the spanish america war 1898 Flashcards
what caused the war
-the USA officially remained neutral in the war between Spain and the Cuban rebels,
- it sent a battleship, the Maine, to Cuba to protect US citizens who had been caught up in the fighting.
-on 15 February 1898, the Maine exploded in Havana Harbour, killing 268 American sailors. This
event sparked outrage in the USA.
-Although the US government believed that the explosion was the result of an accident, the American press argued that Spain was responsible, and it was heavily critical
of the government’s weak response to the incident.
-Theodore Roosevelt. Appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy in 1897, he continued the process of developing the size and strength of the US
navy that had started in 1882. A year before the sinking of the Maine, he had argued that it was in the USA’s best interests to eject the Spanish from Cuba
-this is because roosevelt wanted to free america from european dominion and such war would benefit their military forces
what made the american press think that the spain was responisable for the attack
-With their own anti-imperial background, Americans viewed the Spanish as brutal, anti-democratic rulers.
-Moreover, Cuba had become important to the US economy – a great deal of American money was invested in the production of sugar, tobacco and minerals, mainly nickel, on the island.
-American interests were therefore threatened by the situation in Cuba, not least because of the guerrilla tactics
used by the Cuban rebels.
-in 1897, President William McKinley made an attempt to persuade the
Spanish to reform their methods of governing Cuba, but this was publicly rejected by Spain in a manner
-American public opinion found insulting.
who supported war against spain and who didnt
While President McKinley sought a diplomatic solution to the rising tensions following the sinking of the
Maine, Roosevelt was already preparing for war. He ordered US naval vessels to occupy key ports, such
as Manilla Bay in the Philippines with the aim of denying Spanish ships access to safe harbours and supplies.
when did president Mckinely declare war on spain
In April 1898
what were the reasons for president mckinely sudden change
-Historians have debated the reasons for this decision, and a variety of different arguments have been suggested:
-it was inspired by an aggressive and patriotic press campaign that inflamed public opinion
following the Maine incident
-it was intended to protect American business interests in Cuba
-it was inevitable, given the misrule of the Spanish and the geographical closeness of Cuba to the
USA
-the USA feared an independent Cuba that it could not control
-the USA desired more territory in order to extend its commercial interests
-the US government wanted to distract the American people from the effects of the economic
depression.
how did the usa defeat spain
-The US navy, with its modern, well-equipped ships, destroyed a Spanish fleet at Manila Bay.
- A second Spanish fleet was defeated at Santiago de Cuba.
-Without naval support, the
Spanish were unable to resist the combined efforts of the Cuban freedom fighters and the small number of US soldiers who had landed in Cuba.
- Spain had no alternative but to surrender
what happened in the treaty of paris
The Treaty of Paris left the USA in effective control of a nominally independent Cuba. In addition, Spain
was forced to hand control of its other former possessions, including the Philippines, Puerto Rico and
Guam to the USA. The USA had become an imperial power.
-The USA ignored the
Cubans’ contribution and maintained that it was a purely American victory. The USA did not include, or even seriously consider, Cubans in the final peace settlement with Spain, the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
what finalized the settlement between usa and spain
the 1898 Treaty of Paris.
when did the Philippines rebel
the Filipinos rebelled and, in order to retain control, the USA was forced to fight a
far longer and more costly war (1899–1902) than the one against Spain. Anti-imperialists, such as the Democratic presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, protested against the acquisition of foreign
territories, arguing that it was a betrayal of the USA’s isolationist traditions. However, Bryan’s defeat by the sitting president, William McKinley, in the 1900 presidential election suggests that the majority of
the American public supported the USA’s move towards imperialism
-Acquiring the Philippines provided the USA with control of a region that could act as a strategic base to
supply and defend American trading interests in China and the Far East. The USA had become an
imperial power and began following policies designed to extend its global influence.
what happened to cuba in 1901
-In 1901, arguing that the Cubans were not yet ready to rule themselves, the US Congress passed the Platt Amendment to the Cuban Constitution. This gave the USA control of Cuban foreign, financial and commercial affairs. The USA was also granted rights over key land in Cuba, including a number of naval bases, such as Guantanamo Bay. With US soldiers still on the island, the Cubans had little option but to
accept the Platt Amendment by treaty in 1903. A far-reaching takeover of Cuban land by Americans followed, and American businesses began to move into Cuba on a large scale.
