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Officials proposed to President Franklin Pierce that the United States buy Cuba from Spain, to which the Spanish responded strongly against it. This shows our long interest in Cuba and willingness to go to war for it. -
After Spain abolished slavery in 1886, it led to American capitalists beginning to invest millions of dollars in large sugar cane plantations in Cuba. -
José Martí, a Cuban poet and journalist in New York, set a revolution in motion by organizing a Cuban resistance against Spain. He used an active guerrilla campaign and destroyed American-owned sugar plantations. This caused a split opinion in the United States. Business people demanded protection of their investments, so they wanted the government to support Spain. Other Americans were passionate about the rebel cause. -
Spain responded to the Cuban rebellion by sending General Valeriano Weyler. Weyler tried to crush the rebellion by putting the general population into concentration camps where they couldn’t aid the rebels. This helped raise sympathy for the Cubans making us want to help aid them after hearing the news from the yellow press. -
Newspapers began printing sensationalized stories to lure and engage their readers, which caused Americans to sympathize with Cubans during the war. This built momentum to push for America to join the war. -
After a Cuban rebel had stolen and leaked a private letter written by Enrique Dupuy de Lome, Americans became angry with Spain’s minister who insulted President McKinley in the letter. This caused outrage between America and Spain, resulting in an explosion of the U.S.S Maine. -
President McKinley had sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to bring American citizens home out of the fighting and to protect American property. On February 15, the ship blew up in Havana with more than 260 men killed. This attack on our American ship became the rallying cry that finally pushed us to join the war. -
McKinley consulted with Congress for authority to use force against Spain, which led to the United States declaring war after a week of contemplation. This paved the way for an earlier end to the war. -
The first warfare began with a Naval blockade of Cuba. Admiral Sampson was successful in barricading the Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbor, which made it so the Island wouldn’t be able to get more supplies. The victory of this event showed the superiority of the American Navy. -
The American Fleet made its way into the Philippines on April 30th, and the next day George Dewey gave the order to fire on the Spanish Fleet at Manila. After a few hours the U.S. troops had destroyed all Spanish Fleet. This victory allowed the U.S. to land in the Philippines. -
American Forces landed in Cuba in June and began to converge in Santiago. This led to another addition to the United States empire. -
The victory of the battle of Kettle Hill by the Rough Riders, two African-American regiments, and the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries made way for a strategically important infantry attack on San Juan Hill. -
A few days after the Battle of San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet attempted to escape the American blockade of Santiago Harbor. A naval battle along the Cuban coast followed this and ended the destruction of the Spanish fleet. -
The U.S. landed troops and invaded Puerto Rico directly after destroying the Spanish fleet. This allowed the U.S. to gain another territory, aiding them to build their empire. -
The Filipinos gave their support to Dewey because they too wanted freedom from Spain. Over 2 months, the Americans and Filipinos joined forces. In August Spanish troops in Manila surrendered to the U.S. -
The U.S. and Spain signed a cease-fire agreement to end what some called “a splendid little war,” which actually only lasted for fifteen weeks. This was important because it ended the war between the United States and Spain. -
The United States and Spain met in Paris to agree on a treaty. At this, Spain freed Cuba and gave over the islands of Guam and Puerto Rico. The U.S. also bought the Philippines from Spain for 20 million dollars. This led to the United States getting their empire and starting to become a world power.