p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 552 Page 1 of 6

The Spanish-
American War
MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Terms & Names

In 1898, the United States U.S. involvement in Latin •José Martí •George Dewey
went to war to help Cuba win America and Asia increased •Valeriano Weyler •Rough Riders
its independence from Spain. greatly as a result of the war •yellow journalism •San Juan Hill
and continues today. •U.S.S. Maine •Treaty of Paris

One American's Story

Early in 1896, James Creelman traveled to Cuba as a New York

World reporter, covering the second Cuban war for independ-
ence from Spain. While in Havana, he wrote columns about his
observations of the war. His descriptions of Spanish atrocities
aroused American sympathy for Cubans.

A PERSONAL VOICE JAMES CREELMAN

“ No man’s life, no man’s property is safe [in Cuba]. American
citizens are imprisoned or slain without cause. American prop-
erty is destroyed on all sides. . . . Wounded soldiers can be
found begging in the streets of Havana. . . . The horrors of a
barbarous struggle for the extermination of the native popula-
tion are witnessed in all parts of the country. Blood on the
roadsides, blood in the fields, blood on the doorsteps, blood,
blood, blood! . . . Is there no nation wise enough, brave
enough to aid this blood-smitten land?”
—New York World, May 17, 1896

Newspapers during that period often exaggerated stories

like Creelman’s to boost their sales as well as to provoke
American intervention in Cuba.
▼
Cuban rebels burn
the town of Jaruco
Cubans Rebel Against Spain in March 1896.

By the end of the 19th century, Spain—once the most powerful colonial nation
on earth—had lost most of its colonies. It retained only the Philippines and the
island of Guam in the Pacific, a few outposts in Africa, and the Caribbean islands
of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Americas.
AMERICAN INTEREST IN CUBA The United States had long held an interest in
Cuba, which lies only 90 miles south of Florida. In 1854, diplomats recommend-
ed to President Franklin Pierce that the United States buy Cuba from Spain. The
Spanish responded by saying that they would rather see Cuba sunk in the ocean.

552 CHAPTER 18
p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 553 Page 2 of 6

But American interest in Cuba continued. When the

KEY PLAYER
Cubans rebelled against Spain between 1868 and 1878,
American sympathies went out to the Cuban people.
The Cuban revolt against Spain was not successful, but
in 1886 the Cuban people did force Spain to abolish slavery.
After the emancipation of Cuba’s slaves, American capital-
ists began investing millions of dollars in large sugar cane
plantations on the island.
THE SECOND WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE Anti-Spanish
sentiment in Cuba soon erupted into a second war for inde-
pendence. José Martí, a Cuban poet and journalist in
exile in New York, launched a revolution in 1895. Martí
Vocabulary organized Cuban resistance against Spain, using an active
guerrilla: a guerrilla campaign and deliberately destroying property,
member of a especially American-owned sugar mills and plantations.
military force that JOSÉ MARTÍ
harasses the
Martí counted on provoking U.S. intervention to help the 1853–1895
enemy rebels achieve Cuba Libre!—a free Cuba. The Cuban political activist José
Public opinion in the United States was split. Many Martí dedicated his life to achiev-
business people wanted the government to support Spain in ing independence for Cuba.
MAIN IDEA order to protect their investments. Other Americans, how- Expelled from Cuba at the age of
16 because of his revolutionary
ever, were enthusiastic about the rebel cause. The cry “Cuba
Analyzing activities, Martí earned a mas-
Motives Libre!” was, after all, similar in sentiment to Patrick Henry’s ter’s degree and a law degree.
A Why did José “Give me liberty or give me death!” A He eventually settled in the
Martí encourage United States.
Cuban rebels to Wary of the U.S. role in the
destroy sugar mills
and plantations?
War Fever Escalates Cuban struggle against the
Spanish, Martí warned, “I know
A. Answer In 1896, Spain responded to the Cuban revolt by sending the Monster, because I have lived
Martí hoped to General Valeriano Weyler to Cuba to restore order. in its lair.” His fears of U.S. impe-
provoke the rialism turned out to have been
United States Weyler tried to crush the rebellion by herding the entire
well-founded. U.S. troops occu-
into helping rural population of central and western Cuba into barbed- pied Cuba on and off from 1906
Cuba win inde- wire concentration camps. Here civilians could not give aid until 1922.
pendence from to rebels. An estimated 300,000 Cubans filled these camps, Martí died fighting for Cuban
Spain. independence in 1895. He is
where thousands died from hunger and disease.
revered today in Cuba as a hero
HEADLINE WARS Weyler’s actions fueled a war over news- and martyr.
paper circulation that had developed between the American
newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph
Pulitzer. To lure readers, Hearst’s New York Journal and
Pulitzer’s New York World printed exaggerated accounts—by reporters such as
James Creelman—of “Butcher” Weyler’s brutality. Stories of poisoned wells and of
children being thrown to the sharks deepened American sympathy for the rebels.
This sensational style of writing, which exaggerates the news to lure and enrage
readers, became known as yellow journalism.
Hearst and Pulitzer fanned war fever. When Hearst sent the gifted artist
Frederic Remington to Cuba to draw sketches of reporters’ stories, Remington
informed the publisher that a war between the United States and Spain seemed
very unlikely. Hearst reportedly replied, “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish
the war.”
THE DE LÔME LETTER American sympathy for “Cuba Libre!” grew with each
day’s headlines. When President William McKinley took office in 1897, demands
for American intervention in Cuba were on the rise. Preferring to avoid war with
Spain, McKinley tried diplomatic means to resolve the crisis. At first, his efforts
appeared to succeed. Spain recalled General Weyler, modified the policy regard-
ing concentration camps, and offered Cuba limited self-government.

