Cuba in the Spanish-American War The Spanish-American war consisted of a series of influential battles that pitted America and many of Spain’s colonies against Spanish rule, and ended with Spain losing its colonies and America gaining control over more and more land. In 1898, America joined a war being pit against Spain to force the Spanish to relinquish all control of their colonies, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. This same war ended only a few months later, with Spain suffering huge losses and America gaining money and territories. The Spanish American war could be split into three main points of interest: How and why the Spanish American war started, The battles of Manila, Santiago de Cuba, Asomante, and Las Guasimas ( And the Rough Riders) , and the aftermath of the war. One of the most interesting territories was Cuba. Although the Spanish american war was not a long and costly war, it changed many people's lives indefinitely. There were a plethora of important events that took place that prompted the beginning of The Spanish American war. The war was officially started in 1898, bringing joy to the citizens of America and dismay to then president William Mckinley. Before the war, Cuba had been fighting for independence from Spain. The Cuban’s had already lost in the ten year war earlier, which had been fought to gain their independence from Spain. In the state's, newspapers and other media sources were greatly exaggerating the horrors and atrocities being
One of the causes for the Spanish American War was that Spanish General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, nicknamed “the Butcher” was torturing the Cubans. The Cubans were dying of starvation, disease and poor sanitation and then putting Cubans in concentration camps. President McKinley had sent previous warnings to Spain to stop the economic suffering. Later the USS Maine was in Cuba to protect American interest. The Library of Congress stated that Americans were shocked when the ship exploded and sank and 266 of the 354-crew members were killed (p 2). American received the territories of Cuba, Guam and the Philippines from Spain. Cuba was greatly impacted because with only being a US Territory they could still be an independent unit but have an American Naval base for protection. The Philippines were also impacted because they had been fighting for independence from Spain, but soon starting resenting the United States because they were still not totally independent. China was also impacted by the Spanish American war because with the United States acquiring Hawaii, Guam, Cuba and the Philippines it was easier to trade with because shipments didn’t have to go as far without refueling or supplies.
The Spanish-American War was considered short lived and relatively mild in terms of American casualties compared to the many wars that our nation has fought. However, it served as a historical marker that set the imperialistic momentum of our nation. It played a significant role in our nation’s strategic move towards acquiring trade routes and further strengthened our naval power. Throughout my research paper I will touch on what led to the Cuban revolution against Spain, America’s political climate at the time, and why our nation eventually decided to intervene and aid the Cubans in their fight for independence.
The Spanish-American War was a war focused on control over Cuba. As previously stated, Spain touted a powerful navy, victory would cause the entire world to notice and give the United States a seat at the international table. Americans took notice of Spanish brutality to Cuban uprisings attempting to gain freedom and were sympathetic to the Cuban people. Fighting for our independence was fresh on the minds of Americans who began to support Cuban freedom from Spain. Dispatching the USS Maine off the coast of Cuba proved to be a fateful strategic move made by President McKinley because just days after on February 15th 1898 the ship was destroyed, killing over 250 sailors. Although believed to be an accident, yellow journalists ran with the story of war receiving overwhelming support from the public. War was declared in April of 1898 and just after
The Spanish-American War in 1898 represented what many historians describe as a shift in American foreign policy. The war, perhaps more appropriately called the Spanish-Cuban-American War, occurred in 1898 due to tensions between the Cuban colony and Spain. When War broke out between Spain and Cuba in 1895, Americans rallied behind the idea of Cuba’s right to self-determination and the sentiment of “Cuba Libre!” After the unexplained sinking of the USS Maine, which was sent to Havana harbor to protect American business interests in Cuba, President McKinley asked Congress to declare war against Spain. The war lasted from April to August 1898 and ended with the Spanish defeat at the 1898 Treaty of Paris, largely due to the Cuban efforts before the United States entered the war. The United States had been, until this point in history, a relatively isolated nation in contrast to the imperialist European powers. Following the defeat of the Spanish, the United States annexed Puerto Rico and the Philippines and demanded the passing of the Platt Amendment to the Cuban Constitution to insure American political oversight of Cuban foreign policy. The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, henceforth referred to as the Rough Riders, was the volunteer regiment for which former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and future President Theodore Roosevelt served as Lieutenant Colonel. The Rough Riders were one of the volunteer regiments called
The Spanish-American war was with Spain and America, this war occurred in 1896, it lasted only 4 months and it was focused on the independence of Cuba. There were and still are several different viewpoints as to why America ever got involved in the war with Spain. Some believe that it was a financial reason, others a race struggle, and some a political reason, but I believe it was because America wanted to stop the Spanish oppression of the natives.
