U4L2 War and Empire Flashcards
Once Spain’s empire shrunk into just Cuba and Puerto Rico, what happened?
Cuba start a rebellion. This rebellion lasted for 10 years
What did José Martí do?
José Martí worked day and night raising funds and giving speeches in support of Cuban independence. He told sympathetic Americans of the Cuban struggle for freedom in his newspaper, Patria.
Why did Spain make General Valeriano Weyler the governor of Cuba?
Weyler used brutal tactics to crush the revolt.
What did General Valeriano Weyler do as governor of Cuba?
In a policy known as reconcentration, his men moved about half a million Cubans into detention camps so that they could not aid the rebels. At least 100,000 Cubans in reconcentration camps died from starvation and disease.
How was the U.S. affected by the situation in Cuba?
The United States had vital economic links to the island. Americans had invested about $50 million in Cuban sugar and rice plantations, railroads, tobacco, and iron mines. American trade with Cuba was worth about $100 million a year.
Why did many business leaders oppose American involvement in Cuba?
They thought that it might hurt foreign trade.
Why did many Americans want to intervene in Cuba?
They sympathized with Cuban desires for freedom.
What did Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts compare the Cuba rebels to?
The patriots in the American Revolution
What were new newspapers competing for during the Cuba revolution time period?
The press whipped up American sympathies for the people of Cuba. Two New York newspapers—Joseph Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph Hearst’s Journal—competed to print the most grisly stories about Spanish atrocities.
What is the definition of atrocities?
Wartime acts of cruelty and brutality
How did people use yellow journalism to attract readers?
Often, these reports were biased or untrue. According to one story, a photographer bound for Cuba told Hearst that there was no war. “You supply the pictures,” Hearst supposedly replied. “I’ll supply the war.” News stories described events in Cuba in graphic and horrifying detail.
What is the definition of yellow journalism?
Reporting that relied on sensational stories and headlines
What was President Cleveland’s view on the war?
He didn’t want to get involved in a war with Spain
How did President Cleveland view the war fever in America?
He called the war fever in the United States an “epidemic of insanity.” Stories in the press, he grumbled, were nonsense.
What were William McKinley, the new president, view on a war with Spain?
he also tried to keep the country neutral
Why did McKinley send a battleship to the capital of Cuba?
In 1898, fighting broke out in Havana, the Cuban capital, he sent a battle ship to protect American citizens and their property there.
What happened when the battleship arrived at the harbor of Havana?
Just after the bugler played taps, a huge explosion ripped through the ship. The explosion killed at least 260 of the 350 American sailors and officers on board.
What was the cause of the explosion?
The real cause of the explosion remains a mystery. Most historians believe that a boiler blew up or that there was an accident in the ship’s own ammunition hold.
What did Americans think was the cause of the explosion?
They thought that the Spanish had something to do with it.
When was war declared in Spain?
April 25, 1869
How long did the Spanish-American War last?
4 months
What was Roosevelt’s war plan?
Roosevelt believed it was important to attack the Spanish in the Philippines as soon as war began. He wired secret orders to Commodore George Dewey, commander of the Pacific fleet.
What was the Rough Riders?
When the war broke out, Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He then organized the First Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, later called the Rough Riders.
What was the Rough Riders made up of?
The Rough Riders were a mixed crew, ranging from cowboys to college students and adventurers.
What did the Rough Riders do?
The Rough Riders joined regular troops in the most notable land battle of the war.
Who were the Buffalo Soldiers?
African American members of the 9th and 10th Cavalries, nicknamed Buffalo Soldiers, played a major role in the battle in Santiago.
In the battle in Santiago, what did the American have to do?
Americans had to gain control of the San Juan Heights overlooking the city. Under withering fire, charging American forces took two strategic hills.
Where did the Spanish army in Cuba surrender?
Two days later, the Americans destroyed the Spanish fleet in Santiago Bay. The Spanish army in Cuba surrendered. American troops then landed on Puerto Rico and claimed the island.
When did the U.S. and Spain agree to stop the fighting?
August 12
What did the treaty between the two countries state?
Spain agreed to grant Cuba its freedom. Spain also gave the United States two islands: Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and Guam in the Pacific. Finally, in return for $20 million, Spain handed over the Philippines to the United States.
Why did many Americans disapprove of the treaty?
They said it violated American principles of democracy by turning the United States into a colonial power.
Why did expansionists approve of the treaty?
They said that the navy needed bases in the Caribbean and the Pacific. They pointed out that the Philippines and Puerto Rico offered new territory for American businesses.
Did the senate approve of the treaty?
Yes.
What debate was on Cuba?
Americans were wondering if they should let them control their own government.
What did Congress think about Cuban independence?
Many in Congress believed that Cuba was not ready for independence.
What did business leaders think about Cuban independence?
American business leaders feared that an independent Cuba might threaten their investments there.
In the end, the United States let the Cuban people write their own constitution. What was the exception?
Cuba had to accept the Platt Amendment. The amendment allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba and gave the United States control of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay. In effect, the amendment made Cuba an American protectorate.
What is the definition of protectorate?
A nation whose independence is limited by the control of a more powerful country.
What is the Platt Amendment do?
The amendment allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba and gave the United States control of the naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
In Puerto Rico, the United States set up a new government. What Act played a big part in this?
Foraker Act
What did the Foraker act do?
The act gave Puerto Ricans only a limited say in their own affairs.
Americans set up schools, improved healthcare, and built road. With this in mind, what did the Puerto Ricans think about American rule?
They didn’t like it
How did Filipinos feel about American rule?
Filipino nationalists had begun fighting for independence long before the Spanish-American War. When the United States took over their land after the war, Filipinos felt betrayed.
Who led the Filipino independence fight?
Emilio Aguinaldo
What did Emilio Aguinaldo accuse the Americans of?
accused the United States of forgetting its beginnings
The Philippine-American War was the first all-out _____ war in which the United States fought.
Asian
When did the Philippine-American War end?
1902
What was the difference between the Philippine-American War and the Spanish-American War?
The Philippine-American War was longer and more costly than the Spanish-American War. More than 4,000 Americans died in the Philippines. Nearly 20,000 Filipino soldiers were killed. Another 200,000 civilians died from shelling, famine, and disease.
Why weren’t Filipinos made American citizens?
the United States planned to give them independence in the future
Identify the areas of fighting in the Spanish-American War. Why did the war extend to so many regions?
The war stretched from Cuba to the Philippines, covering Spain’s colonies. The United States fought against the Spanish empire wherever it held power and focused its offensive on Spain’s naval bases in the colonies.
How did the Rough Riders differ from regular members of the U.S. Army?
The Rough Riders were a volunteer cavalry unit. They were a mixed crew of cowboys, college students, and adventurers.
What established a limited self-government to the Puerto Ricans by the Untied States?
Foraker Act
Which of the following contributed to the quick victory for the U.S. in the Spanish-American War?
- The Rough Riders and Buffalo Soldiers won the Battle of San Juan Hill
- The U.S. navy took control of the Manila harbor in the Philippines
What was the effect of the Platt Agreement?
It made Cuba a protectorate of the U.S.
Why did the U.S. wish to intervene in Latin America during the late 1800s and the early 1900s?
To protect its growing investments in Latin America
