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Jose Marti leads a Revolution
Jose Marti was a Cuban national who wrote poems, essays, and books about political theory. Although his revolution against the Spanish failed, he became a symbol for Cuban independence from Spain and inspired others to follow his footsteps. -
Weyler "Re-locates" Cubans
Valeriano Weyler was a Spanish general who had the idea to "re-locate" 300,000 Cuban civilians to reconcentration camps. Although these camps weren't intended to kill the civilians, the conditions were so awful that hundreds of thousands died showing the brutality of the Spanish, causing the US public to call for war. -
Yellow Journalsim Strikes at Spain
After the discovery of General Wayler's reconcentration camps, yellow journalists referred to him as Butcher Wayler. The importance of this title was that the American public thought it was there duty to liberate Cuba from the harsh rule of Spain -
De Lome Letter Published
The De Lome Letter was a letter sent to President McKinley by Spain's prime minister where he called the US president weak and only concerned with gaining the favor of the crowd. Hearst got a hold of this letter and published it in his New York Journal causing the American people to be outraged with Spain and wanting to declare war on them. -
Explosion of the USS Maine
On its voyage to Havana, Cuba, the USS Maine exploded and sank due to an accidental explosion. However, the American public wanted a war with Spain and used this incident as a war cry saying that the Spanish were responsible. -
Teller Amendment
The Teller Amendment was an amendment that stated once the United States would defeat the Spanish, they would not annex Cuba and let it rule independently. -
US declares war on Spain
On April 25, 1898, with the favor of the American public, the US declared war on Spain and plunged into a war known as the Spanish-American War. The importance of this event was that the US would eventually defeat Spain and Cuba would become an independent country. -
Invasion of Guantanamo Bay
In the Invasion of Guantanamo Bay, American and Cuban forces successfuly invaded and captured the commercially and strategically important area of Guantanamo Bay during the Spanish-American War. -
Treaty of Paris 1898
This treaty signed between the United States and Spain was the official end to the Spanish-American War. The significance of this event was that Spain gave up its control of Cuba and the US gained temporary control of Cuba. -
Platt Amendment
After the United States successfully defeated the Spanish and forced them out of Cuba, they passed the Platt Amendment. This amendment stated that the US would have free trade with Cuba, two military bays would be established, and the US had the right to intervene in any incident in Cuba.
