Spanish American War
Ch 10-2
Cubans Rebel Against Spain
• At one time Spain was the most powerful
colonial nation on earth.
• By the end pf the 1800’s it retained the
Philippines, Guam, Cuba, Puerto Rico,
and some outposts in Africa.
• Cubans rebelled against Spain between
1868 and 1878 but failed.
• Once Cuba abolished slavery in 1886
many American companies invested
money in the large sugar cane plantations.
2nd War for Independence
• Jose Marti was a Cuban journalist and
poet who launched a revolution in 1895
against Spain.
• 300,000 Cubans were sent into
concentration camps were thousands
died form hunger and disease.
• Yellow Journalism- a sensational style of
writing, which exaggerates the news to
lure and enrage readers.
Events that Lead to the American
Intervention in Cuba
• Yellow Journalism helped fuel the Americans
anger against the Spaniards’ treatment of
Cubans.
• The De Lome Letter- Enrique Dupuy de Lome,
the Spanish minister to the U.S., wrote a letter
criticizing President McKinley, which angered
many Americans.
• U.S.S. Maine Explodes- the ship was ordered
to bring Americans from Cuba back to the U.S.
to keep them from the dangers of war. More
than 260 men died when it exploded in the
harbor of Havana.
“Remember the Maine”
• Nobody ever found out who was
responsible for exploding the ship but
blame was put on Spain.
• Spain agreed to everything the U.S.
demanded, including a six month cease
fire.
• Two months later the U.S. declared war on
Spain.
War in the Philippines
• Instead of invading Cuba, the U.S.
invaded the Spanish colony-the Philippine
Islands.
• Within 4 months the Spanish troops
surrendered to the U.S.
War in the Caribbean
• San Juan Hill- The Rough Riders and the
Buffalo Soldiers captured Kettle Hill which
allowed them to later capture San Juan
Hill- a strategically important location.
• Roosevelt played a small role but the
newspapers declared him the hero of San
Juan hill.
• The war lasted 15 weeks.
Treaty of Paris
• Spain freed Cuba, and turned over the
islands of Guam and Puerto Rico, and
sold the Philippines to the U.S. for $20
million.
• Many Americans argued over the fact that
the United States had become an imperial
power. The war was meant to help free
people not to free them and take them
over again.
Buffalo Soldiers