Fighting the Spanish-American War

Fighting the war First shots of the war fired in Manila Bay in the Philippines Last shots were fired only a few months later So swift was the U.S. victory that Secretary of State John Hay called it “a splendid little war”

Fighting the war- the philippines Philippines had been under Spanish control since the 1500s As Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt ordered a fleet commanded by Commodore George Dewey to the Philippines Anticipated the coming war and recognized the strategic value of the islands May 1: Commodore Dewey’s fleet fired on Spanish ships in Manila Bay Spanish fleet was beaten into submission U.S. troops captured the city of Manila on August 13

Invasion of CUba U.S. effort in Cuba was headed by an ill- prepared, largely volunteer force that landed in Cuba in June Tropical diseases proved to be the real enemy 5,000 American soldiers died of malaria, typhoid, dysentery Fewer than 500 soldiers actually died in battle

Invasion of Cuba Attacks by American and Cuban forces succeeded in defeating the much larger, but poorly-led Spanish army Next to the victory in Manila Bay, the most celebrated event of the war was a cavalry charge up San Juan Hill by the Rough Riders Regiment of volunteers led by Teddy Roosevelt The charge up San Juan Hill wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts/sacrifice of veteran regiments of African American soldiers

Invasion of CUba More important than San Juan Hill was the U.S. Navy destroying the Spanish fleet in Santiago Bay on July 3 Without a navy, Spain couldn’t continue fighting Early August 1898- Spain asked the U.S. for terms of peace

Annexation of hawaii Expansionists long coveted the Hawaiian islands 1893: American settlers aided in the overthrow of Hawaiian monarch Queen Liliuokalani At the time, President Cleveland opposed imperialism and blocked Republican efforts to annex Hawaii Outbreak of war in the Philippines gave President McKinley and Congress the pretext to annex Hawaii in July 1898 Became a territory in 1900, fiftieth state in August 1959

Controversy over the Treaty of Peace Peace treaty signed on December 10, 1898 in Paris provided for: Recognition of Cuban independence U.S. acquisition of two Spanish islands- Puerto Rico and Guam U.S. acquisition of the Philippines for a payment of $20 million to Spain Main reason the U.S. got involved in the war was to liberate Cuba- Americans were not prepared for taking over the Philippines as a colony Congress and the public were sharply divided between imperialists who favored annexing the Philippines and anti-imperialists who opposed it

The Philippine QUestion Anti-imperialists argued that, for the first time, the U.S. would be taking possession of a heavily populated area, whose people were of a different race and culture Thought that this action violated the principles of the Declaration of Independence; would also entangle the U.S. in political conflicts of Asia The Treaty of Paris was approved by Congress- anti-imperialists fell just two votes short of defeating the treaty People of the Philippines were outraged their hopes for independence from Spain were now being denied by the U.S.- guerilla fighters led an insurrection against U.S. control Took three years and costs thousands of lives on both sides before the insurrection ended in 1902

Other results of the war Imperialism remained a major issue in the U.S. Another question raised by the end of the war was: Did the provisions of the U.S. constitution apply to people living in U.S. territories? Supreme Court ruled in a series of cases known as the insular (island) cases that constitutional rights were not automatically extended to territorial possessions The power to decide whether or not to grant such rights belonged to Congress

Cuba and the Platt Amendment (1901) The Teller Amendment guaranteed U.S. respect for Cuba’s independence U.S. troops remained in Cuba from 1898 to 1901 Congress agreed to withdraw the troops upon Cuba’s acceptance of the Platt Amendment: Required Cuba to never sign a treaty with a foreign power that impaired its independence Permit the U.S. to intervene in Cuba’s affairs to preserve independence, maintain law and order Allow the U.S. to maintain naval bases in Cuba, including a permanent one at Guantanamo Bay Cuba reluctantly agreed to the terms and added them to their new constitution Platt Amendment effectively made Cuba a U.S. protectorate Cuba’s foreign policy would be subject to U.S. oversight and control for decades

Election of 1900 Republicans re-nominate President McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt as his vice president Democrats nominate William Jennings Bryan again Campaigned for free silver and attacked growing imperialism Most Americans at this time accepted the gold standard and saw the acquisition of the Philippines as an accomplishment McKinley easily won by an even larger victory than in 1896

Recognition of U.S. power The Spanish-American War changed the way both Americans and Europeans thought about U.S. power Decisive U.S. victory filled Americans with national pride Southerners also shared in this pride and became more attached to the Union Europe recognized that the U.S. was now a first-class power with a strong navy and willingness to take a bigger role in international affairs

? What happened in Santiago Bay on July 3rd? What were the three main provisions of the Treaty of Paris? Why were anti-Imperialists angry over the last provision of the treaty? How did the people of the Philippines react to the treaty? What did the Supreme Court decide when it came to the constitutional rights of people living in U.S. territories? What did the Platt Amendment state? What was it’s lasting effect? How did Europeans and Americans change their perspective of U.S. political and military power after the Spanish-American War?