Please help!! -Why was the United States trying to take over these countries ( GuamCuba, Phillipines)

The United States said it wanted to secure freedom for Cuban civilians, who were dying by the hundreds of thousands in Spanish concentration camps. ... In 1898, besides Cuba, the Spanish government controlled Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

The Capture of Guam was a bloodless engagement between the United States and Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, USS Charleston, to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control.

After the Spanish American War, Americans were convinced that Cubans could not govern themselves. The Platt Amendment was then used to allow the U.S. to basically completely control Cuba trade and government. The U.S. then used Cuba for economic purposes by dominating their various industries, imports, and exports

Americans who advocated annexation evinced a variety of motivations: desire for commercial opportunities in Asia, concern that the Filipinos were incapable of self-rule, and fear that if the United States did not take control of the islands, another power (such as Germany or Japan) might do so.

Explanation:

they both built pyramids.