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When the
Cubans rebelled against Spain between 1868 and 1878,
American sympathies went out to the Cuban people.
The Cuban revolt against Spain was not successful, but
in 1886 the Cuban people did force Spain to abolish slavery -
In 1895 José Martí organized Cuban resistance against Spain, using an active guerrilla campaign and deliberately destroyed property, especially American-owned sugar mills and plantations.
Martí counted on provoking U.S. intervention to help the
rebels achieve Cuba Libre!—a free Cuba. This is important because this is the war America helped Cuba with. -
Weyler’s actions fueled a war over newspaper circulation that had developed between the American newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. Stories of poisoned wells and of children being thrown to the sharks deepened American sympathy for the rebels. This sensational style of writing, which exaggerates the news to lure and enrage readers, became known as yellow journalism. This is important because Americans became more outraged with what was happening in Cuba. -
In 1896, the Spanish sent the infamous General Weyler, known as "The Butcher," to Cuba to put down the insurrection. Weyler lived up to his name. To prevent the insurrectos from leading the population against Spanish rule, Weyler built concentration camps in which he imprisoned a large portion of the population. -
The battle of Manila was a mock battle. We would steal the win from the Philippines rebels. We viewed the Philippines people as children that would have to teach how to make a government. While Americans were talking to the Spanish about their surrender the Philippine commanders were not invited. Instead, they were down the street speaking about their government among their own people. Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States for the sum of $20 million. -
The United States and Spain signed an armistice, a cease-fire agreement, on August 12, ending what Secretary of State John Hay called “a splendid little war.” The actual fighting in the war had lasted only 15 weeks. On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain met in Paris to agree on a treaty. At the peace talks, Spain freed Cuba and turned over the islands. -
Early in 1898, McKinley had ordered the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to bring home American citizens in danger from the fighting and to protect American property. On February 15, 1898, the ship blew up in the harbor of Havana. More than 260 men were killed. At the time, no one really knew why the ship exploded. In 1898, however,
American newspapers claimed the Spanish had blown up the ship. American resentment toward Spain turned to outrage. -
Despite the Spanish concessions, public opinion favored war. On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for authority to use force against Spain. After a week of debate, Congress agreed, and on April 20 the United States declared war. -
On April 20, 1898, McKinley signed a joint Congressional resolution demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing the President to use military force to help Cuba gain independence. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 21. On the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba. Both sides declared war; neither had allies. -
In the Caribbean, hostilities began with a naval blockade of Cuba. Admiral William T. Sampson effectively sealed up the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. -
On May 1, 1898, at Manila Bay in the Philippines, the U.S. Asiatic Squadron destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first major battle of the Spanish-American War. The United States went on to win the war, which ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in the U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. -
The first part of the battle, on nearby Kettle Hill, featured a dramatic uphill charge by the Rough Riders and two African-American regiments, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries. Their victory cleared the way for an infantry attack on the strategically important San Juan Hill. Although Roosevelt and his units played only a minor role in the second victory, U.S. newspapers declared him the hero of San Juan Hill. -
The Spanish fleet tried to escape the American blockade of the harbor at Santiago. The naval battle that followed, along the Cuban coast, ended in the destruction of the Spanish fleet. -
The naval battle that followed, along the Cuban coast, ended in the destruction of the Spanish fleet. On the heels of this victory, American troops invaded Puerto Rico on July 25. The Spanish and Puerto Ricans suffered 429 casualties which included 17 dead, 88 wounded and 324 captured. The American forces suffered 43 casualties: 3 dead and 40 wounded Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States. -
On July 3, the Spanish fleet was destroyed off Santiago by U.S. warships under Admiral William Sampson, and on July 17 the Spanish surrendered the city—and thus Cuba—to the Americans.
In Puerto Rico, Spanish forces likewise crumbled in the face of superior U.S. forces, and on August 12 an armistice was signed between Spain and the United States. -
The Treaty of Paris touched off a great debate in the United States. Arguments centered on whether or not the United States had the right to annex the Philippines, but imperialism was the real issue. The annexation question was settled with the Senate’s approval of the Treaty of Paris. The United States now had an empire that included Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The next question Americans faced was how and when the United States would add to its dominion.