The Spanish American War

Spain and America in the Late 1800s

By the late 1800s, Spain was a fading empire, and America had become an industrial power. Spain had colonies in Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and in the Philippines and Guam in the Pacific. Both the Philippines and Cuba had been fighting for many years to get rid of their Spanish rulers.

The “Splendid Little War” – A Quick Summary

In 1895, Cubans began a revolt against the Spanish government.  Americans owned lots of land in Cuba, and made lots of money from sugar plantations and mining. America wanted to protect these business interests in Cuba.

Many Americans supported the Cuban rebels struggle for independence. Spain had been mean and nasty in its attempts to put down the revolt, and Americans hadn’t liked being a colony themselves, so they were sympathetic.

Yellow Journalism

American newspapers helped start the war. They printed exaggerated stories of the horrors of Cuban life under Spanish rule. For example, the Spanish had locked up many Cubans in concentration camps. The newspapers called them "death camps," and wrote headlines like “Spanish Cannibalism” and “Inhuman Torture.” They sent hundreds of reporters, artists, and photographers to Cuba.

The stories of Spanish cruelty weren’t always true, but they sold lots of newspapers.

The name Yellow Journalism came from this popular cartoon of the Yellow Kid, who wore a yellow gown while he mocked upper-class customs.

The Battleship Maine

The US sent a battleship to Cuba. The USS Maine had been in Havana Harbor three weeks when the captain wrote that the trouble in Cuba was almost over and the new Spanish governor had the situation under control.

Then one night, the Maine blew up and sank, killing 266 men.  The American newspapers immediately blamed Spain, though there was no evidence that the Spanish were responsible. They even faked pictures showing Spanish soldiers planting mines around the ship. They demanded revenge.

Soon a rallying cry could be heard everywhere - in the papers, on the streets, and in the halls of Congress: "Remember the Maine! To h*** with Spain." America and Spain were soon at war.

On the Other Side of The World

Meanwhile, people in the Philippine Islands in the Pacific were also revolting against Spanish rule, so Spain had a big part of its navy stationed there. Even though it was far from Cuba, the United States attacked and destroyed Spain's fleet in the Pacific so the ships couldn't go help out in Cuba. Then the U.S. helped the rebels in the Philippines defeat Spain and win their independence.

The U.S. Becomes a World Power

The war itself lasted only four months, from mid-April to mid-August 1898. There were only 379 American deaths from the fighting, but more than 5,000 soldiers died of diseases like malaria and yellow fever.

Though it had begun over the cause of Cuban independence, the war marked the emergence of the United States as a world power and the beginning of American overseas imperialism.

Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was Secretary of the Navy when the war broke out. He quit his job and went to fight in Cuba. He became a national hero as a leader of the Rough Riders, and would later become Vice President and then President.

Most of the fighting occurred in the Spanish colonies of Cuba and the Philippines, on opposite sides of the world. There was also a little fighting in Puerto Rico and Guam, but there was no fighting at all in the United States or Spain.

Spain and the United States signed a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898. It established the independence of Cuba and gave the Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The U.S. gave Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

Many Americans thought it was wrong to take over the Philippines after we had fought to set the country free from Spain. Andrew Carnegie, for example, offered to pay the $20 million himself and let the Philippines be independent.

Since the U.S. took over instead of giving the Philippines independence, the Philippines declared war on the U.S., and there was a long, nasty guerilla war there for the next several years.

The Philippines remained a U.S. territory until it was taken by the Japanese during World War II. The Philippines, which is made up of more than 7,000 islands in the Pacific, finally gained its independence in 1946, after Japan was defeated in WWII, and today is a friend and ally of the U.S.

The SOLs also say Cuba gained its independence in the Spanish-American War. However, it was forced to include rules in its new constitution saying the U.S. could send troops to intervene if we thought our national interests were threatened. The government in Cuba was sometimes called a “puppet regime,” meaning it was officially in charge, but the U.S. was really pulling the strings.

In 1959, a revolution overthrew the U.S.-backed government, and Communist leader Fidel Castro came to power. Castro was still the leader in Cuba when this paper was written in 2008, and Cuba has been an enemy of the United States for more than 50 years.

The U.S. also got Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean, and Guam, in the Pacific. Guam is still a U.S. territory. Puerto Rico is still a U.S. Commonwealth, and may one day vote to become the 51^st state.

2013 UPDATE – FIDEL IS STILL ALIVE, BUT HE GOT SICK, SO HIS BROTHER RAUL IS PRESIDENT OF CUBA NOW.

2015 UPDATE - The US recently reopened the embassy in Havana for the first time in more than 50 years. We're not good buddies yet, but for the first time we are trying not to be bitter enemies. Time will tell how it all works out. Oh, and Fidel Castro is still alive, and Raul Castro is still president.

YOUR JOBS –

1. Complete this activity. When you’ve finished, go check it off on Mr. Kessler’s list.

2. Fling Mr. Kessler. There are two questions you won't learn until tomorrow. Teddy Roosevelt got the Panama Canal built, and the canal connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Check it off.

3. Fill in the notes on page 28 of your notebook. You may use the official SOL notes below to help if you need them, but see what you can do without them first. When you're finished check them off.

The Spanish-American War (official SOL Notes to help with your notebook )

The Spanish-American War was a war between Spain and the United States of America.

The war was fought mostly in Cuba and the Philippines (Spanish colonies – there was no fighting actually in Spain or America).

Reasons (causes) for the Spanish American War?

$$Protection of American business interests in Cuba $$ (mostly sugar)

Support of Cuban rebels fighting for independence from Spain

Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine

Yellow Journalism - Exaggerated news reports of events trying to sell more newspapers

Results of the Spanish American War

US acquired the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico (Spain lost, so the U.S. got its colonies).

  Cuba gained independence from Spain (though the US still had a lot of power there.)

The United States emerged as a world power.

In any order -

Check with Mr. Kessler to see if there's any other work you missed or tests you've done poorly on. Study for them using the games on the website, then ask Mr. Kessler for a re-test.

Practice locating states or cities using the games on the geography page.

Do some research or work on your history project due next Thursday. Save notes or pictures to your google drive so you have them at home, too.

Try the Bonus Team Names Competition. If you've finished everything, this bonus assignment might be for you.