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The Spanish War

Decent Essays

The conflict between Spain and the United States was first described by the U.S.
Ambassador John Hay as “a splendid little war.” Although it started small, its effects allowed America to become a large world power. The United States not only gained territories, but also created world recognition as a dominant military and country. The conflict between the two nations went from April 25, 1898 to December 10, 1898, but tensions were high long before.
There were many factors that led to the outbreak of violence between the two countries. The island of Cuba wanted independence from its mother country of Spain.
With the return of José Martí, Cuban rebels were able to begin a revolt against Spanish soldiers that were stationed there. The United …show more content…

This form of yellow-journalism effectively turned the public opinion against Spain; using propaganda to tell citizens …show more content…

While at war, both sides gained considerable losses. Soldiers contracted diseases such as typhoid and yellow fever. Over 5,000 soldiers died from yellow fever during the Spanish-American War. Fruit that was sent from Spain to its soldiers became

THE SPLENDID LITTLE WAR
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rotten and wasted while on delivery ships. Men soon became sick due to the lack of nourishments that their food could not compensate for. When the war started out, neither countries were prepared for a fight of a large magnitude. The United States military did not have the adequate amount of personnel that could fight in a war.
According to ushistory.org (2016), all of the country’s troops were undertrained, underequipped, and understaffed. The Spanish did not fare much better.
The prejudice against Spain began with yellow-journalism and muckraking journalists in American newspapers. The articles contained little to no truth to support the events that were happening during the duration of the war, but their stories still spread. This caused the public’s opinion of Spain to worsen and furthered their cries for victory on the warfront. Politicians were also swayed by the reports and the wants

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