America Claims an Empire 553

p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 554 Page 3 of 6

In February 1898, however, the New York Journal published a private letter
written by Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the Spanish minister to the United States. A
Cuban rebel had stolen the letter from a Havana post office and leaked it to the B. Answer
Publication of
newspaper, which was thirsty for scandal. The de Lôme letter criticized President the de Lôme let-
McKinley, calling him “weak” and “a bidder for the admiration of the crowd.” ter, which criti-
The embarrassed Spanish government apologized, and the minister resigned. Still, cized President
Americans were angry over the insult to their president. McKinley, and
the explosion of
THE U.S.S. MAINE EXPLODES Only a few days after the publication of the the U.S.S.
de Lôme letter, American resentment toward Spain turned to outrage. Early in Maine, which
1898, President McKinley had ordered the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba to bring many Americans
blamed on
home American citizens in danger from the fighting and to protect American Spain.
property. On February 15, 1898, the ship blew up in the harbor of Havana. More
than 260 men were killed. MAIN IDEA
To this day, no one really knows why the ship exploded. In 1898, however, Summarizing
American newspapers claimed the Spanish had blown up the ship. The Journal’s B What events
increased the
headline read “The warship Maine was split in two by an enemy’s secret infernal
tension between
machine.” Hearst’s paper offered a reward of $50,000 for the capture of the the United States
Spaniards who supposedly had committed the outrage. B and Spain?

War with Spain Erupts

Now there was no holding back the forces that wanted war. “Remember the
Maine!” became the rallying cry for U.S. intervention in Cuba. It made no differ-
ence that the Spanish government agreed, on April 9, to almost everything the
United States demanded, including a six-month cease-fire.

▼
When the U.S.S. Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana, newspapers like the New York
Journal were quick to place the blame on Spain.

