Editing Spanish–American War (section)

==Aftermath==
The war lasted 16 weeks. [[John Hay]] (the U.S. ambassador in London) boasted that it had been "a splendid little war".<ref>{{citation|url=http://harvardmagazine.com/1998/11/war.html|title="A Splendid Little War"; Harvard and the commencement of a new world order|first=John|last=Bethell|publisher=Harvard magazine|date=November–December 1998|access-date=December 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205135255/http://harvardmagazine.com/1998/11/war.html|archive-date=December 5, 2008|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The press showed [[Northern United States|Northerners]] and [[Southern United States|Southerners]], blacks and whites fighting against a common foe, helping to ease the scars left from the American Civil War.<ref>{{harvnb|Montoya|2011|p=78}}</ref> Exemplary of this was that four former Confederate States Army generals had served in the war, now in the U.S. Army and all of them again carrying similar ranks. These officers were [[Matthew Butler]], [[Fitzhugh Lee]], [[Thomas L. Rosser]] and Joseph Wheeler, though only the latter had seen action. Still, in an exciting moment during the Battle of San Juan Hill, Wheeler apparently forgot for a moment which war he was fighting, having supposedly called out "Let's go, boys! We've got the damn Yankees on the run again!"<ref name=Dupuy794>{{harvnb|Dupuy|Johnson|Bongard|1992|p=794}}</ref>

The war marked [[Foreign policy of the United States|American entry]] into world affairs. Since then, the U.S. has had a significant hand in various conflicts around the world, and entered many treaties and agreements. The [[Panic of 1893]] was over by this point, and the U.S. entered a [[American Century|long and prosperous period]] of economic and population growth, and technological innovation that lasted through the 1920s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bailey|1961|p=657}}</ref>

The war redefined national identity, served as a solution of sorts to the social divisions plaguing the American mind, and provided a model for all future news reporting.<ref>Kaplan, Richard L. 2003. "American Journalism Goes to War, 1898–2001: a manifesto on media and empire", p. 211</ref>

The idea of [[American imperialism]] changed in the public's mind after the short and successful Spanish–American War. Because of the United States' powerful influence diplomatically and militarily, Cuba's status after the war relied heavily upon American actions. Two major developments emerged from the Spanish–American War: one, it firmly established the United States' vision of itself as a "defender of democracy" and as a major world power, and two, it had severe implications for [[Cuba–United States relations]] in the future. As historian Louis Pérez argued in his book ''Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos'', the Spanish–American War of 1898 "fixed permanently how Americans came to think of themselves: a righteous people given to the service of righteous purpose".<ref>{{harvnb|Pérez|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9uSsePHCVWAC&pg=PA11 11]}}.</ref>

===Aftermath in Spain===
{{Blockquote|Described as absurd and useless by much of [[historiography]], the war against the United States was sustained by an internal logic, in the idea that it was not possible to maintain the [[Restoration (Spain)|monarchical regime]] if it was not from a more than predictable military defeat|author=Suárez Cortina|title=La España Liberal|source=<ref name=Suárez>Suárez Cortina, Manuel (2006). "The survival of the monarchical regime... it led liberals and conservatives to opt for defeat as a guarantee that it was thus possible to safeguard the Crown. [...] The logic of war was thus subject to a basic task: to preserve the integrity of the inherited patrimony and to safeguard the throne of the [[Alfonso XIII|child-king]]. [(translated from Spanish)]" La [https://www.sintesis.com/data/indices/9788497564154.pdf España Liberal (1868–1917). Política y sociedad] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230712101533/https://www.sintesis.com/data/indices/9788497564154.pdf |date=July 12, 2023 }}. Madrid: Síntesis. {{ISBN|84-9756-415-4}}.</ref>}} A similar point of view that is shared by Carlos Dardé:{{Blockquote|Once the war was raised, the Spanish government believed that it had no other solution than to fight, and lose. They thought that defeat —certain— was preferable to revolution —also certain—. [...] Granting independence to Cuba, without being defeated militarily... it would have implied in Spain, more than likely, a military coup d'état with broad popular support, and the fall of the monarchy; that is, the revolution|title=La Restauración, 1875–1902. Alfonso XII y la regencia de María Cristina|source=<ref name=Dardé>Dardé, Carlos (1996). p. 116. La Restauración, 1875–1902. Alfonso XII y la regencia de María Cristina. Madrid: Historia 16-Temas de Hoy. {{ISBN|84-7679-317-0}}.</ref>}}

