Transcript Sanish AMerican War

The Story of the Spanish
American War
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
Cuba
Puerto Rico
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 “reconcentration,” 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 sympathic towards the
Cubans.
Leading to American support of
the Cuban revolt.
Meanwhile back in
the United States…
• 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…
• 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 24.
• President McKinley
signs US declaration on
April 23rd.