Spanish-American War
What was going on around
the world in the late 1800’s
• Imperialism: stronger nations
extend their economic, political,
or military control over weaker
nations
• Many European countries were
competing over land in Asia and
Africa
Most Americans wanted
imperialism for three
reasons
• 1.)more military strength
• 2.)new markets to sell goods
• 3.)cultural superiority
Admiral Alfred T.
Mahan…
• Advised the US government to
build the US Navy so that the
US could compete with other
powerful nations. Therefore,
the US Congress paid for the
building of new ships that made
the US Navy the third largest in
the world
The first time the US
practiced imperialism was
when:
• US Secretary of State William
Seward bought Alaska from Russia
in 1867
• Many Americans called the purchase
of Alaska “Seward’s Folly” because
they thought Alaska was nothing but
ice
• As we know today, Alaska has the
most oil in the US
Hawaii also became a
target for the US
• Hawaii was economically
important
• American investors controlled
about 75% of Hawaii’s wealth
(mostly sugar and fruit)
• For a long time, sugar growers
could import Hawaiian sugar to
the US tax free
However, the McKinley
Tariff changed everything:
• With the McKinley Tariff,
Hawaiian sugar was now taxed
and became more expensive
than American sugar
• The sugar growers in Hawaii
wanted the US to annex Hawaii
so that they would not have to
pay the tax
As the US tried to gain
more influence in Hawaii:
• The Hawaiian government was
pressured into allowing the US
to build a naval base in Hawaii
(Pearl Harbor)
Eventually….
• The American business leaders
in Hawaii forced King Kalakaua
to change the Hawaiian
constitution and allow only
wealthy landowners to vote
• Of course, those landowners
would vote in favor of
annexation to the US
When Queen Lil came to
power:
• She challenged the wealthy
American landowners
• Her slogan was “Hawaii for
Hawaiians”
• With the help of the US Marines, the
wealthy landowners had Queen Lil
removed from power
• Queen Lil is still seen as a hero in
Hawaii today
New Hawaiian
government
• The new Hawaiian government
was led by Sanford Dole
• President McKinley annexed
Hawaii in 1897
• Hawaii did not become a state
until 1959
The US had lots of
interest in Cuba
• Cuba was only 90 miles from
Florida
• Spain always refused to sell
Cuba to the US
• The Cubans had several failed
rebellions against Spain
By the 1880’s…
• American investors began
spending their money in Cuba
• Cubans began pushing again for
independence
Jose Marti
• A Cuban poet exiled in New
York who wanted the US to
become more involved in Cuban
affairs
• Overall, public opinion in US
was split on Cuba
As a new Cuban revolt
began in 1896:
• Spain sent their best general,
Valeriano Weyler to stop the
rebellion
• General Weyler began
establishing concentration
camps, where about 300,000
Cubans were imprisoned
The American media
began making General
Weyler look very bad
• William Randolph Hearst (New
York Journal) and Joseph
Pulitzer (New York World) were
newspaper editors who
competed against each other to
sell newspapers
• Their stories would become
more outrageous
Yellow journalism:
exaggerate the news to
lure and enrage readers
• Some newspaper reporters
began referring to General
Weyler as a “butcher”
• Some newspaper stories spoke
of the Spanish abusing Cuban
children
deLome Letter
• The American media printed a
letter that was alledgedly
written by Spanish Ambassador
Enrique Dupuy deLome
• In that letter, deLome called
President McKinley “weak and a
bidder for the admiration of the
crowd”
De Lome Letter
• Most Americans were outraged
because they did not like a
foreigner talking badly about a
US President
In February 1898,
President McKinley sent
the USS Maine to Cuba
• Soon after arriving, the USS
Maine blew up and 260
American sailors died
• The American media blamed
Spain (“Remember the Maine
and to hell with Spain”)
USS Maine
• In reality, the explosion of the
USS Maine was probably an
accident
April 20, 1898
• US Congress approved a war
with Spain
Oddly enough, the first
battle of the war was in
the Philippines
• Spain had also controlled the
Philippines
• American Admiral George
Dewey destroyed every Spanish
ship within a few hours
In the Philippines….
• Once Admiral Dewey landed in
the Philippines, he found that
the Filipino people also wanted
independence from Spain
• Admiral Dewey began working
with Filipino rebel leader Emilio
Aguinaldo
Meanwhile, in Cuba…
• The US Navy blockaded Cuba so
that Spain could not ship in
supplies
• 125,000 Americans volunteered
to fight in Cuba
• Many of these soldiers were not
prepared for battle
In Cuba….
• The American military was still
successful, despite of their lack
of training and weapons
Rough Riders
• Led by Theodore Roosevelt and
Leonard Wood
• It was a volunteer cavalry
• The most famous battle was
when the Rough Riders charged
up San Juan Hill
• Theodore Roosevelt was seen
as a hero
When the Spanish Navy
tried to leave Cuba:
• The US Navy sunk the entire
Spanish Navy
Treaty of Paris
• Spain gave Cuba its
independence
• The US bought the Philippines,
Puerto Rico, and Guam for $20
million
President McKinley
believed:
• That the US had to annex the
Philippines to help educate and
Christianize the Filipino people
• The problem was that the
Filipino people were already
Christians
The Filipinos were not
happy when the US
annexed the Philippines
• Filipino rebel leader Emilio
Aguinaldo believed that the
American government had lied
to the Filipino people
• As a result, a war broke out
between the US and the
Philippines
Philippine-American War
• Many Filipinos died because of
the bad sanitation and illness
that was being spread
throughout the Philippines
• 20,000 Filipinos died
The Philippines allowed an
easy way for the US to get
to Asia
• China was seen a great prize to
the US and many European
countries
• Because China had so many
people, it could become a great
market for American goods
The US was afraid it would
have a hard time getting
into China
• US Secretary of State John Hay
issued the Open Door Notes (all
countries should share trading
rights with the US in China)
• No single country would have a
monopoly in China
Many people in China were
unhappy with foreigners
trying to influence them
• Boxer Rebellion: a group of
Chinese try to kick out the
foreigners
• Troops from the US and many
European countries went to
China to stop the Boxers
After the Boxer
Rebellion:
• The US restated its
commitment to keep China
“open”
There was a big debate in
the US over whether all of
these wars overseas was
good for America
Most Americans did agree with
these imperialism policies
because President McKinley
was reelected in 1900