1. Spanish American War 1/28/15

2. President William McKinley  Started out his political career when he helped fight in the Civil War for the union side  He studied law which started his political career and later have two terms as governor for Ohio  After the panic of 1893, the republicans had the advantage over democrats  Nominated McKinley as their presidential candidate

3. The Fight Over Cuba  America wanted to take over Cuba for a long time, since Jefferson  Eventually they just settled with Cuba being independent  Cuba gained its independence from Spain in the mid-1860s  United States wanted to support their independence  However Spain wanted to gain control of Cuba again  There was a mysterious explosion on the USS Maine in the Havana harbor

4. Spanish American War  McKinley used “yellow journalism” to try and start the war  Use of sensationalism and exaggeration  McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war  Congress declared war on April 25, 1898  McKinley asked for volunteers to fight in the war

5. Splendid Little War  One of the most favorable wars in American history since the Revolutionary War  Teddy Roosevelt called the war a “Splendid Little War” because of its short time period  Only lasted 16 weeks  2,500 died from mainly diseases like yellow fever  $250 million spent on the war

6. Events of the War  An army of regular troops and volunteers under Gen. William Shafter and including Theodore Roosevelt and his 1st Volunteer Cavalry, the “Rough Riders” landed on the coast east of Santiago and slowly advanced on the city in an effort to force Cervera’s fleet out of the harbour.  Cervera led his squadron out of Santiago on July 3 and tried to escape westward along the coast.  In the ensuing battle all of his ships came under heavy fire from U.S. guns and were beached in a burning or sinking condition.  Santiago surrendered to Shafter on July 17, thus effectively ending the war.

7. End of the War  On August 12, Spain surrendered  By the Treaty of Paris (signed Dec. 10, 1898), Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000.  The effects of the war was a turning point for Spain and America  Spain turned away from overseas colonial prospects  United States emerged as a world power and major player in international arena

8. Platt Amendment  Sponsored by Republican senator Orville Platt in 1901  Cuba was required to provide land for American bases  To devote national revenues to pay back debts to the US  To sign a treaty that would be detrimental to American interests and to acknowledge the right of the US to intervene at any time to protect its interests in Cuba

9. War in the Philippines  President McKinley sent 5,000 troops to occupy Philippines  Main reason was to Christianize and civilize them  At first the Filipinos trusted the Americans at first and then realized that the Americans wanted to take over  Modern warfare broke out  Conquest of the Philippines became a U.S. territory

10. White Man’s Burden  There were many critics against America’s takeover of the Philippines  Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, William Jennings Bryan, Harvard philosopher William James