There are three common theories as to why the US possibly invaded Cuba. One theory is that the United States invaded Cuba as revenge for the death of the sailors on the Maine. The other theory is America went to Cuba in search for opportunity and resources for young people of The Republic. The final and most logical theory is that The US invaded Cuba due to the oppression that Cuba was receiving from Spain. America has always been known for being humane and helping undeveloped countries when they are in need. Because of the fact that Cuba needed help, so America invaded.
The Cuban government which was being controlled by Spain was treating their citizens terribly. They were sending their citizens to concentration camps. These were in essence similar to the concentration camps that the Nazis had. The citizens were told they had eight days to go to a reconcentration camp. If they didn't do this they were shot. This caused the death rates to soar. According to Reconcentration Camps, the death percentage " has amounted to 77%". This did not please the United States and that is why they stepped in. The reason we invaded Cuba was to enforce the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine "opposed further European colonization of and interference with independent nations in the Western Hemisphere". The Teller amendment was made to help America not look like a hypocrite. The Teller Amendment stated that America would not annex Cuba. After looking further into Cuba's situations America passed the Platt Amendment. This amendment said that America would intervene with Cuba if they had large issues or flaws. These amendments made it so America was not hypocritical but could still be helpful if Cuba needed it.
The other theories were somewhat believable and could be supported with evidence but the Oppression theory seemed the most intelligent or logical. The theory stated that the US invaded for vengeance over the lives lost because of the Maine explosion seems fishy. There are also theories on how the Maine exploded. Did Spain do it? Did the company do it? Was it natural? Did the US possibly do it on purpose? All of these theories on how it happened could be supported in some fashion. I do not support this theory of vengeance due to the fact that there are so many other sub-theories involved. Nothing in this theory has a definite answer. America has been known for protecting its armed men, "avenge the cruel". The area of the ship was known for natural fires which could have sparked the explosion.
The other possible theory is that America invaded Cuba in search for new resources for "the young people of the republic". America had little to no reason to start searching for new resources considering they were still excavating American soil at the time. This leads me it believe that this was not a reason to invade Cuba.
Each of these theories can be supported with some form of evidence. The validity of the evidence and motive behind the theories is where we see the facts. Because we may not ever know the real answer could we wonder if there are other theories that are hidden from the public?
