The Spanish American War of 1898 Essay

The Spanish-American war was fought between the US and Spain. It was what ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and also what led to the US claim of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. This war originated on the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain and the brutal repercussions from the Spanish government was what eventually led to US intervention. On top of the unusual sinking of a United States Battleship in Havana harbor, Spain intended on giving Cuba limited governing powers but congress declared Cuba’s right to independence and with the authorization by the president to use force to secure the withdrawal of Spanish forces Spain declared war.

In the early months of 1898, fundamental events took place in fairly rapid succession that led up to the Spanish American War and in turn the Battle for San Juan Heights. Together, these events solidified U.S. public opinion towards the U.S. involvement in a war to liberate Cuba from Spanish rule. A war some saw as a necessity to end the appalling conditions on an island so close to the American mainland. Some American officials including the U.S. Consul-general in Havana, Fitzhugh Lee, believed that it was only a matter of time before Cuba would be annexed by United States. (The Spanish-American War: American Wars and the Media in Primary Document, W. Joseph Campbell 2005).

The first battle took place on spain's territory, Philippines. Assistant secretary of the navy, Theodore Roosevelt, commanded George Dewey to attack Spanish naval squadron at Manila bay. The .U.S. navy sank the entire squadron and claimed Philippines as their own.

The Spanish-American War was a conflict, primarily between Spain and the United States, which lasted from April 21st, 1898 to August 13th, 1898. The issue over which the war was waged was the independence of the Caribbean island of Cuba. Cuba had been attempting to gain independence from Spain since 1868, in the Ten Years’ War, but this longing for freedom was enflamed in the late 1890’s due to poor treatment of Cuba from Spain. When Cuba revolted again, America came to its aid, fighting Spain more or less on Cuba’s behalf. This war was a turning point in American history, because of the events leading up to the conflict, what it stood for, and the aftereffects of the war.

Cuba and the United States fought Spain in what is known as the Cuban War of Independence from 1895 to 1898. Cuba attacked Spain with the aid of the United States. The purpose of the war was to bring new economic life to Cuba and give Cuba independence because Spain was not treating Cubans fairly. In the end, Spain lost, and gave up control of Cuba. Spain also lost control of The Philippines and Puerto Rico. To the United States.

Next, came the 1898 Spanish American War between the United States and Spain. Cuba was under Spanish control, however in 1898 Cubans revolted

In December 1898, Spain ceded control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Cuba to the United States. The next sixty years of history on Cuba featured a strong U.S. presence. The U.S. Navy established the base at Guantanamo Bay, American tourists flocked to the casinos, hotels, and brothels of Havana, and U.S. interference in internal Cuban politics was the norm.

The American victory over the Spanish Empire in the War of 1898 signified a new shift in American history because the United States emerged as a new world power and acquired a significant amount of overseas territory. Despite the makings of a potential imperialistic state, Americans would deny the empire-building identity mainly due to the bloody conflict in the Philippines coupled with contradictions to the U.S. national narrative of self-determination and anti-colonialism.

Maine in a Cuban harbor. The Monroe Doctrine called for the U.S. involvement in the Spain-Cuba fight. The U.S. entered war with Spain, and won a victory in ten weeks. With the U.S. winning, Cuba gained their independence. U.S. received Puerto Rico and Guam, and Americans now occupied the Philippines. Spain no longer had colonies in the western hemisphere. By winning, the U.S. became an Imperial world power.

The Spanish-American War of 1898 finished Spain's pilgrim realm in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power. U.S. Triumph in the war created a peace settlement that constrained the Spanish to give up claims on Cuba, and to surrender sway over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States. The United States additionally attached the free province of Hawaii

According to the Simile Project, the U.S. had an impact on several countries; a few of them were Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. Cuba after the Spanish-American War “won” their independence. Despite the victory, their freedom was limited severely because they remained under U.S. rule. The U.S. even passed the Platt Amendment, allowing for the U.S. to control and restrict most of Cuba’s decisions. At the end, Cuba’s victory from Spain wasn’t much of a victory after all. After the Spanish-American war, Puerto Rico was ceded to the United States and became a territory, not an official state. Puerto Ricans had some benefits such as receiving help from the U.S. government to control diseases and illnesses, grant citizenship, build and repair areas, and etc but also faced economic threat when the U.S. controlled the trade route for overseas shipping. The Philippines also became U.S. territory during the time of the Spanish-American War. In the decision making on whether to keep the Philippines or not, the final decision was to keep them but try to “educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them” (“American...the Philippines”). This just resulted in a revolt against the U.S. for the mistreatment but failed in the process because the U.S. ended it. Hawaii had the overall worst

Spain then declared war on the US. In this war the Spanish weren’t ready to fight in a war. They were too weak and Spain did not ready its navy or

This was America's first true colonial war as a world power. After defeating Spain in Cuba and in the Philippines in 1898, the U.S. purchased the Philippines, Puerto Rico and several other islands from the Spanish. However, the Filipinos had been fighting a bloody revolution against Spain since 1896 and had no intention of becoming a colony of another imperialist power. In February of 1899, fighting broke out between the occupying American Army and the Filipino forces. The basic causes of the Philippine-American War can be found in the U.S. government's quest for an overseas empire and the desire of the Filipino people for freedom.

In the 19th century, Spain was known for its territories but in the 1890s the numbers seem to perish. One of these territories was Cuba. In the united states, there was a growing fear of being overpowered if the US did not expand itself. The US was highly interested in Cuba not only for economical purposes but for military purposes. The US wanted to expand its military and to have naval bases in the Caribbean and the pacific. Spain was using Cuba for resources and the US wanted an economic relationship with Cuba.

he conflict between the USA and Spain began with the issues in Cuba. According to the Monroe Doctrine, Cuba was in the USA’s sphere of interest, but it was controlled by a foreign power – Spain. Also, Cuban revolutionaries were demanding independence from the Spanish and by 1896 there demands by the American public and Congress for intervention in the war between Spain and Cuba, but President Cleveland and his successor, William McKinley opposed taking part. However, in early February 1898, a letter was captured in which the Spanish minister to Washington, Dupuy de Lôme, called McKinley “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd”, which increased Spanish-American tensions. Six days later, the battleship Maine, sent from the USA to Cuba