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During the last century, the pressure on the United States Government to become involved in Cuban matters became stronger. Thomas Jefferson was among the first U.S. politicians to support U.S. annexation of Cuba. Jefferson, and many presidents after him, attempted to buy Cuba from Spain. Spain refused. Later, many Southerners wanted to make Cuba a state, increasing the slave-owning states' political power. Despite increased attempts to buy Cuba from Spain, Cuba remained a Spanish colony. The Civil War put an end to the desire of Cuban statehood for this purpose. During the Cuban War of Independence, the American tabloids publicized the policies employed by General Valeriano Weyler in Cuba. His concentration camps and executions produced genuine sympathy for the Cubans in the United States. By that time, the United States had invested heavily in Cuba. Businessmen wanted to enter the war to protect and expand their interests in Cuba. After the United States ended the Spanish-American War, they had the option of annexing Cuba. Many people were against this, they felt annexation would be stealing Cuba's independence. The US decided to make Cuba independent after an American military government concluded it was ready to be so. Eventually, Cuba was made officially free. This freedom was in many ways skin deep, however. Within a few years, US businesses owned 60% of the land and 75% of the sugar industry. The United States reserved the right to intervene in Cuba whenever it wanted to and has maintained a naval base in Cuba. Another American intervention occurred and the United States often heavily influenced Cuban leaders. Today, the US has lost its influence on Cuba. The Cuban Government vows Cuba will never become a neo-colony of the United States. |
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