Was American entry into the Spanish American War justified?

In the 1890's the United States became more aggressive and expansionistic than it had been for the past few decades. There was apparently a hunger for foreign conquest. The conflict with Spain derived mainly from the American desire to help the beleaguered Cubans with their independence from Spain. Americans wanted the war, which could well have been avoided, but they had little understanding of what the reults of the war would be. I believe American …

…not willing to be aroused. At root lay the American gullibility about foreign affairs. Equally important were the contempt of the American people for Spain as a cruel but weak Latin nation and the desire for war and expension which permeated the decade. The American people were not led into war, they got the war they wanted. Senator J.C. Spooner observed that "possibly the President could have worked out the business without the war.."