Driven by its pro-war press, hailing Cuba's fight for independence and alleging sabotage of the USS Maine (which killed 262, including blacks), America declared war on Spain in 1898 and wrested much of her empire.

African Americans, if wary of imperialists, were patriotic. War created a chance “to render service to our country that no other race can,” Booker T. Washington asserted. Others believed that “economic opportunities would open up for blacks once the islands came under American influence.” However, many worried “that a Jim Crow war would result in a Jim Crow empire” (“Black Participation in the Spanish-American War”).

Blacks served. Beside the 9th and 10th Cavalry, 24th and 25th Infantry of Buffalo soldiers, more than 8,000 volunteered in the army. Three regiments (23rd Kansas, 3rd North Carolina, and 8th Illinois) had full rosters of black officers. The only unit to see action was the 6th Massachusetts in Puerto Rico. Black soldiers also fought in the Philippines (1899–1902).