Spanish-American War Mr. Mize

Imperialism By 1914, European countries had seized control of almost all of Africa and Southeast Asia.

Reasons for Imperialism : Reasons for Imperialism 1. ECONOMICS – European countries wanted raw materials and consumers for their products 2. 2) DUTY – many Europeans believed that it was their duty to spread Christianity and culture to other “backward” people. Example: “White Man’s Burden”, poem by Rudyard Kipling 3. COMPETITION – European countries wanted to take over an area before their competitors were able to.

Reasons for Imperialism Captain Alfred Mahan believed the following: Future prosperity depended on foreign trade. The U.S. needed a large navy in order to protect trading vessels. The U.S. needed to acquire naval bases throughout the world. As a result, the U.S. had a large, powerful navy by the late 1890’s known as the Great White Fleet.

Hawaii Strategic importance of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. In 1875, Hawaii agreed to give the U.S. control of the seaport Pearl Harbor. U.S. Marines forced Queen Liliuokalani to surrender Hawaii at gunpoint in 1893.

Cuba Just like Hawaii, Cuba was very important to the U.S. Had natural resources Tobacco Cotton Sugar This made Cuba very wealthy Which is why Spain controlled it

Cuba Controlled by Spain Spain was largest empire in Western Hemisphere Was losing power More countries were breaking away This cost Spain a lot of money Ruled by Queen Regent, Maria Christina

Cuba Cuba tried to win independence from Spain…twice. The second time, Queen Maria wanted to teach Cuba a lesson She sent General Weyler AKA Butcher Weyler

Cuba General Weyler Spanish governor of Cuba Used brutal tactics against the Cubans. Responsible for detaining over 500,000 Cubans and killing over 100,000. Americans sympathized with the Cuban desire for freedom.

Yellow Journalism Exaggerated media that contains little actual fact or research Joseph Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph Hearst’s Journal competed to publish the most grisly stories of Spanish cruelty. Did this to sell more newspapers Saw war as a way of making more money “You supply the pictures, I’ll supply the war.” Hearst

Yellow Journalism Heart and Pulitzer created stories of a weak Cuba being brutalized by a bullying Spain. This convinced Americans that they were responsible for helping Cuba gain independence