Spanish- American War
“The Splendid Little War”?
Cuba: proximity to and relations with the United States
US investment in Cuba: $40 million “concern follows trade”
1894 US tariff puts 40% tax on Cuban sugar
Cuban guerrillas use “scorched earth” against US owned sugar cane fields
Object: to get US to intervene against Spain
Causes of the Spanish-American War
1. “Butcher” Weyler: relocation camps= inhumane conditions
2. “Yellow journalism” Hearst vs. Pulitzer New York newspapers in circulation war
Hearst to painter Reynolds: “You give me the pictures and I’ll give you the war.”
3. February 8, 1898 private letter of Depuy DeLome published;
DeLome described McKinley as “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd.”
4. February 15, 1898 USS Maine explodes in Havana harbor; 260 US sailors die
“Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!”
Captain of the Maine: “Public opinion should be suspended until further notice”
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------April 9, 1898 Spain accepts most US demands
April 11, 1898 US declares war against Spain
Teller Amendment:
US will never annex Cuba!!
US unprepared for war
General Shafter: “as defective in mind as in body.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Assistant Secretary of the Navy: Theodore Roosevelt
Rough Riders: Teddy Roosevelt’s private cavalry
Kettle Hill, San Juan Hill: overlook Santiago Harbor
July 3, 1898 Spanish fleet tries to escape Santiago Harbor;
destroyed by US Navy
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------August 12, 1898 Armistice: war is officially over
August 13, 1898 US Marines take city of Manila in Philippines
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What to do about the Philippines?
“As the US desire for the Philippines increased, so did the ability of the Philippines to govern
themselves decrease.”
October 1898 Treaty of Paris
1. Cuba independent
2. US get Puerto Rico, Guam
3. US pays Spain $20 million for the Philippines
Imperialist arguments for taking the Philippines
Anti-Imperialist arguments against taking the Philippines
Emilio Aguinaldo: Philippine leader of war for independence against the US
1898-1902 Philippine-American War for Independence
70,000 US troops fight a war against independence for the Philippines
5,000 US casualties; 57,000 Filipino casualties
----------------------------------------------------------------“It never dawned on these adventurers in Asian imperialism that it would be so hard to defend
the Philippines
By 1904 President Theodore Roosevelt called the Philippines the US “Achilles heel”.
1905 Taft Katsura: US accepts Japanese control of Korea and Japan promises to leave
Philippines alone
1908: Root-Takahira: Japan and US agree to respect each others’ possessions in the Pacific
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cuba
April 1898 Teller Amendment
1901 Platt Amendment
1. No treaties without US approval
2 US could intervene in Cuba to “restore order.”
3. Cuba had to lease coaling stations to the US: Guantanamo Bay
1906 Cuban people revolt against the hated Platt Amendment
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