Answer:
First, the US got involved for economic reasons. Americans felt that taking places like Hawaii and the Philippines would give them new sources of raw materials. It would also give them new markets in which to sell their goods. Second, Americans wanted to spread their way of life around the globe.
The American's gained their freedom in the 1775-1783 American Revolution. America was a country by the time of the 1789-1799 French Revolution and did absolutely nothing for the war effort, despite the fact that one of the major causes was bankruptcy caused by partitcipation in the American Revolution.