-Identify the Causes and Effects of the Spanish
American War
-Be able to define Imperialism & Isolationism
Unit 7: Imperialism and the Growth of US Power

1). Monroe Doctrine : stated that the Americas were off limits to further European colonization
2). Imperialism : The policy of extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or by the establishment of economic and political control over other nations
3). Yellow Journalism : Journalism that exploits, distorts, or exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers
4). Industrialization : The Change from animal/human labor to machine labor (requires LOTS of Raw materials for Mass Production)

• Think about resources.
• Think about how a technologically advanced society may feel over ‘non-advanced’ societies.
• Turn to a person near you: come up with 3-5 ways these two historical ideas are related.

• Need for new markets to sell goods
– Related to Industrialization
• More land to get raw materials
– Related to Industrialization
• Keep up with European Powers
– Related to Imperialism
• Goals of leadership
– Related to Imperialism
Foxborough History Department 4

• Spain was considered one of the top naval powers in the world (on paper only!)
• The US was having a debate in their political landscape: Should we Expand or remain
Isolated?  Imperialism vs Isolationism
• Yellow Journalism inspired citizens to feel sympathy for Spain’s mistreatment of colonies (Cuba, Philippines, Puerto Rico)

• American Sympathy towards
Cuban Fight for Freedom against Spanish Rule
– “Butcher” Weyler forced 300,000
Cuban Rebels into concentration camps (gov’t work camps)
• Monroe Doctrine – chance to get
Spain out of Western Hemisphere
• Economic Interests – sugar plantations, cheap labor
• Yellow Journalism – American
Press got American’s behind going to war
• Spark (direct cause) : Sinking of the USS Maine

• At 9:40pm on February
15, 1898, the battleship
U.S.S. Maine exploded in
Havana (Cuba) Harbor
• 268 men were killed, shocking the American population
• What or who caused this explosion?
• http://www.homeofheroes
.com/wallofhonor/spanish
_am/02_maine.html
7

• Who is waiting?
-Pres. McKinley
• Why should we wait for the “facts”?
• Why might the
United States want to go to war?
• What positive effects or outcomes could come from a war with Spain?
8

1.What is most noticeable about the example?
2. How is this media making people feel?
3. How would this influence or change peoples mind?

Characteristics of Yellow Journalism:
• Headlines in huge print, often of minor news
• Many pictures, or imaginary drawings
• use of faked interviews, misleading headlines, and false information from so-called experts
• dramatic sympathy with the "underdog" against the system.
• Emotional words and symbols; scare tactics

A type of journalism that distorts and exaggerates the news to create sensations and attract readers
William Randolph Hearst vs Joseph Pulitzer .
New York Journal New York World

• 1). What role does industrialization play in creating a desire for Imperialism?
• 2). Explain why you are more of an Isolationist or
Imperialist when it comes to US foreign policy?
• 3). Who were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph
Pulitzer? Explain their role in the Sp-Am War.
• 4). Do you believe ‘Yellow Journalism’ is still a problem in US society today? Provide examples for why or why not.
• 5). Is war ever justifiable/right?
– What makes a war justifiable?

 William McKinley
 Theodore Roosevelt
 George Dewey
 William Randolph Hearst
 General Weyler “The Butcher”
 Emilio Aguinaldo

William McKinley , Jr. (1843-1901)
• 25 th President
• Supported by Industrialists
(Carnegie, Rockefeller,
Morgan)
• Wanted to avoid war in Cuba
• Yellow journalism and public supported war
• In April 1898, President
McKinley abandoned his failed diplomatic efforts and asked Congress for permission to intervene in
Cuba.
• Assassinated in 1901
By Leon Czolgosz

Theodore Roosevelt Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
• “I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one”
• First Volunteer Cavalry, nicknamed the " Rough Riders .“ Stop, drop, that’s how rough riders roll…..(DMX)
• Becomes President AFTER McKinley dies…many Republicans worried about his presidency
• TR goes after Trusts as president . He did not go “by the book” for many in the Republican Party (“Loose cannon!”)
• Pay attention during President’s
Video! Lots to know about TR!!!

