1 . C U B A

2 . D E S T R U C T I O N O F T H E MAINE

3 . Y E L L O W J O U R N A L I S M

4 . “ S P L E N D I D L I T T L E W A R ”

5 . R A C I A L T E N S I O N S

6 . P U E R T O R I C O

Spanish-American War

Level 2

Cuban Revolution

● Revolts in Cuba helped spark the Spanish-American War

● Cuba was a colony of Spain

● Cuban colonists were angry at Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 which had devastated the economy

● Spanish General Weyler fought against rebels in 1895 confining many to concentration camps where they were killed

● American press exaggerated brutality and blamed all atrocities on Spain to incite the public

● Hopes for peace disappeared when a Cuban revolutionary intercepted a letter from Spanish foreign minister Dupuy Lome; the letter dismissed President McKinley as a weak president

● Despite the fact that McKinley was actually pretty weak and that Lome resigned a few days later, Americans still wanted war

“The Duty of the Hour”

This cartoon by Louis Dalrymple shows how American intervention is mandatory in Cuba. If the Spanish win, the mass oppression and murder continues; if the rebels win, the country will descend into a state of anarchy. In other words, Cuban civilians will go from the frying pan into the fire. Only the United States can stop Spain and secure Cuba so that it does not dissolve.

Destruction of the Maine

The USS Maine was a ship docked in the harbor at Havana

On Feb. 15, 1898, the Maine blew up spectacularly killing 260 Americans

The American public blamed the Spanish for the explosion in retaliation for the protests against their treatment of Cubans

The blowing up of the Maine was the main cause of the Spanish-American War

When the US Army engaged the Spanish, their battle cry was “Remember the Maine”

It was later found that the Maine actually exploded because of an accident in the boiler room, not by a bomb or torpedo The Maine blowing up

Yellow Journalism

“Yellow Journalism” referred to the sensational newspapers produced in the late 1800s.

These newspapers tried to sway the American public by lavishly exaggerating stories to provide drama and controversy.

Advent of color printing helped journalists create more stunning illustrations and comics.

Naturally, the cheap prices and exciting stories made the papers sell very well.

Pulitzer and Hearst were the biggest “yellow journalists” of the time. They sensationalized the Maine explosion by blaming it on Spanish saboteurs when it was really an accident.

They also dramatized the atrocities in Cuba by blaming it all on the Spanish when really, the rebels had a part in it as well.

“Splendid Little War”

The Maine incident and the continued atrocities in Cuba forced President McKinley to go to war

Secretary of State John Hay called the Spanish-American war a “splendid little war” because it lasted only five months but resulted in huge gains for the US

Despite massive inefficiency and disorganization, the American fleet crushed the Spanish fleet at San Juan, Santiago, and Manila

Theodore Roosevelt led a famous charge up Kettle Hill at the Battle of San Juan which won him the Medal of Honor

460 Americans died in battle while 5200 died from disease and bad food

Roosevelt, who was a strong imperialist, ordered General Dewey to invade the Philippines and capture it for the Americans

Cuban rebels had severely weakened the Spanish so it was easy for American troops to crush them

The war officially ended in December with the Treaty of Paris; Spain ceded Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the US

A famous painting of Colonel Roosevelt leading the Rough Riders cavalry unit up Kettle Hill

Results of the War

• After the Spanish American War, The US gained territory in the Caribbean and the Pacific

• The Philippines• Wake Island• Guam• Puerto Rico• The Platt Amendment declared the

US a protectorate of Cuba, controlling economic and political decisions of the island

• The debate of how to govern these areas was heightened when the Filipinos started revolting against the US