Download The Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American
War
Cuban Rebellion (pg 735)



*1898 Cuba and Puerto Rico were Spain’s
last remaining colonies in the Western
Hemisphere
Cuba’s sugar-cane plantation generated
considerable wealth for Spain
1868 Cuban rebels launched guerrilla
warfare against Spanish authorities
Jose Marti*





Writer and Poet
*Father of the Cuban
Revolution
Lived in NYC in 1880’s
Brought Cuban exiles
together to train in
preparation for an
invasion of Cuba
Killed in battle in 1895
at age 43
Spanish Fight Back!


*Spain sent nearly
200,000 troops to put
down the rebellion
*General Valeriano
Weyler was appointed
Governor


Nicknamed “The Butcher”
Reconcentration camps
America Supports Cuba


Many Americans openly supported the
Cuban rebels
Stories of Spanish atrocities were reported
in two of the nations major newspapers



New York Journal (William Randolph Hearst)
New York World (Joseph Pulitzer)
Yellow Journalism-* writers exaggerate
or make up stories
William Randolph
Hearst*
New York Journal
vs.
Joseph
Pulitzer*
New York World
How long are the Spaniards to drench Cuba
with the blood and tears of her people?
How long is the peasantry of Spain to be
drafted away to Cuba to die miserably in a
hopeless war, that Spanish nobles and
Spanish officers may get medals and honors?
How long shall old Cuban men and women
and children be murdered by the score, the
innocent victims of Spanish rage against the
patriot armies they cannot conquer?
How long shall the sound of rifles in Castle
Morro at sunrise proclaim that bound and
helpless prisoners of war have been
murdered in cold blood?
How long shall Cuban women be the victims
of Spanish outrages and lie sobbing and
bruised in loathsome prisons?
How long shall women passengers on
vessels flying the American flag be unlawfully
seized, stripped and searched by brutal,
jeering Spanish officers, in violation of the
laws of nations and of the honor of the U.S.?
How long shall American citizens, arbitrarily
arrested while on peaceful and legitimate
errands, be immured in foul Spanish prisons
without trial?
How long shall the U.S. sit idle and
indifferent within sound and hearing or rapine
and murder?
•HOW LONG?
Call for War





*1897 William McKinley* became
President
Did not want to intervene
Tried to work our peaceful conclusion
*Spain removed Weyler and offered
Cubans autonomy – the right to govern
themselves
*This angered Spanish loyalists, who
began rioting in Havana
The U.S. Gets Involved


*McKinley worried Americans would be
killed, so he sent the USS Maine* to
protect Americans living in Havana
On Feb. 15th, 1898, the Maine exploded
•*USS Maine---260 US
sailors killed
•*Nobody really knew
what caused the
explosion, but Spain was
blamed for it
•Polarized Americans to
support the war against
Spain.
•Hearst was heard to say,
“Supply me with pictures
and I’ll give you a war”.
Hearst vs. Pulitzer
The U.S. Gets Involved


On April 19th, 1898, Congress proclaimed
Cuba independent and demanded Spain
withdraw from the island
On April 24th, Spain declared war on
America
A War on Two Fronts




Navy’s North Atlantic Squadron blockaded
Cuba
*Commodore George Dewey was ordered
to attack the Spanish in the Philippines
*May 1st, 1898, Dewey destroyed entire
Spanish Pacific fleet
When the U.S. sent reinforcements, they
took Guam from Spain as well
Emilio Aguinaldo*


*Filipino revolutionary
that helped Americans
defeat the Spanish in
the Philippines
Later fought against
U.S. in Filipino
revolution
Invasion of Cuba



*June 14th, 1898 17,000 U.S. troops
landed east of Santiago, Cuba
“Rough Riders”
*U.S. performed a 4 pronged attack:




El Carey (N.E. of Santiago)
San Juan Heights
San Juan Hill
Kettle Hill (Rough Riders)
The War In Cuba

Spanish not prepared:




Tropical disease
Months of fighting
rebels
Old warships
Poorly trained crew

U.S. not prepared:



Volunteer Army
Lacked resources to
train an equip army
Unsanitary camp
conditions killed more
soldiers than the war
“Rough Riders”*


*Volunteer cavalry regiment formed by Theodore
Roosevelt (led by Leonard Wood)
*Famous for victorious charge up Kettle Hill as part
Retreat!!!



The Spanish commander in Santiago
panicked and ordered his men to flee
The Spanish ships were destroyed by the
American fleet
2 weeks later the Spanish in Santiago
surrendered
The Spanish-American War
“A
Splendid
Little
War”Sec. of
State
John Hay
• Feb. 15: U.S.S. Maine Explodes
• April 24: War is declared
• May 1, 1898: The United States
launched a surprise attack in Manila
Bay and destroyed Spain’s entire
Pacific fleet in seven hours.
• July 1: Roosevelt led the Rough Riders
up San Juan Hill.
• July 3: The United States Navy sank
the remaining Spanish ships.
War
lasted 4 • August 12: Fighting ends
months
• Treaty of Paris signed December 10, 1898
The Spanish-American War
Puerto
Rico
and
Cuba
•Puerto Rico strategic post in Caribbean, for protection of future canal
•1900, Foraker Act* sets up civil government
- president appoints governor, upper house
•1917, Puerto Ricans made U.S. citizens; elect both houses
•President McKinley installed a military government to protect American
business interests.
•Cuba drafted a constitution in 1900 that did not allow for U.S.
involvement.
•The U.S. government only agreed to remove its troops if Cuba included
the Platt Amendment*. (allowed for U.S. naval bases on the island and
intervention whenever necessary.
The Aftermath





345 Americans died in
combat
2,600 died from
disease
10,000 Cubans died
during revolution
560 Spanish died in
combat
13,000 died from
disease

The new American
Empire:






Cuba
Puerto Rico
Philippines
Guam
Marked America’s
entrance into world
affairs
Helped heal scars from
civil war (North and
South; black and white
fought together)
To Annex or Not To Annex???

Pros:




New Naval Base
Market for goods
Stop over on the way
to China
Duty to help less
civilized people

Cons:



Cheap labor would
drive down American
wages
Costly $$$$
Violated American
principles
Philippines Annexed


McKinley decided to annex the Philippines
On December 10th, 1898 the U.S. and
Spain signed the treaty of Paris




Cuba became independent
U.S. acquired Puerto Rico and Guam
Paid Spain $20 million for the Philippines
The United States had just become an
imperial power
Rebellion in the Philippines






Revolt led by Emilio Aguinaldo
126,000 U.S. troops sent to stop the
insurrection
4,300 U.S. soldiers killed
50,000-200,000 Filipinos killed
Aguinaldo captured March, 1901
War declared over on July 4th, 1902