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In 1854 the United States started to take an interest in Cuba. It was only 90 miles off the coast of Florida so it seemed "appropriate" that we would control the land.
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Between 1868 and 1878 America's interest in Cuba grew because they were owned by our rival, Spain.
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In 1886, shortly after the Cuban people forced Spain to abolish slavery, Americans began investing in sugar cane plantations in Cuba.
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In 1896 many citizens of Cuba were forced into concentration camps run by Spain called reconcentrados. These camps were claimed to ‘reconcentrate’ Cubans in urban areas. 200,000 were believed to have died.
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Enrique Dupuy de Lôme's private letter discussing his opinion of President McKinley was published in the New York Journal on Februrary 9, 1898. In this personal letter, he described McKinley as "weak and catering to the rabble and, besides, a low politician who desires to leave a door open to himself and to stand well with the jingos of his party."
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On Februrary 15, 1898 the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor exploded. This resulted in a loss of 260 men. Although Spanish involvement was not proved, U.S. public opinion was aroused and the interest of war increased.
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The Spanish-American War is often referred to as the first "media war" because of yellow journalism. Newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer relied on dramatic headlines to outsell one another. They both made Cuban conditions seem much worse than they actually were, in an attempt to sell their papers. This became known as yellow journalism.
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American forces landed in Cuba in June 1898 and began to converge on the port city of Santiago. The army of 17,000 included four African-American regiments of the regular army and the Rough Riders, a volunteer cavalry under the command of Leonard Wood and Teddy Roosevelt.
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The battle of San Juan HIll was the bloodiest and most famous battle of the Spanish-American War. It was the location of the greatest victory for the Rough Riders as claimed by the press and its new commander, the future President,Theodore Roosevelt.
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Puerto Rico was invaded on July 25, 1898 with the first of American troops. Opposition was met in the southern and central parts of the island but by the end of August Puerto Rico was under United States control.
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In August 1898 after four months of fighting in the Philippines the Spanish surrendered to the U.S. in Manila.
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Although we wouldn't admit it, the Treaty of Paris was just another step further in becoming an empire. At this point, the United States had control over Peurto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Cuba.
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The Treaty of Paris was a big accomplishment in the sense that Spain's empire was slowly dwindling down. They had lost control of the carribean islands to the United States, their rival.
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After signing the Treaty of Paris of 1898, one gain was that Cuba became an independent nation. However, the United States still felt they should "protect" Cuba until it became stable, and therefore stil held a good portion of control over the country.