What happened to a lot of the individuals people wonder? Well the Maine exploded because the ship ammunition supplies blew up, and the Americans lost 266 people. No one really knows why how the explosion happened but many Americans blame Spain for this event. This crazy crisis caused the Spanish American War.
The Spanish-American war took place in 1898, from April 25 to August 12. The conflict lasted four months and it was between Spain and the United States, it was mainly provoked by Spain’s colonization and brutality in Cuba. The war was supported by many Americans, and expansionist which supported the thought of freeing the oppressed which was exactly what Spain was doing to the Cuban people. At the end of the war, America proclaimed victory and emerged as a newly and acknowledged world power who would do whatever it takes to fight and destroy oppression.
The Spanish-American War served to epitomize the imperialist sentiments inherent to American society of the late 19th century, as it was driven nearly entirely by jingoism and a large degree of sensationalism. When examining this war, many often conclude that it was the result of the pressure placed on McKinley by multiple expansionists within Washington - that such men as Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge were, perhaps, the primary cause for this imperialist endeavour. However, upon deeper inspection it appears to be that such men can not be noted as the sole, or even most responsible, factors in initiating the conflict. For it seems that the evidence is more supportive towards the notion that the general attitudes of the public were mostly to blame, and therefore, the cause of the war must lay with the sensationalistic “yellow-journalism” - which had grown rampant in that period - as the underlying cause of the Spanish-American War. Basically, as shall soon be demonstrated, it appears to be illogical for one to deduce that the pressure expressed onto President McKinley by his imperialist counterparts should be held accountable for the Spanish-American War.
The Spanish-American War was fought between the United States, and Spain. Sadly it’s not a popular subject in high schools these days, so most students don’t know anything about this war. The Spanish-American War marked a new beginning for the United States, Cuba and Spain. These countries where affected by the war because the Spanish American war would end the Spanish Empire, create a new one, and give a colony its independence.
Spanish American War leading up to the war is because there had been a lot of what is called yellowing journalism. This is essential while people exaggerate a story to get sales and another incident
The Spanish-American War began in the year 1898. After some time, The United States declared war after hearing about the poor conditions Cuban’s were facing under the hands of Spanish troops. Starting on a rough note, before the war commenced the United States lost one of its ships, the USS Maine which unexpectedly sunk off the coast of Cuba. America quickly blamed Spain for the disaster even though they never found out the cause for the ships sinking. Even though the main focus of the war was Cuba, The first battle of the war began in the Philippines, where Commodore George Dewey guided the American fleet to commence battle against Spain. For centuries, Spain had controlled the Philippines making the Filipino people angry. Therefore Roosevelt called the troops near the
The Cubans and Spaniards were at war against each other. Two different newspaper were fighting against each other to gain readers. The Maine was a U.S. battle ship that sailed into Havana Cuba, however it exploded and started an investigation. The Philippines became Americian territory and they wanted to be independent, during this
Late in the 19th century, the U.S. would go to war with Spain over the mistreatment of Cuba over other reasons. The U.S. found out that the Spanish was holding Cubans in concentration camps which gave the U.S. have a reason to liberate Cuba from Spain. Also, American business had fifty million invested in Cuba and didn’t feel it was safe until America was directly involved with Cuba. The Spanish-American war was the event needed most for the U.S. to start expanding its reign. The Spanish-American war ended with Spanish defeat and the U.S. gaining Spain’s colonies: Philippines, Guam, and
Spanish-American war happened for several reasons. It was mainly over Cuba’s independence with the Cuban Revolutionaries fighting years for their freedom from Spain. The Spanish colonies in Cuba as well as the Philippines became major battlefields. Another reason for the Spanish-American war was the sinking of the U.S. Battleship Maine on February 15th, 1898 in the Havana harbor.
The Spanish-American War was not started by one event alone, but with the accumulation many events which caused the war to explode. It started with the event surrounding USS Maine, was a "second class" battleship built up for the U.S. Navy. Spain sent General “Butcher” Weyler to control the situation in Cuba, so America sent the navy battleship called the USS Maine to the area to protect American investments. At first, the battleship USS Maine had no hostility, but until the Maine exploded at