot of specific examples I couldn't get out of the textbook, for example the Monroe Doctrine and the "protection zones" for the Filipinos. Furthermore the movie explained why the USS Maine was actually sent, in the textbook on the other side they just mentioned the outcomes of the explosion of the battleship. Now everything combined and makes sence, which is really awesome. I am really psyched and can't wait to read more about this war.
