# When did the American Empire begin

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-american-empire-begin/1008724>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [October 13, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-american-empire-begin/1008724 "2024-10-13T18:14:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 57

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\
**Post date:** [October 16, 2024, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-american-empire-begin/1008724/57 "2024-10-16T03:48:24Z")

</div>

> [@DrDeth](#):
>
> Our two “colonies” (Cuba & the Philippines) were freed from Spain.

I missed this quote earlier. How can you state “freed” and still account for the period between 1898 and 1946? [1. United States/Philippines (1898-1946)](https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/united-statesphilippines-1898-1946/) . I don’t think you can be considered “free” when you’re fighting a multi-year war with your liberator and have to wait nearly fifty years beween “freedom” and independence.

---

_[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-american-empire-begin/1008724)._