The war began when the Cubans were struggling for independence from Spain in February of 1985. Spain was very brutal and tried to stop the rebellion, so, many countries urged America to intervene and do something about it. This led to the sinking of Havana harbour of the battleship USS Maine in February of 1989 which was sent to protect the U.S. citizens and property after anti-Spanish rioting in Havana. Soon after, Spain announced an armistice on April 9th and granted Cuba limited powers of self-government, but the US congress issued resolutions that stated Cuba had rights to independence, demanded Spain’s armed forces to be removed from Cuba, and authorized the President’s use of force to make sure that is followed through.
Spain declared war on the US just 15 days after. This war was incredibly one sided, since Spain was not prepared at all for a distant war, especially with the United States. On the morning of May 1, 1898 in Manilla Bay in the Philippines, George Dewey, Commodore, led a naval squadron into their camp and obliterated the Spanish fleet that only wounded 7 American troops.
…show more content…
Troops and volunteers under General William Shafter, Theodore Roosevelt, and the “Rough Riders” landed on the coast east of Santiago and slowly made their way onto the city to force Cervera’s fleet out of the harbor. Cervera and his squadron left Santiago on the 3rd of July trying to escape westward, all of his ships were set on fire by all the US guns and were beached in a sinking condition. Santiago surrendered to Shafter on the 17th of July and ended the war.
In addition, the Treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898, stated that Spain renounced their claim to Cuba, Guam and Puerto Rico were ceded with the United States, and Spain transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the US for
The public was calling for the United States to intervene in the conflict between Spain and Cuba, Cuba was fighting for independence. The United States soon sent the USS Maine to protect American citizens and property. Public outcry reached a new found high when the USS Maine was sunk without any explanation from the Spanish. On April 24th of 1898 Spain officially Declared War on the United States, with the United States following suit a day later on April 25th of 1898. Bits and pieces of the Spanish American war were fought on all of Spain’s strongholds in the Caribbean and Pacific: Guam, The Philippines, Puerto Rico, and most notably Cuba. Of the fighting in Cuba some of the most interesting was by the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry better known as the Rough
On April 19th, 1898, the United States declared war on Spain. Over the next three months the United States, along with Cuban Rebels waged war against the Spanish forces in hopes of returning the Cuban lands back to its people. President McKinley who was pressured into war by yellow press, sent American forces into battle which ultimately led to the birth of a western hemispheric super power, the United States. The sinking of the USS Maine, the use of yellow press journalism, and the national uproar and motivation is what drove the Americans to victory.
The Spanish-American War started, and a lot was going on. Dewey sank warships at Manila Bay in the Phillippines, Emilio Aguinaldo seized Manila, the U.S. gained control of the phillipine islands, and we destroyed a spanish fleet in Santiago. After all of this chaos, 24,000 spanish soldiers surrendered. We signed the Peace Treaty of Paris, and Cuba gained the independence they wanted. We took Puerto Rico, the Phillippines, and wake. This calmed everything down.
America's short war with Spain in 1898 was the nation's first step on the pathway to becoming a world power. The U.S. victory brought with it the unintended possession of the Philippines and a vested interest in the politics of the Pacific region that would ultimately lead to conflict with Japan. As an immediate outcome of the war, America found itself embroiled in an insurgency in the Philippines that closely mimicked the conflict in Vietnam over 60 years later.
Later, American Army land near Santiago hoping to take the city. The Spanish were able to put some resistance. However, the American forces were able to defeat them at the Battle of San Juan Hill and El Caney in Early July. This campaign makes Teddy Roosevelt earned his fame with the help of the Yellow Press. Santiago eventually fell, and the Americans continue to occupy the city for the rest of the war.
The revolts that were going on during this time made America not trust Spain and made America believe that Spain cannot control their affairs. Cuba had many revolts for example, “both sides in Cuba preferred war to reform, and the rebels declared for full independence” (342). On February 15th, 1898 an American ship named the Maine was visiting Havana, THE MAINE then exploded in the harbor and had 266 casualties. With no evidence Spain was the first to blame for this travesty Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed, “The Maine
Although there are many reasons why the Spanish-American war took place, the most important was Spain's resentment of Cuba's desire to also become an independent nation. Since Cuba was one of Spain's last territories, they were unwilling to allow independence. As a result, conflict between the two parties erupted. Since Cuba was smaller and less equipped to fight than Spain, their economy took a tumble. Due to the fact that the United States had a great deal of money invested in Cuba's sugar resources, many Americans felt the need to wage war. Additionally, there were separate events that caused anger to American Citizens. One such event was the destruction of a U.S. ship used to protect the American citizens in Cuba. Although the ship's
became increasingly angry at Spain. By, August 1898, the Spanish-American War was over. On December 10, 1898, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris.
However, Dewey did not have enough manpower to capture Manila so Aguinaldo's guerrillas maintained their operations until 15,000 U.S. troops arrived at the end of July. On the way, the cruiser Charleston stopped at Guam and accepted its surrender from its Spanish governor who was unaware his nation was at war. Although a peace protocol was signed by the two belligerents on August 12, Commodore Dewey and Maj. Gen. Wesley Merritt, leader of the army troops, assaulted Manila the very next day, unaware that peace had been declared.
Annexing Puerto Rico produced very little controversy the island was controlled by the US until 1900.
America’s support for the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule and the explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor are the major influences that led to the Spanish-American War. The Spanish-American War was a conflict between Spain and the United States in 1898. As Cuba was controlled by territorial expansion by the Spanish, Cubans fight for independence from Spain will arise. Cubans fight for Independence from Spain is what brought the U.S to intervene.
There were a plethora of important events that took place that prompted the beginning of The Spanish American war. The war was officially started in 1898, bringing joy to the citizens of America and dismay to then president William Mckinley. Before the war, Cuba had been fighting for independence from Spain. The Cuban’s had already lost in the ten year war earlier, which had been fought to gain their independence from Spain. In the state's, newspapers and other media sources were greatly exaggerating the horrors and atrocities being
The United States went to war with Spain in 1898 for three different reasons: social, economic, and political. These causes were stimulated by commercialism and nationalism. Based on these interpretations it is clear that the desire to be a world wide power, and advance commerical interest were primary factors that led to the declaration of war on Spain.
Before dawn on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey's flagship Olympia led seven U.S. Navy cruisers and gunboats into Manila Bay. By 8 AM that morning Dewey's squadron had located and destroyed virtually the entire Spanish naval forces in the Philippines. Damage to the American ships was very little, and their crews suffered no fatalities and few injuries.
The Spanish American war started in 1898 and was a fight for Cuba’s independence which resulted in 379 American casualties in combat. The Spanish American War was justified because of the Monroe Doctrine, Correspondence between the United States and Spain, and the Platt Amendment, which were all created to protect American morals and freedom.