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America's Attempt to Buy Cuba
By 1854, the US had already had a long-term interest in Cuba. This was partially due to the fact that it was located less than 100 miles away from Florida. The diplomats were trying to convince and recommend to President Franklin that it would be a good investment if we were to buy Cuba. After the Spanish heard about this they said that they would rather have it sink in the ocean than be owned by the US. We continued to be interested in Cuba in hopes that it would one day lead to something. -
Cuba's First War for Independence
This war was unsuccessful and lasted for ten years. Even though this war wasn't successful, it did lead to Spain abolishing slavery. This also leads to America being sympathetic towards Cuba and investing millions of dollars into a sugar cane plantation on the island. -
Jose Marti led Cuba's Second War for Independence
Jose Marti was a Cuban poet and journalist in New York. He is also the one that led this war. Marti and his men destroy a lot of property including the sugar plantations owned by the US. He did this to show Cuba's resistance against Spain. Marti wanted America to help and be involved. Many citizens of American wanted us to side with Cuba to protect tour investments, but others wanted us to help Cuba gain freedom. -
Valeriano Weyler was Sent to Cuba by Spain
General Valeriano Weyler was sent to Cuba by Spain to restore order after the Cuban revolt. He brought the rural population together of central and western Cuba in barbed-wire concentration camps. He did this in an attempt to find the rebels. They were not planning how much supplies were going to be necessary, so around 300,000 people died from hunger and diseases. -
The Yellow Press
The yellow press is stories that are exaggerated in order to sympathize and enrage the readers. After Valeriano Weyler created these concentration camps, newspapers started going crazy. Americans started to be sympathetic to the Cuban because of the stories they read. There were stories about the poisoned wells and kids that were being given to the sharks. -
Publication of the De Lome Letter
The private letter was written by Enrique Dupuy de Lome. He was the Spanish minister to America. The letter was leaked and stolen in Havana by a Cuban rebel. This letter was calling President McKinley weak and saying that he was a bidder for the admiration of the crowd. After this was publicized through the news, the Spanish government was embarrassed and apologized. The minister also resigned. Even after the apology, Americans were still enraged over this incident. -
Explosion of the USS Maine
In the harbor of Havana during the middle of February, the USS Maine exploded. 260 men died from this tragedy. This occurred only a few days after the De Lome Letter was publicized. This ship went to Cuba and brought back the Americans that were in danger from fighting and protecting American land. Even though we didn't know who blew up the ship, newspapers started blaming the Spanish. Hearst's paper even offered a reward of $50,000 dollars to get the Spaniards that were being blamed for this. -
U.S. Declares War on Spain
After Spain exploded the USS Maine, we decided that there was no holding back anymore. Most people in the US favored war and thought it was time to declare it. After a little over a week of debating since McKinley asked Congress to use force against Spain, we finally declared war. -
Naval Blockade of Cuba
For the War in the Caribbean, there was a naval blockade of Cuba by the hostiles. After this, the Spanish fleet was sealed up in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba. America has proven to be superior prior to this, but with all of the new soldiers, it was shown how unprepared we were. Many of them didn't really know how to fight in a war and we lacked the necessary supplies. -
U.S. Attack on Manila Bay
On May 1st, Commodore George Dewey commanded open fire at Manila on the Spanish fleet. After just a few hours every Spanish ship was destroyed and the U.S. has claimed victory. This lead to U.S. troops being allowed to land in the Philippines. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The first part of the battle was close to Santiago. There was a dramatic uphill charge by the Ninth Cavalry, Tenth Cavalry, and the Rough Riders (a volunteer cavalry). This ended in a victory and then they went to San Juan Hill. At this location, we had very little involvement, but the US still declared Roosevelt the hero of San Juan Hill. -
U.S. Invades Cuba
After Cuba has been fighting for its independence for years, America started growing interest for Cuba. Even though we were interested, we couldn't buy it from Spain. Eventually, the U.S. owned Cuba after they got involved in their revolution and helped the Cubans become free. -
Destruction of the Spanish Fleet in Cuba
Two days after the Battle of San Juan Hill, the Spanish fleet tried to leave the harbor of Santiago. A naval batter occurred along the Cuban coast with the American blockade that ended in the destruction of the Spanish fleet. America then went on to invade Puerto Rico. -
Capture of Puerto Rico
Shortly after the destruction of the Spanish fleet, the U.S. troops invaded Puerto Rico. They easily capture the island. -
Armistice is Signed Between the U.S. and Spain
After the fighting of the war had lasted about 15 weeks, it finally came to an end. They did this by signing a cease-fire agreement which finally put an end to what Secretary of State, John Hay, called a splendid little war. -
Treaty of Paris of 1898
The United States and Spain met in mid-December in Paris to make an agreement on a treaty. It was at this time that Spain decided to free Cuba. They also gave the islands of Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S. The United States also bought Philippines from Spain for $20 million. -
Spanish Surrender the Philippines
Spain finally decided to sell the Philippines to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris after we have wanted it for a while. The United States bought it for $20 million.