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The Spanish American War
Turning Points for People, Ideas, and Events
Luke Daniel
Paper
Junior Division
On a still tropical night in 1898, a ship floated silently in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.
Suddenly, a blast rocked the ship. The battleship Maine had exploded and sunk, starting a chain
of events that led to the Spanish American War. This war was a major turning point for people
such as President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, Dr. Walter Reed, and newspaper
editor William Hearst, and for ideas such as America being the defender of liberty, a “reunited”
North and South, newspapers affecting civilian opinion and government action, and American
imperialism in Caribbean and Pacific islands. Impact of the Spanish American War can be felt
today as the U.S. continues to “defend liberty” worldwide, the continued occupation of
formerly Spanish lands, media influencing public action, and advances in ways to combat
tropical diseases.
In the years after the American Civil War the United States was still recovering from the
devastation that the war caused. The military was almost decimated and the nation was
struggling to regain its footing as a united nation. At the same time, Spain still had colonies in
the Caribbean and some of these colonies were trying to gain their independence. Cuba in
particular had attracted the sympathy of the Americans during the island’s long struggle against
the Spanish.
The conflict between the Cubans and the Spanish became so large that the U.S. sent a
battleship to the Cuban city of Havana to help restore order. This battleship, called the Maine,
would become one of the most famous ships in American history. The battleship exploded in
the harbor to horrible results, including the deaths of 266 American sailors. Newspaper editors
such as William Hearst of the New York Journal and Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World
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featured articles in their papers telling of the explosion. Even though the cause or person
responsible for the bombing was never discovered, the papers blamed the explosion on the
Spanish and stirred up widespread fury in their readers (Kelly).
Yellow journalism, the exaggerating of events in newspapers to attract public interest,
had been prominent in the months leading up to the declaration of war. The papers had
published exaggerated accounts of Spanish atrocities against the Cubans. Joseph Pulitzer and
William Hearst competed for customers by writing articles and publishing many artists’
sketches showing the Spanish murdering and raping innocent Cubans. Of course these articles
and pictures were usually far from the truth, but it aroused the fury of many Americans and
gave support to the Cuban independence movement. The reports began to get so appalling that
Spain sent complaints to the U.S. State Department resenting this “poisoning of American
minds” (Werstein, pg. 20-21). As public opinion fanned by this yellow journalism burned
against the Spanish, President William McKinley demanded that Spain give Cuba its
independence. They did not, and bending to the pressure of public opinion McKinley asked
Congress to declare war on Spain.
War was declared on April 21, 1898. Even though the United States declared war, the
military was greatly unprepared. Roughly thirty years after the devastation of the Civil War the
standing military was small and ill-equipped. Secretary of War Russell Alexander Alger
commented on how small the army was by saying, “On the 1st of April our standing army
consisted of 2,143 officers and 26,040 enlisted men, distributed over the entire country” (Alger,
pg. 7). But as soon as the government asked for volunteers, many answered the call. These
patriotic volunteers included many veterans from both sides of the Civil War, which was a
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turning point in the re-unification of the North and South. Former enemies on the field
of battle, they reunited to fight together under the Stars and Stripes (Kepler, Memorial Day
1899).
Before war was declared, Congress had granted $50,000,000 “for the national defense”
on March 9th (Alger, pg. 8). This money was used to greatly strengthen coastal fortifications in
case of war as tensions between Spain and the U.S. increased. When war was declared the
United States was faced with the task of raising, supplying, and mobilizing an army. The
President called for volunteers, and in all 223,235 volunteers from the United States came to
fight in the war. The next task was to equip all these men. Secretary of War Alger wrote, “Not a
single regiment was fully ready for the field” (Alger, pg.22). Before the war the military
storehouses were empty, and the government faced the difficult job of providing for the
volunteers (Alger, pg.22). The preparing of the army was done very quickly. After the army was
prepared for the battlefield, the first fighting began.
The day after the declaration of war, the United States blockaded the Cuban ports. The
U.S. Navy’s ships before the war were described by one journalist who said sarcastically, “I was
ashamed to see Old Glory flying over those hulks…. There were ironclads streaked with rust,
wooden frigates that had not weighed anchor since ’65, floating tubs masquerading as a navy....
