Why did the U.S invade Cuba?
There are continuous theories that continue to spread to this day about why the U.S invaded Cuba. After the destruction of the Maine naval ship, the United States immediately began to point the blame towards the Spanish. With the mistreatment of Cubans by the Spanish, America came to the realization that they must invade the country. However, Because of Cuba's geographic importance, it looked as if the United States was making up excuses in order to invade Cuba with just cause. The United States invaded Cuba in 1898 in part to the destruction of the Maine, but more importantly due to Cuba's geographic importance to the country.
The United States battleship, the Maine, was destroyed in 1898 within the Cuban Havana Harbor. Some people say that the Maine was blown up with underwater explosives by the Spanish Navy, and as a result, people began to blame Spain for the sinking of the ship. The Navy said that the ship was sunk by a water mine, but stated that it could not fix responsibility on any single person. At the time of the sinking of the Maine U.S. President William Mckinley was in office. President Mckinley had hoped to avoid going to war with Spain but knew it was inevitable, so in 1898 Mckinley declared war on Spain. Immediately after, Americans jumped to blame the Spaniards for the incident. Details of the incident were emphasized so that Americans would be on board with an invasion of Cuba, knowing that the Spanish were the main cause of the many deaths on the Maine.
Ultimately, the United States used the destruction of the Maine as a decoy and cover up the real reason for the invasion of Cuba which was because of its significance, geographically. The Spaniards were not behind the accidental destruction of the Maine, but the U.S did not care and took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself. Cuba was far too valuable for the United States to pass up. So, they found a perfect scapegoat with the...