2. Today’s Objectives  1) Describe the role of the U.S. in the Spanish-American War  2) Explain what Teddy Roosevelt’s foreign policy is

3. Why were we interested in Cuba?  American businesses were interested in their raw materials  American citizens were living in Cuba  Cubans want independence, we can help

4. Cubans Revolt Against Spain  Cubans had been fighting off the Spaniards for independence  Americans sided with the Cubans, it reminded them of our own fight with Great Britain  US newspapers were printing shocking stories about what was happening in Cuba  Yellow Journalism- publishing exaggerated or made-up news stories to attract readers and influence their ideas

5. Explosion of the Maine  Fighting started in Havana, Cuba  President McKinley sent the U.S. battleship Maine to Cuba  He wanted to protect the Americans living in Cuba  Unfortunately, things did not go as planned

8. What happened to the Maine?  On Feb. 15, 1898 an explosion happened in the ship  The ship exploded and started the sink  There were 260 American sailors killed

9. How did the U.S. respond?  Americans were outraged  Exaggerated news stories broke out about what happened  No one really new what exactly happened until years later  Regardless, the Americans were so mad, they were ready to fight  They declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898