Abstract
"Economic, Strategic, and Rhetorical: Justifications for U.S. Hegemony in Cuba" is about the depictions of Cubans in American popular culture before the Spanish-American War to after the First World War. Cuba has been seen in a number of ways including a market and a potential addition to the United States. The depictions of Cuba are very important. To justify its economic control over Cuba, the United States used the rhetoric and representation of race, culture and gender to control Cuba and ensure it was firmly within the American sphere of influence. Not only is this important from the historical perspective but also from the perspective of current politics. Some of the depictions of Cubans continued to be used when Castro took power in Cuba. That means that while many Americans may have forgotten that part of history, Cuba's leadership has not. One of the most prolific writers on the topic is Louis A. Perez. His book, "Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos", was a valuable source for this project. The book is about the evolution of the perceptions of Cuba in the United States. It also talks about the goals the United States had in the country and how they changed.