Had we sent them against the Spaniards we should have easily emerged victorious… the enemy
would have been rendered helpless with laughter!”(Werstein, pg. 29-30). This problem was
resolved and the United States Navy was vastly improved due to the support of the Secretary of
the Navy William C. Whitney. This turning point in the navy now gave the United States an edge
over the Spanish fleet.
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Guam was taken by the United States on June 21st, as the commander of the battleship
Charleston accepted surrender from a Spanish governor who didn’t know his country was at
war. This was a turning point for the U.S., as this was the first American possession overseas
and the first imperialistic act by the country (Werstein, pg. 119). The first fighting of the Spanish
American War also occurred far from the Caribbean in the Pacific Ocean. On May 1, 1898,
Commodore George Dewey sailed into Manila Bay in the Philippines and destroyed the Spanish
fleet anchored there while suffering no losses. The city of Manila was taken in August, and the
United States placed the Philippines under its control. The Philippines would become an
important strategic possession for the U. S. in both trade and war. The islands played a major
role in World War II when the Americans were fighting the Japanese in the Pacific.
The fighting in Cuba began when a Spanish fleet arrived from Europe to reinforce
Spanish troops on the island. The fleet sailed to the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. American ships
blockaded the Spanish in the harbor on May 29th (Trask). When President McKinley received
news of the blockade he ordered the regular army being prepared in Tampa to move to
Santiago de Cuba. The Americans attacked San Juan Heights on July 1st. The army moved
against the Spanish at San Juan Heights after a section of Gatling guns provided the turning
point of the battle by forcing the Spanish to abandon San Juan Hill. The battle also included
Theodore Roosevelt’s iconic charge up Kettle Hill with his cavalry unit, the “Rough Riders”,
which gave the public a heroic view of the war. This was a major event in his life that
eventually propelled him into the presidency by inflating his image as a war hero (Beschloss,
Sidney).
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The American success at San Juan Heights scared the Spanish. The Spanish fleet was
ordered to sail back from Santiago de Cuba. It set sail out of the harbor on July 3rd. The
American blockade intercepted the Spanish at the mouth of the channel and sank four of five
ships (Trask). The defeat of the fleet ended Spanish opposition on the ocean and was the
turning point that heralded the ending of the war. On July 4th, the news of the battle arrived in
Washington to great jubilation.
On July 7th, Congress annexed Hawaii to add to their list of new imperialistic exploits.
William Hearst’s New York Journal proclaimed that, “It is a great day for Uncle Sam!”
(Werstein, pg. 164). Finally on July 16th, the Spanish surrendered Santiago de Cuba. The United
States also sent an invasion force to Puerto Rico earlier in the month, and the army quickly took
firm control of the island, basically ending the war in the Caribbean.
With the war in Cuba virtually over, the Spanish Ambassador at Paris asked the French
Government to help arrange a truce (Werstein, pg. 169). The message was received by the U.S.
that the Spanish were requesting negotiations for peace on July 26th. On August 12th, President
McKinley and French ambassador Jules Cambon, who negotiated for Spain, signed an armistice
that ended hostilities and officially relinquished Spanish control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam
(Trask). All fighting stopped in the war as soon as the news reached the fronts. The Philippines
were taken by the United States after the hostilities were halted because word of the armistice
didn’t reach the battle before the Spanish surrendered. The U.S. and Spanish delegations met
for the first time in Paris to negotiate a treaty, where the first order of business was to discuss
the Philippines. The Spanish argued that since Manila had surrendered after the July 26th
armistice, the Philippines could not be considered a conquest of war (“The Treaty of Paris of
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1898”). However, Spain had little choice, and accepted a payment of $20 million dollars for the
islands.
Spain also ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and gave Cuba its
independence. This was a turning point in the evolution of the U.S. from being an isolationist
country to a world power. The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed on December 10th and
officially ended the war. It was ratified by the Senate on February 6th, 1899 despite objections
by Senators who opposed expansion. The treaty passed 57 to 27, only 2 votes over the required
two-thirds.
The total casualties of the war for the U.S. were about 3,000 men. Almost 90% of the
deaths were caused not by bullets, but by tropical diseases, especially yellow fever. Concern
over this caused Dr. Walter Reed to be sent to Cuba to study yellow fever. Dr. Reed discovered
that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquito bites, which led to many sanitary measures against
mosquitoes. This helped many places, including Memphis, Tennessee, be rid of the disease and
became a turning point in disease prevention (“The Conquest of Yellow Fever”). This advance
led to the United States being able to build the Panama Canal without having to risk as many
lives in the process as France, who attempted to build the canal in 1880-1898, had before them
(“American Canal Construction”).
