The United States emerged from the Spanish-American War with significant new territories. These offered military bases and new sources of minerals, fruit, sugar, and other raw materials. Most importantly, the war made the United States a major player in international politics.

Theodore Roosevelt, about 1908. The twenty-sixth president of the United States, Roosevelt served for two terms (1901-09) and ran unsuccessfully for a third.

Cuba

American soldiers occupied Cuba until 1902, when the government was turned over to a new president, Tomas Estrada Palma. Civilian government ended in 1909 and the island has been ruled by a series of dictators since then. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Fidel Castro's government in 1961, but kept its naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Philippines

In May 1898, Admiral George Dewey captured the Philippines with a naval victory and the aid of Filipino rebels under Emilio Aguinaldo. The following year the United States annexed the Philippines. Outraged to be transferred from one foreign power to another, Filipinos fought a three-year guerrilla war. The islands were held by the Japanese from 1942-1945, and full independence was gained in 1991.

Wake Island

On the way to the Philippines, the steamship China stopped at Wake Island on July 4, 1898, and reclaimed it for the United States. The island had first been claimed in 1840. After 1935, Wake became a base for Pan American Airways China Clipper flights, but was lost to the Japanese in December 1941.

Panama Canal

The Spanish-American War demonstrated the need for a faster route between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In 1903, the newly-created Republic of Panama leased to the United States a ten-mile strip across the isthmus as a canal site. Political and technical problems, as well as tropical disease, delayed construction until 1906. The forty-mile-long lock canal opened to shipping in August 1914.

Over 200,000 Americans served in the Spanish-American War. Of these 379 died in combat and 1,604 were wounded. Over 4,000 (another source says 5,462) servicemen died of fever and disease. From 1898 to 1903 another 5,000 American men died during the Philippine Insurrection.

The Treaty of Paris

Under the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, Spain surrendered the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States. The Philippines were also ceded, but with a payment of twenty million dollars as compensation. Prisoners were released by both sides, and each nation relinquished all indemnity claims.

Puerto Rico

On July 25, 1898, Americans invaded Puerto Rico against weak Spanish resistance. Nine Americans were killed and forty-six wounded. Under the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Puerto Rico became a colony of the United States. Puerto Ricans were given the vote in 1917, and have held popular elections since 1947. Movements for statehood, and for independence, flourish today.

Guam

In the shortest conquest of the war, the American cruiser Charleston conquered Guam after four-and-one-half minutes of shelling. Administered by the American Navy until 1941, it was then occupied by the Japanese until 1944. Guam became a territory in 1950, and its citizens received the right to vote in 1970. Today it is being considered for commonwealth status.

Hawaii

In 1891 Queen Liluokalani of Hawaii was dethroned in a bloodless revolt engineered by United States sugar and pineapple growers. Worried by the threat of a Japanese takeover, Hawaiian president Dole asked the United States for help in 1898. It became a territory on June 14, 1900, and the 50th state on August 21, 1959.