554 CHAPTER 18
p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 555 Page 4 of 6

The Spanish-American War, 1898

War in the Caribbean War in the Philippines

FLORIDA Hong Kong

ATLANTIC
Tampa N
OCEAN N

BAHAMAS W E
20˚N W E

Dew
(Br.)
PACIFIC

ey
S
Sh

af S
ter OCEAN

Ap
Jun

r.
e 22 Tropic of Cancer –M

2
–Ju

5
Havana ly 1 Santiago ay Luzon
, 18 1, 1
98 S a m p so n 898
CUBA
S chle Manila
y Philippine
DOMINICAN
Islands
HAITI
REPUBLIC
Mindoro
M
C e rv era

ile PUERTO Samar

JAMAICA s Ju 898
(Br.) l y 2 5 – A u g. 1 3 , 1 RICO South Panay
Cari bbe an Sea 10˚N
China
Ma

15°N
Sea
y, 1

U.S. Forces Negros

Palawan
89
8

U.S. Naval Blockade Mindanao

U.S. Forces
Spanish Forces
Battle
Battle

0 100 300 miles 0 100 200 miles

Sula
0 100 300 kilometers
GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER Sea 0 100 200 kilometers
1. Location Where does Cuba lie in relation to the United States?
120˚E the
2. Location Look at the location of the Philippines. How does
map help explain why Spain was surprised by the American attack Skillbuilder
in the Philippines? Answer
1. Cuba lies
close to the
MAIN IDEA United States, to
Despite the Spanish concessions, public opinion favored war. On April 11, the south of
Analyzing Florida.
Events McKinley asked Congress for authority to use force against Spain. After a week of 2. The
C How did the debate, Congress agreed, and on April 20 the United States declared war. C Philippines lie
Spanish try to in the Pacific,
avoid war with the THE WAR IN THE PHILIPPINES The Spanish thought the Americans would hundreds of
United States? invade Cuba. But the first battle of the war took place in a Spanish colony on the miles away from
C. Answer The other side of the world—the Philippine Islands. the United
Spanish agreed On April 30, the American fleet in the Pacific steamed to the Philippines. The States. Spain
to all of the would not be
next morning, Commodore George Dewey gave the command to open fire on expecting U.S.
demands of the the Spanish fleet at Manila, the Philippine capital. Within hours, Dewey’s men
United States, forces to come
including a six had destroyed every Spanish ship there. Dewey’s victory allowed U.S. troops to from Hong Kong.
month cease land in the Philippines.
fire. Dewey had the support of the Filipinos who, like the Cubans, also wanted
freedom from Spain. Over the next two months, 11,000 Americans joined forces
with Filipino rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo. In August, Spanish troops in Manila
surrendered to the United States.
THE WAR IN THE CARIBBEAN In the Caribbean, hostilities began with a naval
blockade of Cuba. Admiral William T. Sampson effectively sealed up the Spanish
fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba.
Dewey’s victory at Manila had demonstrated the superiority of United States
naval forces. In contrast, the army maintained only a small professional force,
supplemented by a larger inexperienced and ill-prepared volunteer force. About

