• A rapid growth in industry after the Civil War results in national wealth
• The western frontier had closed up (no more land left to discover)
• “Manifest destiny” is questionable now
• Now the U.S. will look to foreign markets to sustain our economy

• 1897
• “I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one”

• Chicago
• 400 th anniversary of discovery of the new world
• 27 million: ¼ of nation’s population visit fairgrounds (largest tourist attraction in history)
• Inspires visitors to indulge in America’s glorious past/ delve into glorious future?...

SPAM
(Spanish American War)
- Cuba: Spanish-ruled island 90 miles off coast of Florida
- Cuban patriots revolted against harsh Spanish rule
- American citizens wanted President McKinley to take action to help

– U.S. papers covered stories of brutality/ cruelty daily
• Exaggerated or made up to stir American anger
• Sound familiar?... (yellow journalism!)
– Under growing public pressure, McKinley signs declaration of war against Spain on April 25 th , 1898

• Jose Marti led Cuban rebels in their fight against Spain, coining the battle cry, “Cuba Libre!” (Free Cuba).
• Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler to be a governor to
Cuba ( Uses brutal tactics to crush revolt)
Cuba
Libre!!!
…..NO!

– Reconcentration: policy of moving large numbers of people into camps for political or military purposes
• 100,000 Cubans in revel reconcentration camps died from starvation & disease
Yes…those are real bones!

• Americans had invested $50 million in Cuba
– Rice & sugar plantations, railroads, tobacco, mines
– Trade with Cuba = $100 million per year
Why do we invest?..

• Opinions were split over whether U.S. should intervene in Cuba or not
– THE NO ARGUMENT: it could hurt our foreign trade
– THE YES ARGUMENT: It’s our duty as Americans to help
Cubans achieve their freedom like we did during the
American Revolution
“They have risen against oppression, … which led us to rebel against England …they should have the sympathy of the people of the U.S.”
Henry Cabot Lodge (Senator Massachusetts)

• Pulitzer & Hearst compete to print the most grisly stories about Spanish atrocities: wartime acts of cruelty & brutality
– War sells more newspapers
– Yellow journalism: reporting that relied on sensational stories and headlines that were biased or untrue.
• Still, McKinley wanted to stay neutral

“Remember the Maine”
• 1898- fighting broke out in Havana; capital of Cuba
• McKinley sent U.S. battleship Maine to protect U.S. citizens & property there
• While anchored in the harbor, an explosion destroys the
Maine
– 260 died of the 350 U.S. crew

“Remember the Maine”

“Remember the Maine”
• The real cause of the explosion remains a mystery.
Maybe…
– Boiler blew up
– Accident in ship’s ammunition room

SPAM: Spanish American War: 1898 war between
Spain & U.S. that lasted 4 months

…BY SEA….
• Teddy Roosevelt is now Assistant Sec. of Navy
– He realizes that a war with Spain would span into wherever Spanish sea power lay
– Philippine Islands: Spanish colony & Spain’s main naval base in the Pacific
– The major U.S. military objective = Teddy wants to attack here as soon as war broke out

Teddy contacts George Dewey: U.S. commander of Pacific Fleet
• Dewey’s ships slip into Manila Bay (main city) during the night
• At dawn, they bombarded the surprised Spanish ships & destroyed their fleet
Your duty is to see that Spanish fleets do not leave their port in the
Philippines
Cool!
George Dewey

…BY LAND….
• U.S. ground troops land in the Philippines
• Locals had been fighting for independence from
Spain for years (remember Cuba)
• Native rebels are led by Emilio Aguinaldo & helped U.S. troops to capture Manila
“Hey…it worked for Jose Marti, it may work for me too!”
Emilio Aguinaldo

• Teddy resigns as Assistant Secretary of Navy & organizes the 1 st volunteer cavalry regiment
– Cavalry: soldiers or warriors who fought on horseback

– Rough Riders: military unit organized by Teddy during SPAM
• Ranged from cowboys to college students & adventurers
• Symbol of multicultural troops (why could this be
AWESOME for boosting morale?)

Buffalo Soldiers: African American members of the 9 th & 10 th
U.S. Cavalry
“Whites, blacks, regulars & Rough Riders—representing the young manhood of the North & South, fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color…just mindful of their common duty as
Americans”

• Finally the Spanish army in Cuba surrenders & buckles under pressure from the U.S.
• The U.S. then traveled to Puerto Rico & claimed the island while Spain was still intimidated

• Spain & U.S. agree to end fighting
– U.S. losses: 380 killed from battle/ 5,000+ killed from yellow fever, typhoid & malaria

– Spain grants Cuba its freedom
– Spain gives the U.S. Puerto Rico (Caribbean) & Guam (Pacific)
– Spain trades the Philippines to U.S. for $20 million!
CUBA
PUERTO
RICO
PHILIPPINES

When war had begun with Spain, the U.S. had promised to “leave the government & control of Cuba to its own people”

• BUT…. the U.S. soldiers stayed in Cuba after the war ended because they felt Cubans were “not ready” for independence
– Sound like the ‘White man’s burden’?...
– Business leaders in the U.S. were afraid that an independent Cuba might threaten their investments
– U.S. let Cuban people write their own constitution, but
Cubans first had to accept the Platt Amendment

• Platt Amendment: allowed the U.S. to intervene in Cuba as they pleased & gave U.S. control of naval base at Guantanamo Bay
• In effect, the amendment made Cuba an
American protectorate
• Protectorate: a nation whose independence is limited by the control of a more powerful country

• U.S. set up a new government under the Foraker
Act of 1900
• Foraker Act: gave Puerto Ricans only a limited say in their own affairs
• The U.S. set up schools, roads, and health care on the island

Emilio Aguinaldo
• REMEMBER… Philippine natives had been fighting for independence long before SPAM
• When the U.S. took over after SPAM, Philippine natives felt “owned” without their own identity
• Emilio Aguinaldo
(remember him?) leads natives to fight for freedom against a NEW imperial power: the U.S.
– He tells the U.S. that “you’ve forgotten your beginnings”

– Revolt in the Philippines resulted in a war that killed 4,000
U.S. troops & 20,000 Philippine natives & 200,000
Philippine civilians too
– 1902- U.S. set up a government similar to that in Puerto
Rico & finally granted the Philippines independence in
1946