As the head of the Spanish delegation to the Paris peace negotiations, the liberal [[Eugenio Montero Ríos]], said: "Everything has been lost, except the Monarchy". Or as the [[Spain–United States relations|U.S. ambassador in Madrid]] said: the politicians of the dynastic parties preferred "the odds of a war, with the certainty of losing Cuba, to the dethronement of the monarchy".<ref>Suárez Cortina, 2006, p. 146-147.</ref> There were Spanish officers in Cuba who expressed "the conviction that the government of Madrid had the deliberate intention that the squadron be destroyed as soon as possible, in order to quickly reach peace<ref>Dardé, 1996, p. 121.</ref>".

Although there was nothing exceptional about the defeat in the [[Belle Époque|context of the time]] ([[Fashoda Incident|Fachoda incident]], [[1890 British Ultimatum]], [[First Italo-Ethiopian War]], [[Greco-Turkish War (1897)]], [[Century of humiliation]], [[Russo-Japanese War]]{{nbsp}}...{{nbsp}}among [[International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919)#Imperialism|other examples]]), in Spain the result of the war caused a [[national trauma]] due to the affinity of peninsular Spaniards with Cuba, but only in the ''intellectual class'' (which gave rise to [[Regenerationism]] and the [[Generation of '98]]), because the majority of the population was illiterate and lived under the regime of ''[[Cacique#Caciquismo and caudillismo|caciquismo]]''.

The war greatly reduced the Spanish Empire. Spain had been declining as an imperial power since the early 19th century as a result of Napoleon's invasion. Spain retained only a handful of overseas holdings: [[Spanish West Africa]] ([[Spanish Sahara]]), [[Spanish Guinea]], [[Spanish Morocco]], and the [[Canary Islands]]. With the loss of the Philippines, Spain's remaining Pacific possessions in the [[Caroline Islands]] and [[Mariana Islands]] became untenable and were sold to Germany<ref>{{Cite book|last=Roberts|first=J. M.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/870590864|title=Europe 1880–1945|publisher=Taylor & Francis Group|year=2013|isbn=978-1-317-87962-6|editor-last=Hay|editor-first=Denys|edition=3rd|series=General History of Europe|publication-place=London|pages=128–129|oclc=870590864|id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here --> }}}}</ref> in the [[German–Spanish Treaty (1899)]].

The Spanish soldier [[Julio Cervera Baviera]], who served in the [[Puerto Rico campaign|Puerto Rican campaign]], published a pamphlet in which he blamed the natives of that colony for its occupation by the Americans, saying, "I have never seen such a servile, ungrateful country [i.e., Puerto Rico]&nbsp;... In twenty-four hours, the people of Puerto Rico went from being fervently Spanish to enthusiastically American.... They humiliated themselves, giving in to the invader as the slave bows to the powerful lord."<ref>{{Harvnb|Negrón-Muntaner|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3bbp-8X0U9YC 11]}}, citing {{citation|author=Julio Cervera Baviera|title=La defensa militar de Puerto Rico|year=1898|pages=79–80}}</ref> He was purportedly challenged to a [[duel]] by a group of young Puerto Ricans for writing this pamphlet.<ref>{{citation|url=http://home.coqui.net/sarrasin/pers2.htm#anchor134043|title=Protagonistas de la Guerra Hispano Americana en Puerto Rico Parte II – Comandante Julio Cervera Baviera|publisher=1898 La Guerra Hispano Americana en Puerto Rico|access-date=February 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080130100035/http://home.coqui.net/sarrasin/pers2.htm#anchor134043|archive-date=January 30, 2008|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}} (an excerpt from {{Harvnb|Carreras|Tafunell|2004}})</ref>

