American businesses had important investments and interests in Cuba in the end of the 19th century. Americans had invested nearly $50 million in the sugar industry, and annual trade was almost the double of that amount. Besides, out of security concerns, influential circles had advocated the purchase of Cuba.
Explanation:
The main role in agitating the American public opinion was played by the barons of American press William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. They ran sensational papers, which published stories about the Cuban independence war and the battles against the Spanish troops. Beside warning about the consequences for American trade interests and the safety of US citizens, the papers also reported on the terrible abuses of Spanish concentration camps for the Cuban population. This caused a wave of sympathy for the Cuban freedom effort. The US declared war on Spain and it was fought for several months in 1898. The US took the territories of former Spanish possessions Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
