The Spanish-American War
Learning Targets

At the end of this lesson you will:
 Know the role that Jose’ Marti’, Cuba’s sugar exports, and American
tariffs played on the Cuban economic crisis in 1894.
 Know why most Americans supported Cubans against their Spanish
rulers.
 Understand how the media played a role in the Spanish-American
War and the term Yellow Journalism.
 Know what two events caused the sparks that lit the fire of the
Spanish-American War.
 Discuss the attitude of Republicans and Theodore Roosevelt (a
Democrat) toward nationalism and the Spanish-American War.
 Identify Emilio Aguinaldo and his role in the Philippines.
 Know the terms of the Spanish-American Peace Treaty.
More Learning Targets

At the end of this lesson you will also:
 Discuss three benefits that annexing the Philippines into the U.S.
would create (according to some people in the late 1800s).
 Relate Emilio Aguinaldo’s reaction to the annexation of the
Philippines.
 Discuss the process in which the Philippines was granted
independence.
 Know what the Foraker Act entails and its effect on Puerto Rico.
 Know how McKinley kept Cuba tied to the United States
 Know the terms of the Platt Amendment and its effect on Cuba.
 Describe Puerto Rico’s status as an “unincorporated” territory.
The Coming of War

-The Cuban Rebellion Begins
 Cuba exported much of its sugar to the United
States.
 These economic ties created a crisis in 1894, when the
United States imposed new tariffs-including a tariff
on sugar.
The Coming of War

-Americans support the Cubans
 Yellow journalism was known as, the kind of
sensationalist reporting, in which writers often
exaggerated or even made up stories to attract
readers.
 What led most Americans to support the rebels were
the dramatic stories of Spanish atrocities reported in
two of the nation’s major newspapers, the New York
Journal and the New York World.
The Coming of War

-Calling Out for War
 McKinley made the fateful decision to send the battleship Maine
to Havana in case the Americans had to be evacuated.
 In February 1898, the New York Journal printed a private letter
written by Enrique Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish ambassador to
the United States.
 The letter called McKinley “weak and a bidder for the admiration of
the crowd”.
 The nation erupted in fury over the insult.
 The USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor.
 Spain was blamed for the explosion but there was no evidence.
A War on Two Fronts

 On April 19, 1898, the US declared war on Spain.
 The Spanish in Cuba were not prepared for war, but both
sides knew the war would be won at sea.
 Commodore George Dewey was ordered to attack the Spanish
fleet in the Philippines and quickly succeeded.
 The surprised McKinley gathered 20,000 Army troops and sent
them to the Philippines to take control of the island.
 While waiting, Dewey contacted Emilio Aguinaldo, who had
staged an unsuccessful uprising against Spain in the Philippines
years earlier, to help.
 Once American troops arrived, the capitol was quickly taken,
but Emilio Aguinaldo and his troops were not allowed in.
A War on Two Fronts

 American Forces Battle in Cuba
 The US Army was not ready to go fight in Cuba, but was able
to assemble 17,000 men.
 A volunteer cavalry of cowboys, miners, and law officers were
led by Leonard Wood and were known as “Rough Riders”.
 Second in command was Theodore Roosevelt who had resigned
from being Secretary of the Navy to join the fight.
 The “Rough Riders”, joined with the all black 9th and 10th
Cavalry Regiments, helped take Kettle and San Juan Hills and
forced the Spanish fleet out of Santiago Harbor where
American warships were waiting and sunk all of Spain’s ships.
An American Empire is
Born

-The Debate Over Annexation
 Many supporters of annexing the Philippines
emphasized the economic and military benefits of
taking the islands.
 A naval base in Asia
 A stopover on the way
to China
 A large market for
American goods
An American Empire is
Born

-Rebellion in the Philippines
 Emilio Aguinaldo called the American
decision to annex his homeland a “violent
and aggressive seizure.”
 He ordered his troops to attack the American soldiers in
the Philippines.
 In March 1901, American troops captured Aguinaldo.
 Eventually the US allowed the Filipinos to control their
own country.
 In the mid-1930s, Filipinos could elect their own congress.
 In 1946, the United States granted independence to the
Philippines.
An American Empire is
Born

-Governing Puerto Rico
 In 1900 Congress passed the Foraker Act, making
Puerto Rico an unincorporated territory.
An American Empire is
Born

-Cuba and the Platt Amendment
 President McKinley took steps to ensure that Cuba would
remain tied to the United States.
 The Platt Amendment effectively made Cuba an
American protectorate.
 Cuba could not make any
treaty that would weaken its
Independence
 Cuba had to allow US
military bases in Cuba
 Cuba’s debts had to remain
low to keep foreign countries
gaining control
 The US could intervene to keep
Cuba independent and maintain order
Review Questions

 What was the role that Jose’ Marti’, Cuba’s sugar exports, and American tariffs play on the
Cuban economic crisis in 1894?
 Why did most Americans supported Cubans against their Spanish rulers?
 How did the media play a role in the Spanish-American War?
 What does the term “Yellow Journalism” mean?
 What two events caused the sparks that lit the fire of the Spanish-American War?
 What was the attitude of Republicans and Theodore Roosevelt (a Democrat) toward
nationalism and the Spanish-American War?
 Who was Emilio Aguinaldo and what did he do in the Philippines?
 What were the terms of the Spanish-American Peace Treaty.
 Discuss three benefits that annexing the Philippines into the U.S. would create (according to
some people in the late 1800s).
 What was Emilio Aguinaldo’s reaction to the annexation of the Philippines.
 What was the process in which the Philippines was granted independence?
 What was the Foraker Act and its effect on Puerto Rico?
 How did McKinley keep Cuba tied to the United States?
 What were the terms of the Platt Amendment and its effect on Cuba?
Essay Question

 What did Puerto Rico’s status as an “unincorporated
territory” mean?
Essay Answer

 What did Puerto Rico’s status as an “unincorporated
territory” mean?
 Puerto Rico’s status as an unincorporated territory meant
that Puerto Ricans were not citizens and had no
constitutional rights, and that Congress could pass
whatever laws it wanted for the island. From 1901 to 1904,
in a series of cases known as the Insular Cases, the Supreme
Court ruled that the Constitution did not cover
“unincorporated” territories, and that the people in these
territories received only those civil rights that Congress
granted to them.
Essay Question

 Explain each provision of the Platt Amendment:
(a)Treaties; (b)Naval Stations; (c)Debts; and
(d)American Intervention
Essay Answer

 Explain each provision of the Platt Amendment:
(a)Treaties; (b)Naval Stations; (c)Debts; and
(d)American Intervention
 The Platt Amendment specified that: (a) Cuba could not
make any treaty with another nation that would weaken
its independence or allow another foreign power to gain
territory (b) Cuba had to allow the United States to buy
or lease naval stations in Cuba (c) Cuba’s debts had to
be kept low to prevent foreign countries from landing
troops to enforce payment; and (d) the United States
would have the right to intervene to protect Cuban
independence and keep order.