The United States felt that their trade with Cuba would drastically decrease if Spain were to take complete control of the island. In fact, President McKinley described the justification behind United States involvement in the war was that trade and commerce with the country was seriously hindered by the war, in particular the seventy million dollars in trade the United States had lost since the beginning of the war(4). In addition, the United States recognized the opportunity that was posed to them when the Cubans went to war with Spain, because if they were to offer their assistance to the Cubans and help them gain their independence, they would have have developed an immense amount of gratitude and goodwill with Cuba. The United States went to help this country not out of morals, but out of self interest and the aftermath of the war only furthers this point. After the war, the Cuban constitution was amended to include the fact that land would be leased to the United States in order to preserve the independence and safety of Cuba(5).…