Culturally, a new wave called the Generation of '98 originated as a response to this trauma, marking a renaissance in Spanish culture. Economically, the war benefited Spain, because after the war large sums of capital held by Spaniards in Cuba and the United States were returned to the peninsula and invested in Spain. This massive flow of capital (equivalent to 25% of the gross domestic product of one year) helped to develop the large modern firms in Spain in the steel, chemical, financial, mechanical, textile, shipyard, and electrical power industries.<ref>Albert Carreras & Xavier Tafunell: ''Historia Económica de la España contemporánea'', pp. 200–08, {{ISBN|8484325024}}.</ref> However, the political consequences were serious. The defeat in the war began the weakening of the fragile political stability that had been established earlier by the rule of [[Alfonso XII]].

A few years after the war, during the reign of [[Alfonso XIII]], Spain improved its commercial position and maintained close relations with the United States, which led to the signing of commercial treaties between the two countries in 1902, 1906 and 1910. Spain would turn its attention to [[Spanish Africa (disambiguation)|its possessions in Africa]] (especially northern [[Morocco]], Spanish Sahara and Spanish Guinea) and would begin to rehabilitate itself internationally after the [[Algeciras Conference]] of 1906.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://studylib.es/doc/6871128/las-relaciones-pol%C3%ADticas--econ%C3%B3micas-y-culturales-entre-e...|title=Las relaciones políticas, económicas y culturales entre España y los Estados Unidos en los siglos XIX y XX|date=July 24, 2017|last=Bernal|first=Antonio Ñiguez|language=es|website=studylib.es}}</ref> In 1907, it signed a kind of defensive alliance with France and the United Kingdom, known as the [[Pact of Cartagena]] in case of war against the [[Triple Alliance (1882)|Triple Alliance]].<ref>By which, with the transfer of technology from the United Kingdom and France, the Spanish government was able to begin to rebuild the fleet and built the {{sclass|España|battleship|1}} and projected the {{sclass|Reina Victoria Eugenia|battleship|1}} that were canceled by the beginning of the First World War. When the Great War broke out in 1914, the [[Italian entry into World War I|Italian government declared its neutrality]] so that the Spanish government had scope to [[Spain during World War I|also declare its neutrality]] in the conflict.</ref> Spain improved economically because of [[Spain during World War I|its neutrality]] in the [[First World War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/spain.htm |title=Spain During the First World War |last=McEvoy |first=William P. |year=2003 |publisher=FirstWorldWar.com |access-date=2009-07-16 |archive-date=June 12, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612213421/http://firstworldwar.com/features/spain.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Teller and Platt Amendments===
The Teller Amendment was passed in the Senate on April 19, 1898, with a vote of 42 for versus 35 against. On April 20, it was passed by the House of Representatives with a vote of 311 for versus 6 against and signed into law by President William McKinley.<ref>Sheehan, John M. (September 2013). Imperial senate: American Legislative Debates on Empire, 1898–1917 (Dissertation). Naval Postgraduate School.</ref> Effectively, it was a promise from the United States to the Cuban people that it was not declaring war to annex Cuba, but would help in gaining its independence from Spain. The [[Platt Amendment]], was a move by the United States' government to shape Cuban affairs to promote American interests without violating the Teller Amendment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/platt|title=Milestones: 1899–1913 : The United States, Cuba, and the Platt Amendment, 1901|work=Milestones|publisher=Office of the Historian, US Department of State|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423105708/http://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/platt|archive-date=April 23, 2015|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The Platt Amendment granted the United States the right to stabilize Cuba militarily as needed.<ref name=":02322">{{Cite book|last1=Roark|first1=James L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1096495503|title=The American Promise: A History of the United States|last2=Johnson|first2=Michael P.|last3=Furstenburg|first3=Francois|last4=Cline Cohen|first4=Patricia|last5=Hartmann|first5=Susan M.|last6=Stage|first6=Sarah|last7=Igo|first7=Sarah E.|publisher=Bedford/St. Martin's|year=2020|isbn=978-1319208929|edition=Value Edition, 8th|volume=Combined Volume|location=Boston, MA|at=Kindle Locations 15361–15371|chapter=Chapter 20 Dissent, Depression, and War: 1890–1900|type=Kindle|oclc=1096495503}}</ref> It permitted the United States to deploy Marines to Cuba if Cuban freedom and independence were ever threatened or jeopardized by an external or internal force.<ref name=":02322" /> Passed as a rider to an Army [[Appropriations bill (United States)|appropriations bill]] which was signed into law on 2 March 1903, it effectively prohibited Cuba from signing treaties with other nations or contracting a public debt. It also provided for a permanent American naval base in Cuba.<ref name=":02322" /> Guantánamo Bay was established after the signing of the [[Cuban–American Treaty of Relations (1903)|Cuban–American Treaty of Relations]] in 1903. {{citation needed span|date=June 2023|The U.S. compelled Cuban assent by insinuating American forces would not be withdrawn otherwise.}} Thus, despite that Cuba technically gained its independence after the war ended, the United States government ensured that it had some form of power and control over Cuban affairs.{{original research inline|date=June 2023}}

