Station 1 – Background to War & Cuban Revolution

Only 90 miles off the southern coast of Florida, the island nation of Cuba became a source of involvement for the

expansionist United States. America had business interests in Cuba, including roughly $50 million invested in the sugar industry.

Similarly to Hawaii, sugar exports to the U.S. were a major source of income for American sugar farms on the island. Cuba was

controlled by Spain and Cuban rebels had been fighting for independence for decades from Spanish rule. By the 1890s, Spain

had lost all of its colonies except for Cuba, Puerto Rico, the small island of Guam in the Pacific, and the Philippines.

Beginning in 1895, the Cubans launched a revolution against Spanish rule that destroyed American-owned sugar mills,

plantations, and fought Spanish soldiers throughout the island, sending sugar exports to the U.S. plummeting.

To respond to this violent outburst, Spain sent General Valerano “Butcher” Weyler to restore order to the island. Weyler

forced hundreds of thousands of Cubans into “reconcentration” camps to isolate them from Cuban rebels. Up to 25% of the

island’s population died in these camps due to the horrifying conditions that bred hunger, starvation, and disease.

Back in the U.S., public opinion was split – many business people wanted the U.S. to get involved to protect their

investments, and others compared Cuba’s struggle for independence to the American Revolution, with Spain playing the role of

Great Britain, and the Cuban rebels playing the American colonists. Newly elected President William McKinley would have to

make a decision on U.S. involvement.

Station 1 – Background to War & Cuban Revolution

LET GO OF HIM, MCKINLEY!

Station 2 – The Maine Explosion

During the revolution that had erupted on the island in Cuba in 1895, the U.S. Navy sent the U.S.S. Maine to Havana,

Cuba. The purpose of the Maine’s voyage to Havana was to show support and protection for the American business interests in

the sugar industry in Cuba and to protect American lives and property.

On February 15, 1898, the Maine mysteriously exploded, killing 260 American officers and crew. At the time, no one

was sure why the ship had exploded. Most Americans believed the Spanish had blown up the Maine, but there was no evidence

to prove responsibility. Others believed it may have been Cuban rebels hoping to draw America into the war to help liberate them

from Spanish rule.

A naval board was created to investigate the incident and soon concluded that a mine had caused the explosions. The

board did not assign responsibility for the disaster, but many angry Americans still blamed the Spanish. To this day, the cause of

the explosion is still a mystery. Another study in 1976 of the Maine wreckage concluded that an internal accident, probably a

faulty boiler, had caused the explosion.

In response to the explosion of the Maine, Americans demanded firm action and wanted to see the U.S. get involved

against the Spanish in Cuba. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” became a popular rallying cry for American war hawks.

Station 2 – The Maine Explosion

Picture illustrating the explosion of the Maine in Havana’s harbor.

Station 3 – Yellow Journalism

At the end of the 1800s, most people in America got their news from newspapers. The two most widely read papers were the New York Journal published by editor William Randolph Hearst and the New York World published by editor Joseph Pulitzer.

These two papers chronicled the events leading up to the Spanish-American War, including the atrocities of the Spanish forcing Cubans into the reconcentration camps where thousands died of hunger, starvation, and disease. The papers also wrote about the explosion of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana’s harbor.

Both of these papers used a style of news reporting called “yellow journalism” to boost sales of their newspapers. Large, shocking headlines and illustrations, along with sensational stories that relied more on appealing to readers’ emotions rather than basing stories off of facts characterized this style of news reporting. When reporting on the Cuban struggle for independence, the papers only used Cuban sources of information and refused to use any Spanish sources, which led to bias.

At times, yellow journalists made up stories of Spanish cruelty and atrocities in Cuba when they did not exist to sway public opinion toward supporting American military involvement in Cuba. William Randolph Hearst was alleged to have said “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”

Station 3 – Yellow Journalism

New York World front page,

February 17, 1898

Station 4 – War in the Philippines

Before the United States declared war on Spain on April 20, 1898, Theodore Roosevelt (who was then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy) sent secret orders to Navy Commodore George Dewey to prepare the six U.S. warships under Dewey’s command to prepare for battle should a war between Spain and the U.S. break out. Dewey’s ships were stationed at the port of Hong Kong off the coast of China, only a few days sail to the nearby Philippine islands that were under Spanish control.

