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The Spanish-American War and the Events Leading to War
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Diplomats Attempt to Buy Cuba
Diplomats recommended that President Franklin Pierce try to buy Cuba from Spain. The Spanish responded that they would rather see Cuba ‘sink into the sea’ than let America have it. When the revolution broke out in Cuba, America began to invest millions of dollars into sugarcane plantations, as they were still interested. -
Spain Abolishes Slavery
While Cuba’s 10 year revolution against Spain was unsuccessful, the Cuban people did force Spain to abolish slavery, and the Cuban slaves were emancipated. -
The Second War for Independence
José Martí launched another revolution; Martí organized Cuban resistance against Spain using an active guerrilla campaign and deliberately destroying property, especially American-owned sugar mills and plantations. -
Valeriano Weyler Enforces Concentration Camps
In response to the Cuban Revolt, Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler to Cuba to restore order. Weyler wanted to lessen the population of the central and western Cuba by putting Cubans into barbed wire concentration camps. In the camps, the Cubans couldn’t receive their medical needs. About 300,000 Cubans filled the camps, thousands died from hunger and disease. -
James Creelman
James Creelman traveled to Cuba as a New York World reporter. Creelman advocated for Cuba in its war against Spain, he would exaggerate the terrible conditions in his articles. -
Yellow Journalism
The Yellow Journalism (also known as Yellow Press) is a style of journalism that emphasizes and dramatizes news. The news includes very little or no real well-researched information and it's focus is to twist the publics view on something. -
McKinley Takes Office
When President McKinley took office, the demands for American intervention in Cuba were rising. -
The de Lôme Scandal
Enrique Dupuy de Lôme wrote a private letter to a friend in Cuba calling President McKinley a weak and low politician, during its delivery Cuban rebels stole the letter and sent it to the United States. It was published in the New York Journal and America’s resentment and anger towards Spain grew. -
U.S.S. Maine Explodes
President McKinley ordered the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to bring home endangered American citizens and to protect American property. The ship blew up in the harbor of Havana five months later. More than 260 men were killed. American newspapers claimed the Spanish had blown up the ship. The Journal’s headline read “The warship Maine was split in two by an enemy’s secret infernal machine.” -
United States Declares War on Spain
On April 11, McKinley asked Congress to use force against Spain. After a week of debate, Congress agreed, and on the 20th, the United States declared war. The Spanish thought the Americans would invade Cuba, but the first battle of the war took place in the Philippine Islands, where a Spanish colony was residing. -
American Army in Cuba
The army of 17,000 included four African-American regiments of the regular army and the Rough Riders, a volunteer cavalry under the command of Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt. -
The Battle of Kettle Hill
The first part of the battle, on nearby Kettle Hill, featured a dramatic uphill charge by the Rough Riders and two African-American regiments, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries. Their victory cleared the way for an infantry attack on the strategically important San Juan Hill. -
The Destruction of the Spanish Naval Fleet
American troops were on the verge of victory because they had stopped the Spanish fleet from trying to escape the blockade of the harbor at Santiago. The naval battle that followed, along the Cuban coast, ended in the destruction of the Spanish fleet. -
American Troops Invade Puerto Rico
With little resistance and only seven deaths, U.S. troops under General Nelson A. Miles were able to secure the island by mid-August. -
An Armistice
The United States and Spain sign an armitice, the war had only lasted 15 weeks. -
Spain Surrenders in Manila
The next battle took place in the Caribbean where hostilities began with a naval blockade of Cuba. Admiral William T. Sampson effectively sealed up the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. Dewey’s victory at Manila had demonstrated the superiority of United States naval forces. -
The Treaty of Paris
The United States and Spain meet in Paris to agree on a treaty to end the war. Spain freed Cuba and turned over the islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the United States. Spain also sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million.
