The Spanish-American War was fought between the United States, and Spain. Sadly it’s not a popular subject in high schools these days, so most students don’t know anything about this war. The Spanish-American War marked a new beginning for the United States, Cuba and Spain. These countries where affected by the war because the Spanish American war would end the Spanish Empire, create a new one, and give a colony its independence.
WHAT STARTED THE WAR
The Spanish American war was about Cubin Independence. At the time of the war Cuba had been a colony of Spain. Most people in America today don’t know this simply because they do know about the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine kept Europe out of the new world but it didn’t take away the
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The war in the Pacific was also important because the Spanish also no longer had a fleet to govern and protect its colonies, leaving them open for rebellion and attack. At the same time as the war in the Philippines a US fleet of four ships lead by Captain Henry Glass moved on Guam. When the Fleet approached the Island of Guam, they fired one round out of each gun upon the fort guarding the harbor. They were confused when instead of firing back, the Spanish sent a cruiser out to replace there ammo and gun powder. The Spanish thought the fleet was saluting their authority (navies do this to military bases to show they do not intend on fighting, they just need some supplies). When asked, the Spanish Commander had no idea there was a war between Spain and the United States. The Spanish surrendered the island and left with the American troops as POWs (Prisoners of War). This was yet another heavy blow to Spain because the United States now had a base to put supplies to fight wars in the Pacific
CARIBBEAN FRONT (CUBA)
The war also took place in the Caribbean in Cuba and in Puerto Rico. On the shores of Cuba many battles had been fought and new tactics were developed. The American forces still used standard military tactics of line up, point, and shoot, also known as revolutionary fight to the United States. The Spanish had developed more modern ways of combat. They used modern cover fire techniques, simply meaning they hid behind solid objects and fired
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
The Spanish American War was caused by many occasions. America strongly supported Cuba and disputed Spain’s actions. The main causes of The Spanish American war was the yellow journalism, the blowing up of “The maine”, and the de lome letter. This essay will be discussing the causes and effects of the Spanish American War.
In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was published by president James Monroe that stated that any effort of European nations to try to colonialize any parts of North America or South America would be seen as unfriendly by the United States. The expansion of the Monroe Doctrine to include Olney Corollary which said that it gave the U.S authority to mediate conflicts in its own hemisphere This corollary foreshadowed the the events of the Spanish-American War because which ended in 1898 with the Spanish ceding the Philippines and Cuba. The need for the United States to gain territory and intervene led to the war with the Philippines because after the Philippines was ceded to the United States, the Philippines didn’t want another colonial ruler so they sought independence by a war with the United States (Engel, Lawrence and Preston, 47). Imperialism caused the U.S to intervene with the Spanish which then angered the Filipino because they didn’t want a new colonial ruler. The Philippines created an opportunity to project American power into the pacific. With the Filipino leader, Aguinaldo, as president demanded independence but Washington refused so Aguinaldo declared war. The U.S didn’t want to give land away that they just received as well as the Philippines was considered a hotspot because it would allow the U.S to refuel on their long journeys back from Asia
Political causes are known to be the most affective in starting the war. Due to the short term causes that made history. Without these events the Spanish American war could have been completely changed. Due to the riots that were going on in Havana, Mckinely sent the battleship Maine to protect American lives and property. Soon after it was anchored in the harbor, it exploded, resulting in the deaths of 260 Americans. The American press quickly jumped to blame Spain however there was little evidence found for the explosion. President Mckinely refused to declare war, however many eagerly called for war such as Teddy Roosevelt. This unexpected explosion may seem small, however was a major event in the starting of the Spanish American War. The war message and Teller Amendment was what initially started the war. “In the war message the President rejected the idea that the U.S.A would annex Cuba. “He said this would be criminal aggression and morally wrong”(Allan Hux 295). Congress agreed. “It passed an amendment
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.
The first reason for the Spanish American War was public opinion. In 1895, American citizens took notice of a Cuban revolt against their corrupt Spanish oppressor. The Cuban insurgents reasoned that if they did enough damage , the US might move in and help the
Nationalism was another major factor in declaring war against Spain. Nationalism emerged in the United States and all of its people seemed to support the war. The “yellow press” printed multiple stories of scandals, including the explosion of the Maine in the Havana harbor. The yellow press printed that the Spanish were responsible for this action, which led to the slogan “Remember the Maine.” Nationalism and pride surged within the United States and war became imminent. The “rough riders,” who were volunteers from the United States, invaded the Santiago harbor in order to drive out Spanish ships. They paved the way for the American army and forced Spain to sign an armistice. After the war was over and the Cubans were free, The Platt Amendment was passed. It provided that Cuba had to state in its own constitution that the US might intervene with troops in Cuba in order to restore order and to provide mutual protection. It also promised to sell or lease naval stations to the US. The doctrine of Manifest Destiny also played a major part in the war. The US wanted to expand its country and spread its Anglo-Saxon culture. Imperialism was also part of this objective.
There were many causes for the Spanish American War. The first long term cause was the Wilson Gordon Tariff. This tariff ultimately decreased tariff rates for may Europeans nations excluding the commonwealth of Spain. This ultimately angered the Spanish and weakened international relationship between the United States and Spain. This tariff also instilled an anti-American feeling in Spain. This would lay down the groundwork for the next cause the “Delome Letter”
-The Mexican American War: The Mexican-American war was a fight for lad between the Untied States and Mexico where the United States defeated Mexico and gained over five hundred thousand miles of land. The land in known as the Southwest and makes up a vast majority of the United States. A major contributor to the war was the American belief of Manifest Destiny and showed how the United States wanted to extend their
The Battle of Manila Bay was a singular demonstration of the daring and decisive application of sea power. In a few hours, Dewey had eliminated any threat that the Spanish Navy might pose to U.S. Far Eastern commerce and placed Spain's centuries-long rule of the Philippines in great jeopardy. A few days later, with the capture of Cavite arsenal, he also gained a repair and refueling base, essential for maintaining his squadron under wartime conditions thousands of miles from home.
The Spanish war gave the United States an empire. At the end of the Spanish war the United States took Spanish colonies such as Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and many other islands. The creation of the American Empire leads to the end of the Spanish Empire. The United States wanted to build up the countries so that markets would open up and purchase American goods and to improve the American economy.
A second theater of the Spanish-American War was the Philippines. Although the United States initially had ambivalent feelings toward the Pacific island nation, the nation ultimately moved to incorporate the territory for economic reasons. Acting under the facade of protecting the native people from atrocities committed by Spanish colonists, the United States government annexed
The Cubans and Spaniards were at war against each other. Two different newspaper were fighting against each other to gain readers. The Maine was a U.S. battle ship that sailed into Havana Cuba, however it exploded and started an investigation. The Philippines became Americian territory and they wanted to be independent, during this
War actually began for the U.S. in Cuba in June when the Marines captured Guantánamo Bay and 17,000 troops landed at Siboney and daiquire , east of Santiago de Cuba, the second largest city on the island. At that time Spanish troops stationed on the island included 150,000 regulars and 40,000 irregulars and volunteers while rebels inside Cuba
Spanish-American war happened for several reasons. It was mainly over Cuba’s independence with the Cuban Revolutionaries fighting years for their freedom from Spain. The Spanish colonies in Cuba as well as the Philippines became major battlefields. Another reason for the Spanish-American war was the sinking of the U.S. Battleship Maine on February 15th, 1898 in the Havana harbor.