In the early 19th century, American Imperialism was a U.S. Policy used to expand American interest abroad. One perspective of this was this was Teddy Roosevelt and The Rough Riders. The Rough Riders is the name for the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one of the three to see action.
The United States Army was undersized and short-staffed in correlation to its status in the American Civil War approximately thirty years prior. As a measure towards determining this circumstance, President William McKinley called upon 1,250 volunteers to help with the war endeavors. The regiment was additionally called "Wood's Weary Walkers" to pay tribute to its first administrator,