Spanish-American War and Beyond

A war fought in Cuba and the Philippines in 1898

Spanish-American War and beyond

• Why would we fight Spain?

• Background:

• Spain controlled Cuba and the Philippines through a dictatorship

• A revolution by Cuban rebels and citizens of the Philippines against Spanish rule grabs our attention

• The U.S. has citizens working on sugar plantations in Cuba that we must protect

Spanish-American War and beyond

• Why go to war??

• We would not help their revolution at first so the Cubans provoked us by burning our sugar plantations to get us involved. We must protect property and trade

• This opportunity could let the US gain a naval base in the Philippines to continue our trade as well!

Spanish-American War and beyond

• How did Americans feel about a war with Spain?

• Jingoism: A super sense of patriotism and demand for aggressive action

Spanish-American War and beyond

• Spain does not want the U.S. to get involved because they were not sure they could defeat us

• The Spanish Ambassador (Enrique Dupuy De Lome) sends a letter to President McKinley telling him to stay out of this conflict: De Lome Letter

• McKinley must respond to this threat in order to not look weak

Spanish-American War and beyond

• The U.S.S. Maine is then sent to the harbor of Havana, Cuba to intimidate the Spanish

• It blows up mysteriously in the middle of the night in the harbor killing 266 American sailors

• How did it blow up? Spain? Cuban Rebels? Accident?

Spanish-American War and beyond

• The media, with no proof, immediately blames Spain and asks the gov’t to go to war!

• Yellow Journalism: A type of writing that prints the most sensational, exaggerated, and distorted stories for emotional effect

Spanish-American War and beyond

Spanish-American War and beyond

Spanish-American War and beyond

Spanish-American War and beyond

• After much thought and consideration, Congress declares war on Spain in 1898

• The war lasted less than 4 months with a U.S. victory in Cuba and the Philippines

• “Splendid Little War”

Spanish-American War and beyond

• The Treaty of Paris is signed in 1898

• Results:

• Cuba gains its independence• U.S. gets the Philippines, Puerto Rico,

and Guam

Spanish-American War and beyond

• 1901: The U.S. negotiates the rights to build a Panama Canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

• Reasons: Keep U.S. influence in Latin America and make a shorter route between the two oceans

• The US stayed involved in world affairs until 1914, with the outbreak of World War I