1898 was a turning point for the United States because the Treaty of Paris was signed by the United States and Spain. After the treaty was ratified, the United States became and imperial power. The United States gained Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from the treaty. The Spanish-American War was a conflict between the Kingdom of Spain and the United States of America that took place from April to August 1898. The war ended in victory for the United States and the end of the Spanish Empire in the Caribbean and Pacific. Only 113 days after the outbreak of war, the Treaty of Paris, which ended the conflict, gave the United States control over the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam, and control over the process of independence of Cuba, which was completed in 1902.
