Spanish-American War

What was going on around the world in the late 1800’s

• Imperialism: stronger nations extend their economic, political, or military control over weaker nations

• Many European countries were competing over land in Asia and Africa

Most Americans wanted imperialism for three reasons

• 1.)more military strength • 2.)new markets to sell goods• 3.)cultural superiority

Admiral Alfred T. Mahan…

• Advised the US government to build the US Navy so that the US could compete with other powerful nations. Therefore, the US Congress paid for the building of new ships that made the US Navy the third largest in the world

The first time the US practiced imperialism was when:• US Secretary of State William Seward

bought Alaska from Russia in 1867• Many Americans called the purchase of

Alaska “Seward’s Folly” because they thought Alaska was nothing but ice

• As we know today, Alaska has the most oil in the US

Hawaii also became a target for the US• Hawaii was economically important• American investors controlled

about 75% of Hawaii’s wealth (mostly sugar and fruit)

• For a long time, sugar growers could import Hawaiian sugar to the US tax free

However, the McKinley Tariff changed everything:

• With the McKinley Tariff, Hawaiian sugar was now taxed and became more expensive than American sugar

• The sugar growers in Hawaii wanted the US to annex Hawaii so that they would not have to pay the tax

As the US tried to gain more influence in Hawaii:

• The Hawaiian government was pressured into allowing the US to build a naval base in Hawaii (Pearl Harbor)

Eventually….

• The American business leaders in Hawaii forced King Kalakaua to change the Hawaiian constitution and allow only wealthy landowners to vote

• Of course, those landowners would vote in favor of annexation to the US

When Queen Lil came to power:• She challenged the wealthy American

landowners• Her slogan was “Hawaii for Hawaiians”• With the help of the US Marines, the

wealthy landowners had Queen Lil removed from power

• Queen Lil is still seen as a hero in Hawaii today

New Hawaiian government

• The new Hawaiian government was led by Sanford Dole

• President McKinley annexed Hawaii in 1897

• Hawaii did not become a state until 1959

The US had lots of interest in Cuba

• Cuba was only 90 miles from Florida

• Spain always refused to sell Cuba to the US

• The Cubans had several failed rebellions against Spain

By the 1880’s…

• American investors began spending their money in Cuba

• Cubans began pushing again for independence

Jose Marti

• A Cuban poet exiled in New York who wanted the US to become more involved in Cuban affairs

• Overall, public opinion in US was split on Cuba

As a new Cuban revolt began in 1896:

• Spain sent their best general, Valeriano Weyler to stop the rebellion

• General Weyler began establishing concentration camps, where about 300,000 Cubans were imprisoned

The American media began making General Weyler look very bad• William Randolph Hearst (New York

Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) were newspaper editors who competed against each other to sell newspapers

• Their stories would become more outrageous

Yellow journalism: exaggerate the news to lure and enrage readers

• Some newspaper reporters began referring to General Weyler as a “butcher”

• Some newspaper stories spoke of the Spanish abusing Cuban children

deLome Letter

• The American media printed a letter that was alledgedly written by Spanish Ambassador Enrique Dupuy deLome

• In that letter, deLome called President McKinley “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd”

De Lome Letter

• Most Americans were outraged because they did not like a foreigner talking badly about a US President

In February 1898, President McKinley sent the USS Maine to Cuba

• Soon after arriving, the USS Maine blew up and 260 American sailors died

• The American media blamed Spain (“Remember the Maine and to hell with Spain”)

USS Maine

• In reality, the explosion of the USS Maine was probably an accident

April 20, 1898

• US Congress approved a war with Spain

Oddly enough, the first battle of the war was in the Philippines

• Spain had also controlled the Philippines

• American Admiral George Dewey destroyed every Spanish ship within a few hours

In the Philippines….

• Once Admiral Dewey landed in the Philippines, he found that the Filipino people also wanted independence from Spain

• Admiral Dewey began working with Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo

Meanwhile, in Cuba…

• The US Navy blockaded Cuba so that Spain could not ship in supplies

• 125,000 Americans volunteered to fight in Cuba

• Many of these soldiers were not prepared for battle

In Cuba….

• The American military was still successful, despite of their lack of training and weapons

Rough Riders

• Led by Theodore Roosevelt and Leonard Wood

• It was a volunteer cavalry• The most famous battle was when

the Rough Riders charged up San Juan Hill

• Theodore Roosevelt was seen as a hero

When the Spanish Navy tried to leave Cuba:

• The US Navy sunk the entire Spanish Navy

Treaty of Paris

• Spain gave Cuba its independence • The US bought the Philippines,

Puerto Rico, and Guam for $20 million

President McKinley believed:

• That the US had to annex the Philippines to help educate and Christianize the Filipino people

• The problem was that the Filipino people were already Christians

The Filipinos were not happy when the US annexed the Philippines

• Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo believed that the American government had lied to the Filipino people

• As a result, a war broke out between the US and the Philippines

Philippine-American War

• Many Filipinos died because of the bad sanitation and illness that was being spread throughout the Philippines

• 20,000 Filipinos died

The Philippines allowed an easy way for the US to get to Asia

• China was seen a great prize to the US and many European countries

• Because China had so many people, it could become a great market for American goods

The US was afraid it would have a hard time getting into China• US Secretary of State John Hay

issued the Open Door Notes (all countries should share trading rights with the US in China)

• No single country would have a monopoly in China

Many people in China were unhappy with foreigners trying to influence them

• Boxer Rebellion: a group of Chinese try to kick out the foreigners

• Troops from the US and many European countries went to China to stop the Boxers

After the Boxer Rebellion:

• The US restated its commitment to keep China “open”

Most Americans did agree with these imperialism policies because President McKinley was reelected in 1900

There was a big debate in the US over whether all of these wars overseas was good for America