---
title: "Puerto Rico, Guam & the Philippines — APUSH Definition"
description: "Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were territories the U.S. took from Spain in 1898, turning America into an imperial power. Key for APUSH Unit 7."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/puerto-rico-guam-and-the-philippines"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
unit: "Unit 7"
---

# Puerto Rico, Guam & the Philippines — APUSH Definition

## Definition

Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines are the overseas territories the United States acquired from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War, marking America's emergence as an imperial power with possessions in both the Caribbean and the Pacific.

## What It Is

When the United States beat Spain in [the Spanish-American War](/apush/unit-7/spanish-american-war/study-guide/oTnk4443gyjW9WwKdPbK "fv-autolink") (1898), the peace deal (the [Treaty of Paris](/apush/key-terms/treaty-of-paris "fv-autolink")) handed over three of Spain's colonies: Puerto Rico in the Caribbean, plus Guam and the Philippines in the Pacific. The U.S. paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines. Overnight, a country that had spent the 1800s expanding across its own continent suddenly owned colonies thousands of miles away, full of people who had never asked to be Americans.

That last part is what makes this term matter in [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink"). The acquisitions set off a fierce national debate between imperialists (who wanted naval bases, Asian markets, and great-power status) and anti-imperialists (who argued that ruling people without their consent betrayed the Declaration of Independence). It also created messy legal questions. Were these new residents citizens? Did the Constitution apply to them? The Supreme Court answered in the Insular Cases, ruling that the Constitution does not automatically follow the flag, and Congress set up colonial-style governments like the one the Foraker Act created for Puerto Rico in 1900. In the Philippines, Filipinos under Emilio Aguinaldo who had fought Spain for independence turned their fight against the U.S., leading to the brutal Philippine-American War (1899-1902).

## Why It Matters

This term sits at the heart of APUSH [Unit 7](/apush/unit-7 "fv-autolink")'s opening topics on imperialism and the Spanish-American War, and it's your best evidence for the America in the World theme. The CED asks you to explain why the U.S. expanded its role in the world and how Americans debated that expansion, and these three territories are the debate. They show the shift from continental expansion (Manifest Destiny, Unit 5) to overseas empire, and they force the question [anti-imperialists](/apush/key-terms/anti-imperialists "fv-autolink") kept asking: can a republic founded on consent of the governed rule colonies? If you're writing a continuity-and-change essay about U.S. foreign policy from 1865 to 1914, the 1898 acquisitions are almost certainly your turning point.

## Connections

### Spanish-American War (Unit 7)

This is the direct cause. The war lasted only a few months, but the Treaty of Paris that ended it transferred Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. The war is the event; the territories are the consequence the exam actually cares about.

### [Insular Cases (Unit 7)](/apush/key-terms/insular-cases)

Acquiring the territories created a legal puzzle, and the [Insular Cases](/apush/key-terms/insular-cases "fv-autolink") solved it in the empire's favor. The Supreme Court ruled that full constitutional rights did not automatically extend to people in 'unincorporated' territories. In plain terms, the U.S. could own colonies without making colonists citizens.

### [Foraker Act (Unit 7)](/apush/key-terms/foraker-act)

This 1900 law shows what U.S. colonial rule actually looked like on the ground. It set up a civilian government for [Puerto Rico](/apush/key-terms/puerto-rico "fv-autolink") with a U.S.-appointed governor, giving Puerto Ricans limited self-rule but no citizenship (that came later, in 1917).

### [Pearl Harbor (Unit 7)](/apush/key-terms/pearl-harbor)

The Pacific empire built in 1898 is why World War II began for America in the Pacific. Japan attacked [Pearl Harbor](/apush/key-terms/pearl-harbor "fv-autolink") and then invaded Guam and the Philippines within days, because those 1898 acquisitions had made the U.S. a Pacific power standing in Japan's way.

## On the AP Exam

Expect multiple-choice stems built around an 1898-1900 source, like an anti-imperialist speech, a political cartoon of Uncle Sam holding new island 'children,' or an excerpt from the Treaty of Paris debate. Your job is to identify the imperialism-vs-anti-imperialism debate and connect it to motives (naval power, markets, Social Darwinism) or consequences (Insular Cases, Philippine-American War). No released FRQ has used all three territories verbatim, but they're prime evidence for long essays and DBQs about changes in U.S. foreign policy, where 1898 works beautifully as a turning point from continental expansion to overseas empire. The strongest move is specificity. Don't just say 'the U.S. became imperialist'; name the territories and explain what governing them revealed about American ideals.

## Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines vs Cuba

Cuba was the reason the Spanish-American War started, but it was NOT annexed like the other three. The Teller Amendment (1898) promised the U.S. wouldn't take Cuba, so it became nominally independent, though the Platt Amendment (1901) let the U.S. intervene there and keep a base at Guantánamo. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, by contrast, became actual U.S. territories. If an exam question asks which lands the U.S. acquired in 1898, Cuba is the trap answer.

## Key Takeaways

- The United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain through the Treaty of Paris in 1898, paying $20 million for the Philippines.
- These acquisitions marked America's shift from continental expansion to overseas empire, sparking a national debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists.
- The Insular Cases ruled that the Constitution did not fully apply in these territories, so residents could be governed by the U.S. without receiving full citizenship rights.
- Filipinos fought the U.S. in the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) after annexation denied them the independence they had fought Spain for.
- Cuba is not part of this list; the Teller Amendment kept the U.S. from annexing it, making Cuba a classic wrong-answer trap on multiple choice.
- Use 1898 as a turning point in essays about U.S. foreign policy, with these three territories as your concrete evidence of the new imperial role.

## FAQs

### What territories did the U.S. get from the Spanish-American War?

Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, all transferred from Spain in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The U.S. paid $20 million for the Philippines, and the U.S. also annexed Hawaii separately that same year.

### Did the U.S. annex Cuba in 1898?

No. The Teller Amendment promised the U.S. would not annex Cuba, so it became independent in name. The Platt Amendment (1901) still gave the U.S. the right to intervene and a naval base at Guantánamo, but Cuba was never a U.S. territory like Puerto Rico, Guam, or the Philippines.

### Did people in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines become U.S. citizens?

Not in 1898. The Insular Cases ruled the Constitution did not fully extend to these 'unincorporated' territories. Puerto Ricans got citizenship in 1917 under the Jones Act, while the Philippines never got citizenship and became independent in 1946.

### Why did the Philippines fight the United States after 1898?

Filipinos led by Emilio Aguinaldo had been fighting Spain for independence and expected the U.S. to grant it. When the U.S. annexed the islands instead, the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) broke out, a brutal conflict that anti-imperialists pointed to as proof that empire contradicted American ideals.

### How are these territories different from earlier U.S. expansion like the Louisiana Purchase?

Earlier acquisitions were contiguous land expected to become states with full constitutional rights. The 1898 territories were overseas colonies, and the Insular Cases ruled they could be held indefinitely without statehood or full rights. That's the shift from expansion to imperialism that APUSH wants you to see.

## Related Study Guides

- [Unit 7 Overview: The Early 20th Century (1890-1945)](/apush/unit-7/review/study-guide/Z8yz2hLUNbkRC9OthYsd)

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