Spanish American War
Causes-Events-Effects
“A Splendid Little War”secretary of state John Hay
• This was an immensely popular war with the American
people
• For the first time since the Civil War men from the north
and south fought side by side for a common cause
• It lasted less than 100 days, resulted in over 4,000 deaths
(only 289 battle deaths) - most from disease (particularly
yellow fever) and food poisoning), and resulted in a
resounding victory over the once great Spanish Empire
• It changed the course of American history, making the US
a full fledged world power with new responsibilities in the
Pacific and Caribbean
Important Causes
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US Business Interests in Cuba
American Sympathies for Cubans
De Lome Letter
Sinking of the USS Maine
Yellow Journalism
1. US Business Interests in Cuba
 Repressive Spanish rule caused Cubans to revolt in
1895 – demanding their independence
 Fighting between Cuban nationalists (rebels) and the
Spanish military threatened US investments and
property in Cuba
 Most businessmen wanted the US to help Spain at first
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Sugar mills and plantations were attacked by Cuban
nationalists led by Jose Marti in hopes of forcing the US to help
the Cuban rebels
$100’s of millions of lucrative trade and investments between
US and Cuba was threatened by a long drawn out war
2. American Sympathies for Cubans
• Many Americans sympathized with the Cuban
Rebellion because . . .
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Americans had themselves fought for Independence from
colonial rule during the American Revolution
The cry “Cuba Libre!” reminded Americans of Patrick
Henry’s “Give me Liberty or Give me Death”
Cuba was only 90 miles from Florida, and much of the
funding and organization for the revolution came from
Cuban immigrants in the US (NY & FL)
Most Cubans were Catholic, as were many Americans
Thousands of Americans lived and worked in Cuba
As 1898 events were sensationalized in the yellow press
(newspapers) more and more Americans favored war against
Spain
3. De Lome Letter
• February 1898 the New York Journal published a
private letter written by the Spanish Ambassador
to Washington, DC
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In the letter Enrique Dupey de Lome criticized president
McKinley, claiming he was “weak and a bidder for the
admiration of the crowd”
Americans were outraged and considered his comments an
insult against the US
Although de Lome resigned as Ambassador it was too late the damage had been done and many more Americans now
called for war against Spain
4. Sinking of the USS Maine
• The USS Maine (battleship) was sent to Havana Harbor, Cuba
days after the de Lome letter was made public for TWO
REASONS:
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To protect American citizens and if necessary evacuate them if a threat to their
safety arose
Press Spain to settle the conflict with the Cuban nationalists
• Feb 15, 1898 the USS Maine exploded killing over 260 men
• Immediately American newspapers (yellow press) owned by
publishers William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer printed stories
blaming the explosion on a Spanish mine.
• Even Assistant Secretary of the Navy, future president Theodore
Roosevelt, said that “the Maine was sunk by an act of dirty
treachery on the part of the Spanish”
• Most historians now believe the real cause of the explosion was
an onboard fire in the coal bunkers that then spread to an
adjacent room that contained explosives
• Immediately the cry “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!”
rang throughout the US as jingoism increased immediately
5. Yellow Journalism
• Throughout the Cuban revolution American newspapers
sensationalized, even fabricated, stories about the mistreatment
of Cuban’s by the Spanish in order to sell more newspapers
• This type of sensationalized newspaper coverage was known as
“Yellow Journalism”
• William R. Hearst (publisher) reportedly said to his most gifted
artist “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war”
• Stories (most false or exaggerated) about the mistreatment of
Cuban’s by the Spanish General Valeriano “the Butcher” Weyler
stirred sympathy and outrage in America
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His use of concentration camps where thousands died from malnutrition,
mistreatment and disease
Stories of his soldiers poisoning wells
Stories of his soldiers throwing children to the sharks
Stories of Spanish officials strip searching women
War is Declared
• Despite the fact that Spain agreed to almost everything
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the US demanded, an intense burst of nationalism
fueled war fever (Jingoism) lead to a call for war
President McKinley could no longer ignore or control
On April 20, 1898 the US declared war on Spain
The US Army was ill prepared for war – numbering
only 28,000 men (most of these men were in the west)
to Spain's 100,000+
The US Navy on the other hand was more modern than
Spain's
The first fighting occurred not in Cuba, but in another
Spanish colony thousands of miles away . . . the
Philippines
War in the Philippines
 Before the US began to fight in Cuba,
war began in another Spanish colony,
the Philippine Islands
 On orders from Sec. of Navy Teddy
Roosevelt, Commodore George Dewey
moved 6 US ships from Hong Kong in
order to prepare to invade the
Philippines
 On May 1st Dewey and his fleet
attacked the Spanish squadron
 In 7 hours the US demolished the
Spanish forces
The Storming of Manila
 Dewey wanted for
reinforcements and with the help
of Filipino patriot Emilio
Aguinaldo captured Manila on
August 13, 1898
 Aguinaldo joined the US with the
belief that the US would grant
the Philippines their
independence after Spain was
defeated
 He was mistaken
US Troops Land in Cuba
 Under the command of General Nelson Miles and
General William Shafter, 17,000 troops landed in
Santiago
 The US troops, which included African Americans,
who were anxious to bring independence to Cubans,
many of whom were of African descent or mulattos
 Fighting began on the island on June 20, 1898
The Rough Riders
 One unit became known as the “Rough Riders”
 The were a colorful regiment of volunteers under the
supervision of Teddy Roosevelt
 They were undisciplined and not always effective
fighters, but embodied the American enthusiasm for
the fight against Spain
 On June 22 the charged up San Juan Hill, a
strategically important part of the ridges
surrounding Santiago
African Americans in the War
 The role of African
Americans was largely
ignored by the press
 There were numerous
African Americans outfits
that were racially
segregated in the US Army
and they played a central
role in defeating the
Spanish
Battle of Guasimas
 The black 9th and 10th Cavalries (the “Buffalo
Soldiers”) opened the way for the Rough Riders,
possibly saving them from annihilation
Defeating the Spanish
 The battle of San Juan
Hill, the first major
land battle of the
Spanish American War,
turned out to be the last
 On July 3, the Spanish
fleet tried to run from
the US blockade, but
were defeated in a one
sided battle
Puerto Rico
 After defeating the Spanish fleet, the US turned to
Puerto Rico, which they conquered in July
The War’s Toll on US Soldiers
 US ambassador to London, John Hay, called the
Spanish American War, a “splendid little war”
 However, 385 soldiers were killed in action and
another 5,000 died of tropical mosquito born disease
 Upon return the soldiers had to be quarantined in
New York, so yellow fever would not spread in the
US
The Treatment of African Americans
 Even though the fought valiantly, the 9th and 10th
cavalries never received the acclaim that the Rough
Riders did.
 As troops passed through the South they were called
racial slurs and refused service in restaurants and
other public places
 Tensions were so high over their service that there
were race riots in 1898
The “Splendid Little War”
 Spain signed a peace
protocol or cease-fire on
August 12, 1898. A day
before Dewey and his
troops captured Manila
 A permanent settlement
was made in October
1898
Treaty of Paris
 In the Treaty of Paris, Spain granted independence
to Cuba and ceded (gave) the US Puerto Rico, Guam,
and the Philippines for a payment of $20 million
 The new territories added 100,000 square miles and
close to 10 million people to the American empire
The US Emerges as a World Power
 The US emerged as a world power, with an empire
that stretched from the Caribbean Sea to the South
China Sea.
 The economic and political consequences of such
expansion created a new international role for the
US.