The Spanish American War can be seen as the event that moved the United States from
isolationist country to a world power with territory across the globe. The war was a turning
point not only for the United States, but for the world, as the war destroyed the remnants of
the once glorious Spanish empire and gave birth to a new world power.
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The acquisition of Guam, Hawaii, and the Philippines put the United States in position to
have access to eastern markets and to new allies. These islands were also key strategic points
beyond continental borders in wars such as World War II. Hawaii later achieved statehood,
along with Alaska, to move the total number of states to fifty. After World War II the Philippines
were given their independence, but Guam remains a territory of the United States with a large
military base on it. The war also impacted the islands in the Caribbean. Cuba, after gaining its
independence, has become its own nation. This set an example for many Central and South
American countries who wanted to be rid of their European authorities. Even though the U.S.
helped give the island its independence, the two countries have come into conflict with each
other, such as in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Puerto Rico was perhaps the most valuable
possession the U.S. gained besides the Philippines. Unlike the Philippines, it remains in United
States jurisdiction. The island was granted a form of self-government in which the people elect
a governor and a legislature. Even though the island is a commonwealth of the United States,
its people cannot vote in presidential elections.
The war also had a major impact on the lives of those involved. President McKinley,
who successfully guided the U.S. through the war, was elected to a second term. The Spanish
American War also was a turning point in the life of McKinley’s vice president for his second
term, Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt’s charge up Kettle Hill with the Rough Riders pushed him
into the public spotlight. After McKinley was assassinated, Roosevelt followed him as president.
Roosevelt was a popular president and was elected to a second term. The war also made
newspaper editors Hearst and Pulitzer very prominent, not to mention wealthy, as they
supplied “eyewitness” news from the war. The exaggerated stories from these papers
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captivated their audiences and increased the paper’s circulation. The impact continues today as
some news organizations will report news from a point of view that will support the organization’s
beliefs, and so-called “shock jocks” will say things just to get public attention and interest.
The Spanish American War catapulted the United States onto the stage of world
eminence. By gaining control of territories outside the North American continent the United
States began its rise to imperialistic world power by expanding trade routes, establishing
military bases, and exporting American culture like the ideas of democracy and liberty. It was
also a turning point in the lives and careers of the people who were involved by bringing to the
public spotlight people like politicians, newspaper editors, and doctors. The war also caused a
turning point in disease prevention that helped many places eradicate yellow fever. Another
effect of the war was a turning point in the re-unification of the North and South as veterans
from both sides of the Civil War fought on the same side against the Spanish. Impacts of this
war can be felt today in the military, economy, and daily lives of people around the globe. The
phrase “Remember the Maine” evokes memories of a war that served as a turning point for
people, ideas and events that changed the world forever.
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Bibliography
Primary Sources
Alger, Russell Alexander. The Spanish American War. Harper & Brothers Publishers: New York,
1901. Retrieved 18 Dec 2012 from Library of Congress, Washington DC, Americana Collection.
This book, written by the Secretary of War at the time, describes the war from the first tensions
to the final battles. This describes the actions of the military during the war.
Barritt, Leon. "The Big Type War of the Yellow Kids" Vim, 1898 June 29. Retrieved 18 December
2012 from Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/ppmsc.02832
This cartoon depicts Pulitzer and Hearst pushing on opposite sides of a stack of children’s blocks
that spell “war”. This shows the battle of the journalists that were using yellow journalism to try
and boost their circulation.
Bennett, James. "Proof That Treachery Destroyed the Maine." Call [San Francisco] 23 Feb 1898,
Front Page. Print. Historic Newspapers, Library of Congress, Washington, DC. Retrieved 4 Feb
2013. http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85066387/1898-02-23/ed-1/seq-1/
This article from The Call tells of the investigation into the destruction of the Maine. It tells
readers that the sinking was no accident. This is a prime example of yellow journalism, and how
it was meant to try and stir up public feelings against the Spanish.
Kepler, Udo J. "Memorial Day, 1899 - three veterans under one flag", Puck. Published by
Keppler & Schwarzmann, 1899 May 31. Retrieved 18 December 2012 from Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012647425/resource/
This cartoon shows a Union and Confederate veteran each shaking a Spanish American War
veteran’s hand. This shows the healing aspect of the war as the North and the South united in
the first major conflict since the Civil War.