America Claims an Empire 555

p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 556 Page 5 of 6

125,000 Americans had volunteered to fight. The new soldiers were sent to train-
ing camps that lacked adequate supplies and effective leaders. Moreover, there
were not enough modern guns to go around, and the troops were outfitted with
heavy woolen uniforms unsuitable for Cuba’s tropical climate. In addition, the
officers—most of whom were Civil War veterans—had a tendency to spend their
time recalling their war experiences rather than training the volunteers.
ROUGH RIDERS Despite these handicaps, American forces landed in Cuba in
June 1898 and began to converge on the port city of Santiago. The army of 17,000
included four African-American regiments of the regular army and the Rough Background
Riders, a volunteer cavalry under the command of Leonard Wood and Theodore The Rough Riders
trained as cavalry
Roosevelt. Roosevelt, a young New Yorker, had given up his job as Assistant
but fought on foot
Secretary of the Navy to lead the group of volunteers. He would later become pres- because their
ident of the United States. horses didn’t
The most famous land battle in Cuba took place near Santiago on July 1. The reach Cuba in
time.
first part of the battle, on nearby Kettle Hill, featured a dramatic uphill charge by
the Rough Riders and two African-American regiments, the Ninth and Tenth
Cavalries. Their victory cleared
the way for an infantry attack on
the strategically important San
Juan Hill. Although Roosevelt
and his units played only a minor
role in the second victory, U.S.
newspapers declared him the
hero of San Juan Hill.
Two days later, the Spanish
fleet tried to escape the American
blockade of the harbor at Santiago.
The naval battle that followed,
along the Cuban coast, ended in
the destruction of the Spanish
fleet. On the heels of this victory,
American troops invaded Puerto
Rico on July 25. D. Answer
Spain freed
TREATY OF PARIS The United Cuba and turned
States and Spain signed an over the islands
armistice, a cease-fire agreement, of Guam and
on August 12, ending what Puerto Rico to
the United
Secretary of State John Hay called States. Spain
“a splendid little war.” The actual also sold the
fighting in the war had lasted Philippines to
only 16 weeks. the United
States for
On December 10, 1898, the $20 million.
▼
United States and Spain met in
These African- Paris to agree on a treaty. At the peace talks, Spain freed Cuba and turned over the MAIN IDEA
American troops
islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the United Summarizing
prepare for battle
States. Spain also sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. D D What were the
during the Spanish-
terms of the
American War. DEBATE OVER THE TREATY The Treaty of Paris touched off a great debate Treaty of Paris?
in the United States. Arguments centered on whether or not the United States had
the right to annex the Philippines, but imperialism was the real issue. President
McKinley told a group of Methodist ministers that he had prayed for guidance on
Philippine annexation and had concluded “that there was nothing left for us to
do but to take them all [the Philippine Islands], and to educate the Filipinos, and
uplift and Christianize them.” McKinley’s need to justify imperialism may

556 CHAPTER 18
p0552-557aspe-0518s2 10/17/02 8:55 AM Page 557 Page 6 of 6

have clouded his memory—most

Filipinos had been Christian for
centuries.
Other prominent Americans
presented a variety of arguments—
political, moral, and economic—
against annexation. Some felt that
the treaty violated the Declaration
of Independence by denying self-
government to the newly acquired
territories. The African-American
educator Booker T. Washington
argued that the United States
should settle race-related issues at
home before taking on social prob-
lems elsewhere. The labor leader
Samuel Gompers feared that
Filipino immigrants would com-
pete for American jobs.
On February 6, 1899, the
annexation question was settled
with the Senate’s approval of the
Treaty of Paris. The United States
now had an empire that included ▼
Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the
This lithograph criticizes American foreign policy in 1898. In the
Philippines. The next question cartoon, Uncle Sam is riding a bicycle with wheels labeled “western
Americans faced was how and hemisphere” and “eastern hemisphere.” He has abandoned his
when the United States would add horse, on whose saddle appears “Monroe Doctrine,” because the
to its dominion. horse is too slow.

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.
•José Martí •yellow journalism •George Dewey •San Juan Hill
•Valeriano Weyler •U.S.S. Maine •Rough Riders •Treaty of Paris

MAIN IDEA CRITICAL THINKING

2. TAKING NOTES 3. MAKING INFERENCES 4. ANALYZING EFFECTS
In 1898, a debate raged in the What do you think were the Many anti-imperialists worried that
United States over whether the unstated editorial policies of yellow imperialism might threaten the
U.S. had the right to annex the journalism? Support your answer American democratic system. How
Philippines. Use a graphic organizer with evidence from the text. might this happen?
like the one below to summarize the Think About: 5. DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
pros and cons of this debate. • James Creelman’s account of In 1898 Theodore Roosevelt
Spanish atrocities against resigned his post as Assistant
The Annexation of Cubans (page 552) Secretary of the Navy to organize
the Philippines • Hearst’s remark to Remington the Rough Riders. Why do you think
• the Journal headline about the Roosevelt was willing to take this
explosion of the battleship risk? How do you think this decision
Maine affected his political career?
Reasons in Favor Reasons Against
of Annexation Annexation

Which side do you support? Why?

America Claims an Empire 557