-
U.S. Attempts to Purchase Cuba
American had a long interest in Cuba, which is only 90 miles south from Florida. President Franklin Pierce was recommended by the diplomats to buy Cuba from Spain. Even after the threat from the Spanish, Americas interest in Cuba continued. -
Cuba's First War for Independence
The Cubans fought a war for independence in 1868 to 1878. The Cubans rebelled against Spain, and Americas sympathies went out to the Cuban people. The Cuban revolt against Spain was not successful, but in 1886 the Cuban people forced Spain to abolish slavery. -
The Yellow Press Began to Shape American Public Opinion With Respect to Cuba's Civil War
Weyler's previous actions fueled a war over newspaper circulation. Stories of poisoned wells and of children be thrown to the sharks deepened American sympathy for the rebels. This style of writing is called yellow journalism. -
Valeriano Weyler was sent to Cuba by Spain
Spain responded to the Cuban revolt by sending Gereral Valeriano Weyler to Cuba to restore order. Weyler tired to crush the rebellion by herding the entire rural population of central and western Cuba into barbed-wired concentration camps. Civilians could not give aid to rebels, an estimated 300,000 Cubans filled the camps. Thousands died due to hunger and disease. -
U.S. Invades Cuba
American forces landed in Cuba in June 1989 and began to converge on the port city of Santiago. -
Publication of the De Lome Letter
When President William McKinley took office in 1897, the demands for American intervention in Cuba were on the rise. In February 1989 the New York Journal published a private letter written by Enrique Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish minister to the United States. The de Lome letter criticized President McKinley, calling him "weak" and "a bidder for the admiration of the crowd". The Spanish government apologized, and the minister resigned. -
Explosion of the U.S.S Maine
Only a few days after the publication of the de Lome Letter, American resentment toward Spain turned into outrage. President McKinley had ordered U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to bring home American citizens in danger from the fighting to protect American property. In early February the ship blew up in the harbor of Havana, more than 260 men were killed. No one knew why the ship exploded, but American newspapers claimed the Spanish had blown it up. -
Jose Marti Led Cuba's Second War for Independence
Anti-Spanish sentiment in Cuba soon turned into a second war for independence. Jose Marti launched a revolution in 1895. He organized Cuban resistance against Spain, using an active guerrilla campaign and destroying property. Especially American-owned sugar mills and plantations. He provoked the U.S. intervention to help the rebels achieve Cuba Libre! - a free Cuba. -
U.S. Declares War on Spain
Spain responded saying that they would rather see Cuba sunk in the ocean, but Americas interest in Spain continued. The U.S. declared war on Spain to help free the struggling Cubans and give them some sort of democracy. -
U.S. Attack on Manila Bay
The Spanish thought the Americans would invade Cuba. But the first battle of the war took place in a Spanish colony on the other side of the world, the Philippine Islands. On April 30th, the American fleet in the Pacific steamed to the Philippines. The next morning, Commodore George Dewey gave the command to open fire on the Spanish fleet. Within hours, Dewey's men had destroyed every Spanish ship there. This victory allowed the U.S. troops to land in the Philippines. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The most famous land battle took place near Santiago. They first part of the battle, near Kettle Hill, was a dramatic uphill charge by the Rough Riders and two African-American regiments, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries. Their attack declared a strategic attack on San Juan Hill. Roosevelt and his units played a minor role in the second victory, the newspaper declared him a hero. Two days later, the Spanish fleet tried to escape American blockade of the harbor at Santiago. -
Naval Blockade of Cuba
In the Caribbean, 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 the United States naval forces. -
Destruction of the Spanish Fleet in Cuba
Superior naval gunnery and seamanship prevailed, and the entire Spanish fleet was sunk with minimal casualties for the Americans who suffered only two men killed or wounded. -
Spanish Surrender the Philippines
The Spanish thought the Americans would invade Cuba, but the first battle of the war took place in a Spanish colony on the other side of the world, the Philippine islands. Dewey's men had destroyed every Spanish ship there. Dewey's victory allowed the U.S. troops to land in the Philippines. Spanish troops in Manila later on surrender to the United States. -
Treaty of Paris
The United States and Spain signed an armistice, a cease-fire agreement, on August 12th, ending in what Secretary of State John Hay called "a splendid little war". The actual fighting in the war lasted 15 weeks. The United States and Spain met in Paris to agree on a treaty. Spain freed Cuba and turned over the islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the United States, -
Armistice is Signed Between the U.S. and Spain
Spain and the United States signed a Protocol of Peace, putting an end to official hostilities. In the weeks that followed, tense negotiations between the two nations resulted in the Treaty of Paris, which gave the United States control over all of Spain's colonies outside of Africa.