===Aftermath in the United States===
The U.S. annexed the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.<ref name=":02322" /> The notion of the United States as an imperial power, with colonies, was hotly debated domestically with President McKinley and the Pro-Imperialists winning their way over vocal opposition led by [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[William Jennings Bryan]],<ref name=":02322" /> who had supported the war. The American public largely supported the possession of colonies, but there were many outspoken critics such as [[Mark Twain]], who wrote ''[[The War Prayer]]'' in protest. Roosevelt returned to the United States a war hero,<ref name=":02322" /> and he was soon elected [[List of Governors of New York|governor]] of New York and then became the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]]. At the age of 42, he became the youngest person to become president after the [[Assassination of William McKinley|assassination of President McKinley]].

The war served to further repair relations between the American North and South. The war gave both sides a common enemy for the first time since the end of the Civil War in 1865, and many friendships were formed between soldiers of northern and southern states during their tours of duty. This was an important development, since many soldiers in this war were the children of Civil War veterans on both sides.<ref>[https://sites.rootsweb.com/~scjssawv/ Confederate & Federal Veterans of '98: Civil War Veterans who served in the Spanish–American War, Philippine Insurrection, and China Relief Expedition by Micah J. Jenkins]. Retrieved on October 13, 2007 {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The African American community strongly supported the rebels in Cuba, supported entry into the war, and gained prestige from their wartime performance in the Army. Spokesmen noted that 33 African American seamen had died in the ''Maine'' explosion. The most influential Black leader, [[Booker T. Washington]], argued that his race was ready to fight. War offered them a chance "to render service to our country that no other race can", because, "unlike Whites", they were "accustomed" to the "peculiar and dangerous climate" of Cuba. One of the Black units that served in the war was the [[9th Cavalry Regiment (United States)|9th Cavalry Regiment]]. In March 1898, Washington promised the Secretary of the Navy that war would be answered by "at least ten thousand loyal, brave, strong black men in the south who crave an opportunity to show their loyalty to our land, and would gladly take this method of showing their gratitude for the lives laid down, and the sacrifices made, that Blacks might have their freedom and rights."{{sfn|Gatewood|1975|pp=23–29}}

====Veterans Associations====
In 1904, the [[United Spanish War Veterans]] was created from smaller groups of the veterans of the Spanish–American War. The organization has been defunct since 1992 when its last surviving member [[Nathan E. Cook]] a veteran of the Philippine-American war died, but it left an heir in the Sons of Spanish–American War Veterans, created in 1937 at the 39th National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans.

The [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]] of the United States (VFW) was formed in 1914 from the merger of two veterans organizations which both arose in 1899: the American Veterans of Foreign Service and the National Society of the Army of the Philippines.<ref name="glance">{{cite web|title=VFW at a Glance|publisher=VFW|date=September 2, 2004|url=http://www.vfw.org/resources/pdf/glance.pdf|access-date=November 4, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061102012659/http://www.vfw.org/resources/pdf/glance.pdf|archive-date=November 2, 2006|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The former was formed for veterans of the Spanish–American War, while the latter was formed for veterans of the Philippine–American War. Both organizations were formed in response to the general neglect veterans returning from the war experienced at the hands of the government.

