The Spanish American War(Unit V Power Point 3)

How a short, four-month war turned the United

States into a world power

GoalsBy the end of this power point presentation you should be able to:

1. Identify the island of Cuba on a map

2. Name at least two causes for the S-A war

3. Understand the significance of the U.S.S. Maine

4. Explain how the U.S. was able to win the war

5. Explain how the S-A War resulted in the U.S. emerging as a world power

Cuba – The Country

Cuba is an island nation only 90 miles off the southern tip of Florida. It is about the same size as Pennsylvania and has about 11 million people living on it today.

Background By 1898 Cuba and

Puerto Rico were the only two colonies left in Spain’s 300-year-old empire in the Western Hemisphere

In its heydey (1500 – 1750), the Spanish government had grown rich off of its trade in the Americas. Now it could barely hold onto Cuba and Puerto Rico.

Native peoples resent colonialism and mercantilism

With the American Revolution (1774-81) as an example, many native peoples in the western hemisphere wanted to be free of colonial powers.

Native peoples of Cuba and Puerto Rico wanted their independence from Spain by 1890.

Revolution breaks out By 1895 Cubans

were openly rebelling against their Spanish masters

Guerilla warfare became a popular method for hitting back at the Spanish

Cuban guerillas in 1895

Americans become uneasy and fascinated at the revolution in Cuba

By 1898 the United States had millions of dollars of capital invested in plantations and farms in Cuba

American investors and entrepreneurs were making lots of money on tobacco, sugar and fruit in Cuba

U.S. newspapers fed the public’s fascination with Cuba’s revolution

U.S. newspapers owned by Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst began to sensationalize stories about the Cuban revolution in order to sell more papers

This sensationalizing of the news at the expense of the truth became known as “yellow journalism”.

The name comes from the “Yellow Kid” comics that were printed in papers to attract attention.

The “Yellow Kid”

“Yellow journalism” convinced the American public that the U.S. must do something in Cuba

U.S. reporters and cartoonists began to report on daily atrocities committed by Spanish officials against the Cuban people

A popular political cartoon against Spain in Cuba

BUT…Yellow Journalism sacrifices truth

for newspaper sales American Artist

Frederick Remington was sent to cover the Cuban Rebellion in 1898. When he wired his boss, New York Journal publisher William Randolph Hearst, that nothing was going on, Hearst wired back and stated: “You furnish the pictures. I’ll furnish the war”. The result was that Remington began sending back sensationalized (and untrue) accounts of the Cuban rebellion.

William Randolph Hearst

An Example of “Yellow Journalism”

Remington complied with Hearst’s request. Hearst’s “NY Journal” newspaper published an Remington’s drawing of Spanish officials strip-searching a Cuban girl on board a US ship in Cuba. This picture enraged the American public, even though later accounts revealed that this incident never happened.

This was a drawing by Frederick Remington that was published in US newspapers and started an uproar

But Yellow Journalism wasn’t the only cause of the Spanish-American War.

A letter was intercepted from a Spanish government official (Enrique Dupuy De Lome) and published in NY newspapers

In the letter De Lome calls President McKinley “weak” and accuses him of “catering to the rabble”.

This infuriated Americans Enrique Dupuy Delome

Americans now demand that President McKinley do something The American

public demands that President McKinley send a strong message to Spain that the U.S. does not like it bloodily suppressing the Cuban people

President William McKinley

McKinley decides to send the US battleship “Maine” to Cuba

McKinley decides to show off US power and resolve and sends the USS Maine battleship to Cuba to protect American citizens and property and to send a warning to Spain

The USS Maine

The Maine enters Havana harbor

The USS Maine entered Havana harbor and anchored in sight of the Spanish and Cuban people on January 25, 1898.

The Maine mysteriously blows up On February 15,

1898, the USS Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor

Many people claimed it was an accident, but the US newspapers blamed Spain for the explosion

Artist’s rendition of the USS Maine exploding

US Newspapers have a field day

Many American newspapers, without any evidence or investigation, automatically blame the Spanish for the explosion of the USS Maine. It was “Yellow Journalism” at its worst.

“Remember the Maine” President McKinley is

now under intense pressure to declare war on Spain

On April 25, 1898, President McKinley asked Congress to declare war on Spain

A picture of the wreckage of the Maine as it lies sunk in the shallow waters of Havana Harbor. Note the water washing over decks that had previously

been 30 feet above water.

War fever grips the U.S.

EVERYBODY wants to get into the fight against the Spanish

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt senses an opportunity and creates his own army unit to go fight in Cuba

TR calls the unit the “Rough Riders” A picture of TR (in middle) with his “Rough Riders”

The US Navy is first to score a victory in the war Sensing that war was

imminent, Roosevelt (as Asst Sec of Navy) cabled Commodore George Dewey in the Pacific and ordered him to prepare to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines if war breaks out. Roosevelt did this before he left his Navy job to fight the Spanish

Commodore George Dewey

Dewey defeats Spanish Fleet in Philippines May 1, 1898 – The

US Navy’s Asiatic squadron, commanded by Dewey, sailed into Manila Harbor in the Philippines at dawn and attacked the anchored Spanish fleet

A romanticized painting of Dewey defeating the Spanish

The Spanish Fleet was destroyed By noon, the entire

Spanish fleet had been destroyed in the Philippines with the loss of only one American life

Spain’s control of the Philippines was slipping fast

A Spanish naval wreck in Manila Bay. Note that it is upside down with the propeller sticking out of the

water to the left

Yellow Journalism continues

US newspapers, especially the New York newspapers, continued to scream fantastic headlines in an attempt to sell more and more newspapers

On the other side of the world, the war was heating up in Cuba

US troops were now beginning to sail to Cuba and Puerto Rico to fight the Spanish – though they were poorly prepared

The most famous battle was LTC Teddy Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” charging up San Juan Hill

A glamorized account of Teddy Roosevelt charging up Kettle Hill – which reporters changed to “San Juan Hill” to make it sound more Spanish.

The war was over quickly. By December 1898 the US and Spain had signed

a peace treaty ending the Spanish American War

As illustrated on this map, there were very few battles that were fought in the Spanish American War

Results of the Spanish American War

As a result of the Spanish American War:

1. The US now became a world power2. Spain ceased to be a great power3. The US gained “colonies” in the

Philippines and in Cuba and Puerto Rico

4. US dominance in the western hemisphere was complete

The decision now must be made

President McKinley now must decide as to whether or not he wants to keep the Philippines and Cuba as colonies or grant them their independence

A political cartoon showing the difficult choice President McKinley must make in deciding whether to annex the

Philippines. Note that Lady Justice is pulling back a curtain to show Filipino war dead.

US Assumes the “White Man’s Burden”

Urged on by an open letter (poem) by British poet Rudyard Kipling, President McKinley decides to annex the Philippines to “civilize” the Filipino people.

US soldiers in the Philippines firing on Filipino insurgents

The Philippines

The Philippines are a series of islands off the coast of China that are so valuable because of their location next to it. They have many deep water harbors perfect for naval bases.

The Father of “Benevolent Imperialism”

British poet Rudyard Kipling was born and raised in the British colony of India. After leaving India to be schooled in England, Kipling became convinced that it was the responsibility of White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant countries like England and the United States to “civilize” countries in Africa and Asia. He believed that, to do this, civilized nations had to take over the uncivilized nations and help them.

British Poet Rudyard Kipling