Spanish-American War
Preconditions
• U.S. need for new markets for goods
• Monroe Doctrine establishes U.S. as North
American police force (1823)
• Manifest Destiny and expansionism
• Missionaries believe U.S. has moral obligation
to expand
• Patriotism and nationalism and desire to
expand American values
• U.S. sympathy for Cubans vs. Spanish
Spanish-American War
Preconditions
• Cuba as a geographic extension of the U.S.
• Sugar industry desires Cuba for increased
production
• Yellow journalism of Joseph Pulitzer and
William Randolph Hearst
• Increased U.S. confidence from expanding
boundaries
• Social Darwinism of Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge
• Naval race among the great powers
Spanish-American War
Aggravators
• President James K. Polk implements Monroe
Doctrine during Mexican War & Oregon fight
• Spain seizes Dominican Republic despite
warnings from Sec. of State Seward (1861)
• U.S. stares down France in Mexican
sovereignty crisis, renewing Monroe (1867)
• U.S. seizes Midway Islands (1867)
• US vs. Germany over Samoan Islands (1889)
• Eleven Italians lynched in New Orleans (1891)
Spanish-American War
Aggravators
• Seal hunting dispute near Alaska with Canada
•
•
•
•
•
(1893)
Venezuelan border disputes with Britain cause
Pres. Cleveland to issue warnings (1890s)
Hawaii is annexed by U.S. after coup (1898)
Jose Marti launches Cuban rebel attacks from
U.S. soil (1895)
Spanish kill thousands and imprison more in
Cuba
Pres. McKinley elected, pushes for Cuban
independence (1896)
Spanish-American War
Aggravators
• “Butcher” Weyler makes concentration camps
(1896)
• Congressional resolution to recognize Cuba
(1896)
• Spanish minister insults McKinley (1898)
Trigger
The U.S. Maine explodes in Havana harbor
(February 15, 1898)