Why didn't the United States occupy/annex Cuba in the aftermath of the Spanish American War?

by NashvilliaDude

In regards to imperialism around 1890's and early 1900s, why did the United States not annex Cuba? The U.S. was eager to control places like Hawaii and post Spanish American War territories so I wonder why they didn't go all the way and occupy Cuba as they did in the Philippines, Puerto Rico, etc.

AncientHistory

Hey there,

Just to let you know, your question is fine, and we're letting it stand. However, you should be aware that questions framed as 'Why didn't X do Y' relatively often don't get an answer that meets our standards (in our experience as moderators). There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, it often can be difficult to prove the counterfactual: historians know much more about what happened than what might have happened. Secondly, 'why didn't X do Y' questions are sometimes phrased in an ahistorical way. It's worth remembering that people in the past couldn't see into the future, and they generally didn't have all the information we now have about their situations; things that look obvious now didn't necessarily look that way at the time.

If you end up not getting a response after a day or two, consider asking a new question focusing instead on why what happened did happen (rather than why what didn't happen didn't happen) - this kind of question is more likely to get a response in our experience. Hope this helps!