Following the Spanish–American War, the United States acquired which combination of territories?

• A. Cuba and Hawaii
• B. Alaska and Hawaii
• C. Cuba, Philippines, and Puerto Rico
• D. Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico

Answer: (D)

After the Spanish–American War, the United States expanded its reach by acquiring overseas territories through the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The lands gained were the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. These acquisitions showed the United States stepping onto the world stage as a power with new naval bases and strategic positions in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. Cuba did not become a U.S. territory; it remained independent, albeit under U.S. influence for a time. Alaska and Hawaii came from different circumstances—Alaska had been purchased in 1867, and Hawaii was annexed by separate action around the same era—so they aren’t part of the postwar territorial acquisitions.