The Spanish-American War
Last Remaining Colonies In 1898, Cuba and Puerto Rico were Spain’s last remaining colonies in the western hemisphere The US considered the Spanish tyrants and declared war The war only lasted a few months, but changed the position of the united states on the world stage
The Cuban Rebellion Cuba was one of Spain’s oldest colonies and created a huge amount of wealth By the mid 1800s, a third of the world’s sugar came from Cuba Many enslaved Cubans came together in 1868 and declared independence and began attacking Spanish officials Cuba and the United States had become closely linked economically through sugar
America Supports Cuba America imposed huge tariffs on Cuban sugar causing the Cuban economy to decline A renewed revolution began with rebellion against the Spanish government America supported the rebels with money and guns, smuggled in from Florida
America Supports Cuba The American public supported the Cubans based on many stories written in the national newspapers Many of the newspapers practiced Yellow Journalism, which was the exaggeration and sensationalizing of stories from the rebels The Cubans were treated horribly, with over 200,000 Spanish troops sent in to halt the revolution
Calls for War President McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana Harbor in case they disputes turned to fighting and Americans needed to be evacuated On February 15, 1898, The USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor Congress authorized $50 million to prepare for war and declared that Cuba was independent On April 19, 1898, Spain declared war on America
To turn in Answer questions 1 and 2 on page 497
The Spanish-American War Part II
The War on Two Fronts The US Navy was ready for a war with Spain The North Atlantic Squadron blockaded Cuba The American naval squadron, based in Hong Kong, attacked the Spanish forces in the Philippines
The Battle of Manila Bay At midnight on May 1, 1898, US forces entered Manila Bay in the Philippines At dawn, 4 American ships opened fire and quickly destroyed 8 Spanish warships The victory was much quicker than expected
The Battle of Manila Bay The army quickly put together 20,000 troops to help the Navy in the Philippines While waiting for the army, the Navy took Guam, another Spanish held island American troops arrived and with the help of Filipino rebels, took control of the Philippines
American Forces in Cuba Neither the Spanish or Americans were really prepared for war in Cuba On June 14, 1898, 17,000 American troops landed in Santiago, Cuba The goal was to take the Spanish defensive guns and drive the Spanish fleet out of Santiago Harbor
American Forces in Cuba Many of the troops were from the American west and were made up of cowboys, miners, and law officers, they were known as the Rough Riders Theodor Roosevelt was the second in command The troops took both the town of El Caney and San Juan Heights, claiming victory in both places
American Forces in Cuba The Spanish panicked after the victories in El Caney and San Juan Heights The commander ordered the fleet to flee San Juan Harbor American ships sank or breached every ship Spanish troops surrendered Cuba and the Americans took control along with Puerto Rico
American Forces in Cuba Many of the troops were from the American west and were made up of cowboys, miners, and law officers, they were known as the Rough Riders Theodor Roosevelt was the second in command The troops took both the town of El Caney and San Juan Heights, claiming victory in both places
Work Questions 1-2 on 499 Questions 1-4 on page 501 You will have a quiz on pages 499- 503 tomorrow.