Transcript The Story of the Spanish American War

The Story of
the Spanish American War
a.k.a
The SP-AM
Once Upon a Time in a land
not so far away…
• There was a country
called Spain which
had expanded and
owned many
colonies.
• Two of those
colonies were Cuba
and Puerto Rico
Puerto
Rico
Cuba
In Cuba…
• There was a violent
uprising by the
Cubans.
• They wanted their
own land and own
leaders.
• Jose Marti led the
Cuban rebels in a
revolt against
Spain.
However…
• Spain sent General
Valeriano Weyler aka
“The Butcher”
• He set into place the
system of
“re-concentration,”
in which various
fortified areas were
designated, and all
inhabitants were given
eight days to move in,
including cattle and
other animals. Anyone
caught outside was
considered the enemy
and killed.
Life the camps was a death
sentence…
When the Americans heard about
the death camps they felt:
-Sympathetic towards the Cubans.
-Leading to American support of
the Cuban revolt.
Meanwhile back in
the United States…
Joseph Pulitzer
William
Randolph
Hearst
• Two newspapers
were reporting on
the Spanish and
Cuban uprisings.
• Joseph Pulitzer and
William Randolph
Hearst were two
newspaper owners
writing stories about
the revolt.
They used a
tactic called…
• Yellow
Journalism
• When a newspaper
sensationalizes a
story..
The de Lome letter…dundundun
• The letter written by
the Spanish minister
to American stated
that President
McKinley was
“weak”
• This outraged
Americans and
embarrassed Spain
The USS Maine
• The US battleship
Maine arrived in
Havana harbor on
January 25th
• On February 15th
the Maine exploded
and took 260 men
with her.
With this explosion…
• The United States prepared for war.
• On April 20, 1898 Congress issued a resolution
that declared Cuba independent.
Attached to the resolution was the..
• Teller Amendment
• Declaring that the
United States had no
intention of taking over
Cuba.
• Spain declares war on
the US April 24th.
• President McKinley
signs US declaration on
April 23rd.