Spanish-American War - MSN Encarta

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Spanish-American War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Spanish-American War was a military conflict between Spain and the United States that began in April 1898. Hostilities halted in August of that year, and the Treaty of Paris ...
The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War Home Page
First Release "The war of the United States with Spain was very brief. Its results were many, startling, and of world-wide meaning."--Henry Cabot Lodge
Library of Congress/Spanish American War Introduction
On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the ...

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Introduction; Causes; The War in the Caribbean; War in the Pacific; Peace Treaty; Consequences of the War

Introduction

Spanish-American War (1898), brief conflict between the United States and Spain. Actual hostilities in the war lasted less than four months, from April 25 to August 12, 1898. Most of the fighting occurred in or near the Spanish colonial possessions of Cuba and the Philippines. The war marked the end of Spain’s colonial empire and the emergence of the United States as a global military power.

Causes

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A number of factors contributed to the US decision to go to war against Spain. These included the Cuban struggle for independence, American imperialism, and the sinking of the US warship Maine.

Cuban Independence

The first war of Cuban independence, known as the Ten Years’ War, had ended with the treaty of El Zanjón in 1878. When the Spanish government failed to implement many of the promised reforms the Cubans revolted in 1895 under the inspired leadership of Cuban patriot José Martí. To put down the rebellion, the Spanish government poured more than 100,000 troops into the island. General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, known as the Butcher for his ruthless suppression of earlier revolts, was sent to the island as captain-general and military governor. He immediately rounded up the peasant population and put them in concentration camps in or near garrison towns. Thousands died of starvation and disease.

The brutality of Butcher Weyler aroused great indignation in the United States. The general anger was exploited by sensational press reports, which exaggerated even Weyler’s ruthlessness. In 1897 the Spanish government became alarmed at the belligerent tone of public opinion in the United States. Weyler was recalled, and overtures were made to the rebels. The rebels rejected an offer of autonomy, however, and, determined to fight for complete independence, the insurgency continued.

American Imperialism

The Cuban revolt coincided with mounting government efforts to extend American influence overseas in order to extend the market for trade. This policy was promoted by the publishers of several prominent newspapers, particularly William Randolph Hearst, the publisher of The New York Journal, and Joseph Pulitzer, the publisher of the New York World. It was their newspapers that published the steady stream of sensational stories about alleged atrocities committed by the Spanish in Cuba, calling for the United States to intervene on the side of the Cubans.