美西战争：美国成为世界强国
西班牙放弃了关岛，波多黎各，其在西印度群岛和菲律宾的财产，以换取美国支付2000万美元。美国占领了古巴。
西班牙 - 美国战争的胜利将美国（一个前殖民地）变为一个帝国。许多美国人认为这种发展是国家 “天定的命运” Manifest Destiny 的自然组成部分 - 相信美国的扩张是正确的，也是不可避免的。
“Manifest Destiny”-- the belief that expansion of the United States was both right and inevitable.
美国一直信奉谁拳头硬谁就有话语权（强权政治）。历史上的帝国都是如此，也是知识界的常识。这没有对和错，是事实。不用我们后来的人去洗白。
（The Spanish-American War: The United States Becomes a World Power Spain gave up Guam, Puerto Rico, its possessions in the West Indies, and the Philippines in exchange for a U.S. payment of $20 million. The United States occupied Cuba but, as provided for in the Teller Amendment, did not try to annex it.
Victory in the Spanish-American War transformed the United States, a former colony, to an imperial power. Many Americans saw this development as a natural part of the nation’s “Manifest Destiny”--the belief that expansion of the United States was both right and inevitable. ）