To pay the costs of the war, Congress passed an [[Federal telephone excise tax|excise tax on long-distance phone service]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/senators-want-to-nix-1898-telecom-tax/|title=Senators want to nix 1898 telecom tax|last=McCullagh|first=Declan|publisher=[[CNET Networks]]|date=July 1, 2005|access-date=July 23, 2019|archive-date=July 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723144556/https://www.cnet.com/news/senators-want-to-nix-1898-telecom-tax/|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time, it affected only wealthy Americans who owned telephones. However, the Congress neglected to repeal the tax after the war ended four months later. The tax remained in place for over 100 years until, on August 1, 2006, it was announced that the [[U.S. Department of the Treasury]] and the [[IRS]] would no longer collect it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/telecom-tax-imposed-in-1898-finally-ends/|title=Telecom tax imposed in 1898 finally ends|last=Reardon|first=Marguerite|publisher=CNET Networks|date=August 2, 2006|access-date=July 23, 2019|archive-date=July 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723144551/https://www.cnet.com/news/telecom-tax-imposed-in-1898-finally-ends/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Impact on the Marine Corps====
The [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] during the 18th and 19th centuries was primarily a ship-borne force. Marines were assigned to naval vessels to protect the ship's crew during close quarters combat, man secondary batteries, and provide landing parties when the ship's captain needed them.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Millett |first=Allan |title=Semper Fidelis: History of the United States Marine Corps |publisher=The Free Press |year=1991 |chapter=Chapter 5: The Marine Corps and the New Navy 1889–1909}}</ref> During the [[Mexican–American War]] and the Civil War, the Marine Corps participated in some amphibious landings and had limited coordination with the Army and Navy in their operations.<ref>Shulimson J, Renfrow WJ, Kelly LtCol DE, Englander EA, eds. (1998). ''Marines in the Spanish-American War 1895–1899''. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. pp. 7–23.</ref> During the Spanish–American War though, the Marines conducted several successful combined operations with both the Army and the Navy. Marine forces helped in the Army-led assault on Santiago and Marines also supported the Navy's operations by securing the entrance to [[Battle of Guantánamo Bay|Guantanamo Bay]] so American vessels could clear the harbor of mines and use it as a refueling station without fear of Spanish harassment.<ref>Shulimson J, Renfrow WJ, Kelly LtCol DE, Englander EA, eds. (1998). ''Marines in the Spanish-American War 1895–1899''. Washington, D.C.: History and Museums Division Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. pp. 13–21, 22–23</ref> Doctrinally, the Army and the Navy did not agree on much of anything and Navy officers were often frustrated by the lack of Army support.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |title=Crucible of Empire |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1992 |editor-last=Bradford |editor-first=James |chapter=Marines in the Spanish-American War}}</ref> Having the Marine Corps alleviated some of this conflict because it gave Navy commanders a force "always under the direction of the senior naval officer" without any "conflict of authority" with the Army.<ref name=":9" />

The combined Marine Corps-Navy operations during the war also signaled the future relationship between the two services.<ref name=":8" /> During the [[Banana Wars]] of the early 20th century, the [[Pacific War|island-hopping campaigns]] in the Pacific during World War II, and into modern conflicts America is involved in, the Marine Corps and Navy operate as a team to secure American interests. Thanks to the new territorial acquisitions of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, America needed the capabilities the Marines could provide.<ref name=":8" /> The Spanish–American War was also the first time that the Marine Corps acted as America's "force in readiness" because they were the first American force to land on Cuba. Being a "body of troops which can be quickly mobilized and sent on board transports, fully equipped for service ashore and afloat" became the Marine Corps' mission throughout the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century.<ref name=":9" />

The Spanish–American War also served as a coming of age for several influential Marines. Lieutenants [[Smedley Butler|Smedley D. Butler]], [[John A. Lejeune]], and [[Wendell Cushing Neville|Wendell C. Neville]] and Captain [[George F. Elliott]] all served with distinction with the First Battalion that fought in Cuba.<ref name=":5" /> Lieutenant Butler would go on to earn two Medals of Honor, in Veracruz and Haiti. Lieutenants Lejeune and Neville and Captain Elliott would all become [[Commandant of the United States Marine Corps|Commandants]] of the Marine Corps, the highest rank in the service and the leader of the entire Corps.

