The Spanish-American War was important to the U.S. for a number of reasons. Following their victory the United States was recognized as a leading world power because they had defeated Spain, one of the most powerful nations in the world for centuries. The war was fought for two primary reasons. First was to defend the Cubans who were being oppressed by the Spanish and the second was to expand United States territories. The U.S. was successful in achieving both of these goals.
After the war, America annexed, meaning they took and added on, some colonies that Spain had ruled previously such as Puerto Rico, Guam and The Philippians. Americans were divided on imperialism, however, President McKinley was a proponent of imperialism and used the spread of religion to increase support among the Americans.
Another important outcome of the Spanish American War was the reunification of the American North and South against a common enemy, Spain. Although the war was fought in Cuba, Americans united to battle the Spanish. This was especially important because the U.S. was still very wounded and divided following the Civil War.
The Spanish American War was comparatively short- about 4 months and fewer soldiers were lost in battle than other wars throughout history. However this war was important in increasing America's reputation as an international power, annexing to territories and unifying the North and South against their common enemy.
