The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), founded in 1909, and the Spanish-American War (1898) along with the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) share a significant historical connection through the themes of race, imperialism, and civil rights. The aftermath of the Spanish-American War elevated issues of race and citizenship, as newly acquired territories like Puerto Rico and the Philippines raised questions about the status of their inhabitants, particularly in terms of civil rights and representation. The war heightened a sense of urgency among African Americans regarding their rights and prompted an organized response to racial injustices, culminating in the establishment of the NAACP.
This relationship can be viewed as a cause-and-effect dynamic, where the war's implications for race and imperialism spurred African American activists to forge a more robust civil rights movement. The shared context of American expansionism explained how the U.S. government often justified denying rights to both colonized peoples and African Americans. Influential individuals, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, played pivotal roles in linking these struggles, advocating for the rights of all oppressed people and arguing that African Americans should leverage their citizenship status to demand equal rights domestically and to resist imperialism abroad. Thus, while the NAACP’s formal establishment came later than these wars, they are inherently connected through the overarching themes of race, rights, and American identity during a transformative period in U.S. history.
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