Throughout the course of history, nations have invested time and manpower in the colonization and modernization of more rural governments. Imperialism spread across the world, from the British East India Company to France's occupation of North Africa. After its founding in 1776, the United States of America remained largely aloof from this trend until the Spanish-American War of 1898. After the war, the annexation and colonization of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines ultimately set a precedent for a foreign country. policy of American imperialism. In the second half of the 19th century, tensions in Cuba were rising rapidly. The ten-year Cuban War, from 1868 to 1878, had ignited among the natives a fire for independence from Spain. In 1892, José Julián Martí y Pérez founded El Partido Revolucionario Cubano, or Cuban revolutionary party. The Cuban independence movement known as Ejército Libertador de Cuba began in February 1895 with the motto “Independencio o Muerte” (Independence or Death). Several minor battles between Cuba and Spain took place that year. (Library of Congress) In June 1895, President Grover Cleveland took a stance of neutrality toward the Cuban conflict, even though many American citizens worried that the fight was too close to home. (Spanish-American) In December of the following year, Cleveland said that the United States might be forced to act if Spain was unable to resolve the Cuban crisis on its own. (Library of Congress) Spain granted Cuba limited autonomy in January 1897, but the natives were not satisfied. While the Spanish resorted to ruthless tactics to keep the Cubans in line, their brutality aroused much sympathy in the United States. Tensions rose between America and Spain. The other shoe drops...... middle of paper......al Sam Gillis. Benevolent assimilation: the American conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1982. 87. Print. Miller, Stuart C. “Letter from a New York-born Soldier.” Benevolent assimilation: the American conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903. New Haven, CT: Yale University, 1982. 88. Print. United States of America. Library of Congress. Chronology of Cuba in the Spanish-American War. Np, June 22, 2011. Web. March 03, 2014.United States of America. US Department of State. Historian's Office. Annexation of Hawaii, 1898. Np, nd Web. March 03, 2014.United States of America. US Department of State. Historian's Office. The Philippine-American War, 1899-1902. Np, and Web. March 03, 2014United States of America. US Department of State. Historian's Office. The Spanish-American War, 1898. Np, nd Web. February 25. 2014.