Marines' actions during the Spanish–American War also provided significant positive press for the Corps.<ref name=":8" /> The men of the First Battalion were welcomed as heroes when they returned to the States and many stories were published by journalists attached to the unit about their bravery during the Battle of Guantanamo. The Marine Corps began to be regarded as America's premier fighting force thanks in large part to the actions of Marines during the Spanish–American War and to the reporters who covered their exploits.<ref name=":8" /> The success of the Marines also led to increased funding for the Corps from Congress during a time that many high-placed Navy officials were questioning the efficacy and necessity of the Marine Corps.<ref name=":9" /> This battle for Congressional funding and support would continue until the [[National Security Act of 1947]], but Marine actions at Guantanamo and in the Philippines provided a major boost to the Corps' status.<ref name=":8" />

=== Aftermath in acquired territories ===
Article IX of The Treaty of Paris stated that the U.S. Congress were responsible for decisions regarding the civil and political rights of the indigenous populations of the newly acquired territories of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. There was initial reluctance in Congress to set firm plans for the once-Spanish islands. The debate of whether to retain the islands or give them independence eventually became the core debating and campaigning issue of the 1900 election.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Torruella |first=Juan R. |date=Fall 2013 |title=Ruling America's Colonies: The "Insular Cases" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23736226 |journal=Yale Law & Policy Review |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=64–65 |jstor=23736226 }}</ref> With McKinley's victory, Congress began to pass legislation that marked the United States' "deliberate turn toward imperialism."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Erman |first=Sam |date=Summer 2008 |title=Meanings of Citizenship in the U.S. Empire: Puerto Rico, Isabel Gonzalez, and the Supreme Court, 1898 to 1905 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27501851 |journal=Journal of American Ethnic History |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=5–33 |doi=10.2307/27501851 |jstor=27501851 |s2cid=130446696 }}</ref>

==== Puerto Rico ====
In 1900, Congress enacted the Foraker Act, this established that Puerto Ricans would not have U.S. citizenship, despite being under U.S. sovereignty. Instead, the Act declared that they were only "citizens of Porto Rico," and therefore, would not gain the civil, political, or constitutional rights that came with U.S. citizenship.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perez |first=Lisa Maria |date=June 2008 |title=Citizenship Denied: The "Insular Cases" and the Fourteenth Amendment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470577 |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=1037 |jstor=25470577 }}</ref> The Foraker Act also established a system of taxation. Puerto Ricans were required to pay tax to fund the imposed system of government, and goods imported from the U.S. to Puerto Rico had tariffs placed upon them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Torruella |first=Juan R. |date=Fall 2013 |title=Ruling America's Colonies: The "Insular Cases" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23736226 |journal=Yale Law & Policy Review |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=65–66 |jstor=23736226 }}</ref>

The Act implemented a new system of government in Puerto Rico, with the U.S. president holding the sole power to appoint the governor and upper legislative chamber. Puerto Ricans were able to elect the lower legislative chamber delegates and a resident commissioner to represent them in Washington, although the latter role had restricted influence, as it was as a non-voting representative.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite journal |last=Erman |first=Sam |date=Summer 2008 |title=Meanings of Citizenship in the U.S. Empire: Puerto Rico, Isabel Gonzalez, and the Supreme Court, 1898 to 1905 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27501851 |journal=University of Illinois Press |volume=27 |issue=4 |pages=10 |jstor=27501851 }}</ref> Two political parties emerged, the Republicanos, co-founded by Frederico Degetau, and the Federales. The Republicanos' politics were strongly aligned with U.S. policies especially in comparison to the Federales. Before the election took place, the Federales decided to boycott the polls, this was in response to the favouritism displayed towards the Republicanos by U.S. officials. The Republicanos were subsequently elected, with Degetau becoming resident commissioner.<ref name="auto2"/>

