The idea of American imperialism changed in the public's mind after the short and successful Spanish–American War. Due to the United States' powerful influence diplomatically and militarily, Cuba's status after the war relied heavily upon American actions. Two major developments emerged from the Spanish-American War: one, it firmly established the United States' vision of itself as a "defender of democracy" and as a major world power, and two, it had severe implications for Cuban–American relations in the future. As historian Louis Pérez argued in his book "Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos", the Spanish-American War of 1898 "fixed permanently how Americans came to think of themselves: a righteous people given to the service of righteous purpose".