The Spanish-American war was a ten week conflict, fought on the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean, between the US and Spain. It was pressured to happen because of the neglect on Cuba by the Spaniards. The US declared war not only to help the oppressed Cubans but also to expand.
Near the beginning of the 20th century there were many expansionists in America, wanting to reach out to other continents on the other side of the pacific. This had been a goal for the US for several years, the last couple presidents had offered to buy Cuba from Spain. In 1868 the people of Cuba started trying for their independence. Ten years later Spain promised an increased economy, but did not deliver. Spain did not want to lose Cuba for it was a valuable part of their economy and the political stability.
the US did not respond right away but instead was reluctant to get involved, however newspapers started running stories, saying that the Catholic Spanish empire was backward and the union was built on enslaved natives and stolen gold. By 1895 there was a second revolt by the Cuba’s. At this time over 90 percent of Cuba’s export were to the US, including sugar, cattle, mining and tobacco. Spain set 278,000 troops to stop the rebelling, nearly 50,000 died of yellow fever by 1898. A force of 30,000 fought against this army using guerrilla warfare. Through re-concentration Spanish soldiers attempted to put an end to the revolution but destroying the crops that fed the rebels. The US was very upset by this uncivil and illegal strategy. Journalists continued to print comics and article about these crimes, which fueled public outrage.
Urged by the press for military action president William McKinley sent the battle ship maine, hoping that just its presence would stop the violence. However the Maine exploded in the Havana harbor. After a month of speculation a naval investigator blamed the exposition on the Spanish. Soon after this, McKinley again asked Spain to give independence to Cuba, and when Spain did not agree, the president got approval for the Teller amendment from congress, stating that military force would be used to put the Cuban citizens in control of their government.
