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U.S. Attempt to Purchase Cuba
The United States was interested in Cuba, so diplomats recommended to President Franklin Pierce buy Cuba from Spain. He offered $130 million for it. The Spanish said no and that they would rather let Cuba sink in the ocean. -
Cuba’s First War for Independence
The Cubans had developed their own culture and wanted to become their own people, but the Spanish were pushing their influence on them. Landowners wanted economic and political separation from Spain, but farmers and working men wanted slavery to be abolished and more power for the common people. Carlos Manuel de Céspedes started the Ten Year’s War where 200,000 people died. In 1876, Spain sent Arsenio Martínez Campos to finally stop the revolution. -
José Martí led Cuba’s Second War for Independence
José Martí, a writer living in New York, started the second revolution for independence. He used unconventional and inexpensive ways of advertising his campaign. Martí hoped Americans would intervene in the fight for freedom, but in the U.S. opinions were split about the matter. Some business leaders wanted to support Spain, but others wanted to support the Cuban rebels. In 1896, General Valeriano Weyler was sent to Cuba to crush the rebels. -
Valeriano Weyler was sent to Cuba by Spain
General Valeriano Weyler was sent by Spain to restore the order in Cuba. His solution to the rebellion in Cuba was putting an estimated 300,000 people into concentration camps. While many people died of hunger and disease, this was not his intention. He simply wanted to separate the rebels from the civilians. His decision brought political punishment for Spain because many disagreed with Weyler’s decision. Overall, Weyler coming to Cuba may have done more harm than good for the Spanish. -
The Yellow Press Began to Shape American Public Opinion with Respect to Cuba’s Civil War
The acts of Valeriano Weyler caught the attention of two New York newspaper writers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, who then printed exaggerated accounts of the activities taking place in these camps. They wrote about poisoned wells and children being thrown to the sharks. These stories made American grow sympathetic towards the Cubans. Hearst and Pulitzer notably exaggerated the intensity of the war to spark American interest. -
Publication of the De Lome Letter
The New York Journal published a private letter by Enrique Dupuy de Lôme. He was a Spanish minister to the United States. The letter called President McKinley weak and said he was only concerned with gaining the favor of the crowd. The Spanish government apologized and Enrique resigned. -
Explosion of the USS Maine
The USS Maine was sent to carry Americans home to protect their lives and American property. The ship was in Havana when it exploded, killing over 260 men. To this day, no one knows the actual cause of the explosion, but the yellow press blamed Spain. This brought the anti-Spain sentiment and caused many Americans to develop a thirst for war. -
U.S. Declares War on Spain
The war began because the USS Maine exploded. One newspaper claimed that the Spanish blew it up. They offered a reward for the people who blew up the ship. This caused Americans to become war hungry. The war started when McKinley asked congress for permission to use force on Spain, to which they agreed.