• May 1, 1899— Commodore
Dewey and his Asiatic
Squadron defeated the
Spanish fleet in Manila Bay
• Quick & easy defeat of the
Spanish
• During and after the war,
George Dewey became one of the war's most celebrated heroes

• Newspaper publisher and leading example of yellow journalism
• New York Journal started a public hysteria for war with Spain by publishing incendiary articles and illustrations
• Hearst once said "You provide the pictures and I'll provide the war.“
• Famously believed Newspapers should be used to sway
Americans’ opinions in politics and geopolitics (difference in those terms?)

• In 1896, the Spanish sent
"The Butcher," to Cuba
• To prevent the insurrectos
– Weyler built concentration camps in which he imprisoned a large portion of the population
• Under the harsh and unsanitary conditions in the concentration camps,
– Cuban prisoners died rapidly, especially from disease

 The Philippines' revolutionary leader
 Fought first against
Spanish imperialism
 After the end of the
Spanish-American
War, fought against
Americans [who promised to leave nation to Filipinos]

• 1. The Spanish-American War lasted 4 months. The U.S. first attacked the
Philippine Islands 1st (Spanish possession) and started a two-front (two ocean) war in the Gulf of Mexico after. The U.S. won and gained the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto
Rico as territories.

• 2. The U.S. placed a military government in
Cuba and exerted control over the country’s affairs. Many Cubans resented this.
Guantanamo Bay was leased to the U.S. so they could have a major naval base on the island.
• Prior to the Sp-Am War, we passed the Teller
Amendment which promised we would leave
Cuba after the war…Kind of true.
• Guess what revolutionary leader will fight against US imperialism in Cuba?

• Sinking of the USS Maine
– 268 US Servicemen are killed
– Blamed on a Spanish mine
• Admiral Dewey – Surprise attack on the Spanish
Fleet in Manila Harbor
– All Spanish Ships are Sunk
• Spanish Defeated in Battle of San Juan Hill
– T. Roosevelt led the “Rough Riders” to victory
• Spain signs Treat of Paris Ending the War

• US becomes an Imperialist Power
• Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines become colonies of the US
• Cuba gains its independence from Spain, but becomes a US Protectorate
– US will “protect” and partially control Cuba
• Philippine rebels wanting independence declare war on US

3. There was an increase in U.S. imperialistic desires.
4. Roosevelt Corollary : In 1904,
President Roosevelt declared the U.S. as an international police power in the Western Hemisphere using the
Monroe Doctrine to justify intervening in Latin America.
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

• 5. To show America as a growing political and economic power,
President Roosevelt sent the U.S. Navy, known as the Great White Fleet, on a world tour.

• 6. The U.S. got involved in the
Panamanian revolution against
Columbia so they could build and control the Panama Canal.

• Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine
– Declared the U.S. as the police power of the
Western Hemisphere
– Established U.S. “economic imperialism” throughout Latin America
• Panama
– U.S. supported Panama’s independence from
Colombia in exchange for the right to build and control the Panama Canal

(1898)
• Causes
– U.S. wanted to help Cuba win independence from Spain
• U.S. had economic interests in Cuba
• U.S. saw Spain’s control of Cuba as a test of Monroe
Doctrine
– Monroe Doctrine: stated that the Americas were off limits to further European colonization
– U.S. wanted to build an empire
• U.S. needed raw materials and markets for its goods
• Strong nationalism
– Americans wanted their nation to be powerful, wealthy, and competitive with the European powers
– U.S. newspapers blamed Spain for explosion of USS
Maine

– U.S. quickly defeated Spain and became a world power
– U.S. took on roll of a Police force of the Western Hemisphere
– U.S. acquired Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Philippines, and
Guam
• U.S. temporarily occupied Cuba and set up a military government
• Cuba and the Philippines eventually gained independence

• 1). Who was president during the Sp-Am War?
• 2). What is the Roosevelt Corollary? How did it change the
Monroe Doctrine?
• 3). What was the ‘Spark!’ that started the Sp-Am war?
• 4). Who were Emilio Aguinaldo and Butcher ‘Weyler’?
• 5). In your opinion, did the US uphold their end of the
Teller Amendment? Explain why or why not.
• 6). In your opinion, is it better to be Isolationist or
Imperialist? Explain your reasons.
• 7). Explain two causes and two effects of the Sp-Am War