The treatment of Puerto Rico was considered unconstitutional by some due to the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which declares that "persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perez |first=Lisa Maria |date=June 2008 |title=Citizenship Denied: The "Insular Cases" and the Fourteenth Amendment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470577 |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=94 |issue=4 |page=1036 |jstor=25470577 }}</ref> In response to this, a series of court cases known as the [[Insular Cases]] took place, which sought to determine if the territories acquired in the War would be given U.S. citizenship or any constitutional rights. As a result of these cases, the Doctrine of Territorial Incorporation was established. This stated that the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam would be categorised as "unincorporated" territories and would "not form part of the United States within the meaning of the Constitution."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perez |first=Lisa Maria |date=June 2008 |title=Citizenship Denied: The "Insular Cases" and the Fourteenth Amendment |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25470577 |journal=Virginia Law Review |volume=94 |issue=4 |pages=1029–1081 |jstor=25470577 }}</ref> This decree set a new precedent for how the U.S. government dealt with acquired territories, as they established a "colonial formula" in which they had total sovereignty over territories without been legally obligated to give rights to those they preside over.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Torruella |first=Juan R. |date=Fall 2013 |title=Ruling America's Colonies: The "Insular Cases" |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23736226 |journal=Yale Law & Policy Review |volume=32 |issue=1 |pages=62 |jstor=23736226 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burnett |first=Christina Duffy |date=Summer 2005 |title=Un-tied States: American Expansion and Territorial Deannexation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4495514 |journal=University of Chicago Law Review |volume=72 |issue=3 |pages=799 |jstor=4495514 }}</ref>

==== Guam ====
The territory of Guam was placed under the control of the U.S. Navy Department. A naval base was upkept, with the commanders of the base acquiring the role of colonial governor who presided over all legislation and policies on the territory.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Go |first=Julian |date=January 2007 |title=The Provinciality of American Empire: 'Liberal Exceptionalism' and U.S. Colonial Rule, 1898–1912 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4497683 |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=84 |doi=10.1017/S0010417507000412 |jstor=4497683 }}</ref>

===Postwar American investment in Puerto Rico===
The change in sovereignty of Puerto Rico, like the occupation of Cuba, brought about major changes in both the insular and U.S. economies. Before 1898, the sugar industry in Puerto Rico was in decline for nearly half a century.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} In the second half of the nineteenth century, technological advances increased the capital requirements to remain competitive in the sugar industry. Agriculture began to shift toward coffee production, which required less capital and land accumulation. However, these trends were reversed with U.S. hegemony. Early U.S. monetary and legal policies made it both harder for local farmers to continue operations and easier for American businesses to accumulate land.<ref>{{harvnb|Bergad|1978|pp=74–75}}.</ref> This, along with the large capital reserves of American businesses, led to a resurgence in the Puerto Rican nuts and sugar industry in the form of large American owned agro-industrial complexes.

At the same time, the inclusion of Puerto Rico into the U.S. tariff system as a customs area, effectively treating Puerto Rico as a state with respect to internal or external trade, increased the codependence of the insular and mainland economies and benefitted sugar exports with tariff protection. In 1897, the United States purchased 19.6 percent of Puerto Rico's exports while supplying 18.5 percent of its imports. By 1905, these figures jumped to 84 percent and 85 percent, respectively.<ref>{{harvnb|Bergad|1978|p=76}}.</ref> However, coffee was not protected, as it was not a product of the mainland. At the same time, Cuba and Spain, traditionally the largest importers of Puerto Rican coffee, now subjected Puerto Rico to previously nonexistent import tariffs. These two effects led to a decline in the coffee industry. From 1897 to 1901, coffee went from 65.8 percent of exports to 19.6 percent while sugar went from 21.6 percent to 55 percent.<ref>{{harvnb|Bergad|1978|p=74}}.</ref> The tariff system also provided a protected market-place for Puerto Rican tobacco exports. The tobacco industry went from nearly nonexistent in Puerto Rico to a major part of the country's agricultural sector.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}