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The document, Ostend Manifesto, described that the United States wanted to buy Cuba. It also said that the U.S. would declare war if Spain refused. People in the U.S. who were pro-slavery feared a rebellion of slaves in Cuba and were afraid that the rebellion would spread to the American South. Therefore, the people in the South wanted the U.S. to buy Cuba. -
The Cubans rebelled against the Spanish due to excessive taxes, slavery in Cuba, and the exclusion of Cubans from the government. The war lasted ten years and ended with Spanish victory as tensions among the Cuban rebels weakened the movement. The Cuban rebels also ran out of resources. Americans sympathized with the rebels in Cuba and American interest in Cuba continued throughout the war. -
Jose Marti was a Cuban journalist who led and launched another revolution in 1895. He organized a Cuban guerrilla campaign and destroyed American-owned plantations. Americans were split on the rebel cause and couldn’t decide whether to join the revolution or not. -
Spain sent General Weyler to Cuba to restore the peace. One of his tactics was to put the rural population of Cuba into concentration camps. The camps were horrendous and many Cubans died. Americans depicted Weyler as a war criminal and depicted him as a ruthless general. Weyler put Cubans in concentration camps so they could not aid the rebels. -
Hurst’s New York Journal and Pulitzer’s New York World exaggerated stories from Cuba that deepened American sympathies for the Cuban rebels. These newspaper companies were pro-war and tried to encourage war by exaggerating stories. These companies sent people to Cuba to sketch the stories and the people who were sent to Cuba informed the newspaper tycoons that war was unlikely. The newspapers still made stories more than what they were. -
The De Lome Letter was written by the Spanish Minister to the United States. A Cuban rebel stole the paper from a Spanish post office and leaked it to the New York Journal. The newspaper that was waiting for a scandal quickly published the private letter. The letter insulted president McKinley and called him weak. The minister resigned but left the American people angry at the insult. -
President McKinley sent the USS Maine to Cuba to protect the American people and help protect American land. The ship blew up in the harbor of Havana and killed 260 people. The blame for the ship’s explosion is unknown. Shortly after, the New York Journal claimed that it was blown up by a mine. Hurst offered $50,000 for the capture of the Spanish soldiers that committed this act. -
With the explosion of the USS Maine, the American people rallied to go to war. Public opinion was for war. President McKinley asked Congress for permission to declare war on Spain. After a week of debate with Congress, the U.S. declared war on Spain. -
The secretary of navy John Long produced a plan to close the ports on the western part of the north coast. Rear Admiral William wrote a letter allowing the blockade to blockade Havanna at first. This ultimately made the Spanish declare war on the U.S. -
The first attack of the war was on Manila bay which is the capital of the Philippines. Although we were trying to give Cuba its independence, the first attack of the war was in the Philippines. George Dewey and his fleet opened fire on the Spanish fleet that morning. In only an hour, the entire Spanish fleet was destroyed. This win allowed the U.S. to land troops in the Philippines. -
The next step in the war was to invade the Cuban mainland. Americans surrounded the port city of Santiago. The army's 17,000 soldiers that landed in Cuba included four African-American regiments of the Regular Army and the rough riders led by Theodore Roosevelt and Leonard Wood. -
The rough riders along with two African-American troops and the ninth and tenth cavalries did an uphill charge on Kettle Hill in Cuba, on July 1. Their victory allowed infantry to attack San Juan Hill. Roosevelt and his troops, although they didn’t do a lot, were viewed as heroes. This was the most famous battle of the war. -
Two days later the U.S. destroyed the Spanish fleet when they tried fleeing the harbor of Santiago. This happened along the Cuban coast. They then went to invade Puerto Rico on July 25. -
Spain and the United States agreed on a cease-fire. This ended the fighting that lasted 15 weeks. -
The Spanish surrendered in the Philippines because they knew that the conditions were not ideal for them. George Dewey sent many men into the Philippines and within hours all of the Spanish ships were all destroyed after a naval battle. In August, Spanish troops in Manila surrendered to the US army. -
3,500 troops landed in Puerto Rico on July 25. After months of ruthless fighting, the U.S. raised the American flag in Puerto Rico in October. The island had a lot of value to the US. It is an outlet for excess manufactured goods. Also, it was a key naval station in the Caribbean. -
The Treaty of Paris of 1898 ended the Spanish-American war. It was a peace treaty between America and Spain. This was signed in Paris. When this was signed Cuba gained independence from Spain. The United States gained possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.