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Secondary Sources
"American Canal Construction." pancanal.com. Panama Canal Authority. Web. Retrieved 5 Feb
2013. <http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/history/american.html>.
This describes the construction of the Panama Canal by the United States. It provided
information on the impact of disease control that led to building the canal.
"Battle of Manila Bay, 1 May 1898." www.history.navy.mil. Department of the Navy. Web.
Retrieved 4 Jan 2013. <http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq84-1.htm>.
This is a detailed account of the battle of Manila Bay. It tells of the capture of Manila and after.
Beschloss, Michael, and Hugh Sidney. "Theodore Roosevelt." whitehouse.gov. White House
Historical Association, n.d. Web. Retrieved 7 Feb 2013.
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/theodoreroosevelt>.
This is a brief description of Theodore Roosevelt’s life and political career. This provided a lot of
background information about his life, and showed the impact of the Spanish American War.
Buschini, J. "The Spanish-American War." smplanet.com. Small Planet Communications, Inc.,
n.d. Web. 5 Dec 2012.
This webpage describes the sinking of the Maine and the reaction of the press, including the
effects of yellow journalism.
"Spanish-American War." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 18 Jan. 2013
<http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Retrieved 10 Nov 2012.
This is a short encyclopedia entry on the Spanish American War. This provided background
information and a summary of key events.
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"The Conquest of Yellow Fever." dodd.cmcvellore.ac.in. N.p. Web. 22 Jan 2013.
<http://dodd.cmcvellore.ac.in/hom/37 - Conquest of Yellow Fever.html>.
This tells how Dr. Walter Reed “conquered” yellow fever. This shows the turning point in
disease control.
Kelly, Martin. "Spanish American War Essentials." About.com. Web. 4 Dec 2012.
<http://americanhistory.about.com/od/spanishamwar/tp/spanish-american-war.htm>.
This webpage highlights key essentials of the war such as yellow journalism, the Maine, and the
charge up San Juan Hill.
Lerner, Adrienne Wilmoth, ed. "Spanish-American War." Encyclopedia.com. Web. Retrieved 4
Dec 2012. <http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Spanish-American_War.asp&xgt;.
This site includes several encyclopedia entries for the Spanish-American War, and was used for
initial background information.
Topping, Seymour. "Pulitzer biography." pulitzer.org. N.p.. Web. Retrieved 7 Dec 2012.
<http://www.pulitzer.org/biography
This describes Pulitzer’s journalism career, including his competition with Hearst during the
Spanish American war.
"The Treaty of Paris of 1898." Library of Congress, Hispanic Division. Web. Retrieved 1 Feb
2013. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/treaty.html>.
This is a short description of the Treaty of Paris. This shows how much the United States gained
from the war. It describes the United States rise to a world power.
Trask, David. "The World of 1898: The Spanish American War." Hispanic Division, Library of
Congress, Washington, DC. Web. Retrieved 5 Dec 2012.
http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/trask.html
This is an overview of the Spanish American War written as an essay. It tells in detail about the
tensions of Cuba, the war, and the Treaty of Paris, and describes major turning points like
yellow journalism and American imperialism. Links to primary source photographs and
documents are imbedded.
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Werstein, Irving. Turning Point for America: The Story of the Spanish American War. New York:
Julian Messner, 1964. Print.
This book describes the Spanish American War in detail, including its causes, events, and
consequences, as well as how it was a turning point in history, beginning America's rise to world
power.
Weisberger, Bernard A.; Maldonado, Alex W. The U.S. Overseas. Time Inc., New York 1969. pgs.
9-51. Print.
This book tells of U.S. involvement in places such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines,
much of which began with the Spanish-American War. It describes the turning point of the
United States from an isolationist country to an imperialist one.
Wierichs, Jeff. "William Randolph Hearst," The Spanish American War Centennial Website,
copyright 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. http://www.spanamwar.com/Hearst.htm
This webpage tells of William Randolph Hearst from his birth to death and his involvement with
yellow journalism during the Spanish American War.
The World Book Encyclopedia. 18. Chicago, London, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto: World BookChildcraft International, Inc., 1979. 590-591. Print.
These two pages provide a summary of the war. It describes briefly all the battles and tells of
the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. It provided initial background information and leads
for further research.
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