Were the decisions that McKinley made with Cuba and the Philippines good? why or why not?

Answer: The decisions of McKinley were complicated, but ended up being right.

President McKinley expressed his willingness to peacefully resolve the "Cuban issue", but a series of incidents in early 1898 served as a pretext for war intervention. The first of these was the publication by the Hearst chain of a stolen letter, which had been written by the Spanish ambassador to Washington in which the reckless diplomat expressed his contempt for McKinley.

McKinley ignored the unilateral suspension of hostilities by the Spanish crown when addressing parliamentarians on April 11. He requested permission to intervene in Cuba. Congress informed him of the resolutions requiring the withdrawal of Spain and outlined the terms of the intervention, including the Teller Amendment which established that the United States would withdraw from the island only after its complete independence. On April 22, Congress authorized the enlistment of volunteers and the blocking of Spanish ports in the region. On April 24, Spain declares war on the USA. The next day, the US responds by declaring war on Spain retroactively on April 21.

The war was short and the warlike supremacy of the Americans was evident. The first dramatic event of the Spanish-American war took place on the other side of the world. On May 1, an American fleet invaded the port of Manila in the Philippines and within hours completely defeated the Spanish fleet anchored there. Admiral Dewey, fleet commander, was greeted back with enthusiasm.