Participation during the Spanish-American War took different forms, both on the home front and on the battlefield. For the first time in American history, the effort of the war involved naval campaigns in two oceans and the landing of troops overseas. To accomplish this required participation by members of various social and ethnic groups, of both sexes and a range of ages. Out of the approximately 20,000 U.S. troops that participated actively in the Cuban …showed first 75 words of 978 total…

…showed last 75 words of 978 total…the United States into direct competition with the imperialistic Japanese, who were also looking to expand their empire into China. Decades later, the islands played a key role in the Pacific Theater during WWII . The island of Luzon was the site of the infamous Bataan death march of 1942, in which as many as 10,000 Americans and Filipinos died. After the war, the Philippines was finally granted their independence, and remains America's allies and trading partners today.