SIMMERING UNREST IN CUBA

By the 1890s Spain’s only colonies in the Western Hemisphere were Puerto Rico and Cuba. Since 1868 Cuba had struggled for independence from Spain. José Martí was one of the leaders of the Cuban independence movement. He was exiled, but continued to promote independence. Martí became one of Cuba’s greatest heroes and was killed in battle. Spain’s ruthless treatment of Cuban civilians shocked Americans.
AMERICANS GET WAR FEVER

Many Americans felt sympathy for the Cubans. The media fed this sympathy in order to sell papers. New York newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer competed for readers. They used an exaggerated style of reporting called yellow journalism. Hearst’s newspaper, the Journal, published a letter from the Spanish minister to the United States. The de Lôme letter, named for its writer, ridiculed President McKinley. Then the Maine, a U. S. battleship, mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor. Americans blamed Spain. On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain.
THE COURSE OF THE WAR

The war lasted about four months. Commodore George Dewey had orders to move the U. S. Navy’s Asiatic Squadron to the Philippines if war was declared. They attacked and destroyed the entire Spanish fleet. Philippine rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo supported the Americans. Spanish forces in the Philippines surrendered on August 14, 1898.

In Cuba, many soldiers were volunteers. The most famous volunteers were the Rough Riders. This was a cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt. African American soldiers of the Ninth and Tenth Cavalries, known as Buffalo Soldiers, also fought in Cuba. In the Battle of San Juan Hill the Buffalo Soldiers led the attack, supported by the Rough Riders. They captured the ridge above the city of Santiago. Two days later the U. S. Navy sank the entire Spanish fleet off Cuba. Spain signed a peace treaty giving up all claims to Cuba. It also gave Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The United States paid $20 million for the Philippines.
ANNEXING THE PHILIPPINES

Some people wanted the United States to annex the Philippines. Other people thought that annexation would be against American ideals. The United States did annex the Philippines, infuriating the Filipinos. For three years Filipino fighters fought the United States. Americans won the war in 1901. The United States said its goal was to prepare the islands for independence. The Philippines finally became independent in 1946.

Question 1: A quick victory in the War gave the United States a new role as a world power.

Question 2: José Martí founded a revolutionary party and tried to free from Spain’s control.

Question 3: Newspapers owned by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer published a style of sensationalist reporting called that caused Americans to support the Cubans’ attempt at independence.

Question 4: When the battleship USS mysteriously blew up in Havana’s harbor and killed 260 sailors, the United States demanded that Spain grant Cuba its independence despite the fact that there was no proof that Spain had anything to do with the tragedy.

Question 5: The Spanish-American War was fought on two fronts: Cuba and the .

Question 6: In the peace treaty that ended the Spanish-American War, the United States gained the Pacific island of Guam, control of the Philippines, and .