When war between the U.S. and Spain was declared, Commodore Dewey ordered his fleet to steam to Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, to destroy the Spanish fleet that was docked there. On May 1, Dewey’s fleet attacked the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. The American ships were more modern, with iron and steel hulls compared to the dated wooden Spanish ships. In a matter of seven hours, U.S. fleet had destroyed all ten of the Spanish ships and won a decisive victory. Not a single American casualty was recorded.

Despite his success at sea, Dewey could not storm the capital city of Manila with his sailors, so he blockaded the city and waited for ground troops. When 11,000 American reinforcements arrived, they were aided by Filipino rebel Emilio Aguinaldo, who sought to liberate the Philippines from Spanish rule. With the help of Aguinaldo and his rebels, the Spanish forces in the Philippines surrendered and the U.S. captured Manila on August 13, 1898.

Despite Aguinaldo’s desire to liberate the Filipinos from Spanish rule, the U.S. did not grant the Philippines independence as Aguinaldo had believed. The Philippines would remain under U.S. control for the next several decades until after World War II.

Station 4 – War in the Philippines

Picture illustrating the naval Battle of Manila in the Philippines,

May 1, 1898.

Station 5 – War in Cuba

After the United States had declared war on Spain on April 20, 1898, the main focus of the U.S. military had first been in the Philippines--thousands of miles away from Cuba in the Caribbean--which had been under Spanish control. After the U.S. won a decisive victory in the Philippines, the U.S. turned its attention to Spanish-controlled Cuba. The U.S. Navy began hostilities with a naval blockade of Cuba.

Although the U.S. had demonstrated its superior naval capabilities in the Philippines, the U.S. army only maintained a small professional force that was aided by a large inexperienced and ill-prepared volunteer force. Despite this handicap, the American army landed in Cuba in June 1898 and began to converge on the port city of Santiago.

With the combined efforts of both the African American Buffalo Soldiers and Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, the army was able to secure a victory at San Juan Hill, outside the city of Santiago. The Rough Riders were a volunteer cavalry regiment that Teddy Roosevelt had given up his job as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to lead. The Buffalo Soldiers and Rough Riders made a dramatic uphill charge at San Juan Hill to clear the way for the ground and naval assault of Santiago. Spanish troops surrendered on July 17, 1898, less than a month after U.S. troops had landed in Cuba.

Although the military enjoyed success in Cuba, soldiers faced harsh circumstances, including the spread of yellow fever and malaria, as well as the effects of rotten meat (think back to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle) supplied to the army. During the entire war, 385 Americans were killed in action compared to more than 5,000 who died from diseases and food poisoning.

Station 5 – War in Cuba

This picture shows a widely-reproduced and famous

fictionalized version of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough

Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill. Although they

were trained as cavalry, the unit’s horses arrived after

the battle.

This picture is of Teddy Roosevelt (pictured with

glasses, just to left of flag) and his Rough Riders unit

after the Battle of San Juan Hill. Most of the men

consisted of college athletes, cowboys, and ranchers.

Station 6 – Effects & Outcomes of War

After the United States enjoyed quick, significant victories in both the Philippines and Cuba against the Spanish, the U.S. and Spain signed a cease-fire agreement on August 12, 1898. This agreement came after only 15 weeks of fighting, demonstrating what a clear victory this was for the U.S. The Secretary of State John Hay described the conflict as “a splendid little war.”

On December 10, 1898, the U.S. and Spain met in Paris to agree on a treaty. At the peace talks, Spain freed Cuba and turned over the islands of Guam in the Pacific and Puerto Rico in the West Indies to the U.S. Spain also sold the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million.

There was significant debate in the U.S. over the terms of the Treaty and the new imperialist policy by the United States. Those who argued against annexation (taking control of) the Philippines felt that it violated the Declaration of Independence by denying the right of other territories to govern themselves.

President William McKinley attempted to justify this policy and the annexation of the Philippines by stating “there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all [the Philippine Islands], and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them.” Most of the Filipinos, however, had been Christian for centuries.

When the U.S. Senate approved the Treaty on February 6, 1899, the annexation question was settled and the U.S. was set on a course of imperialism. It now had an empire that included Hawaii, Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. With this empire, the United States emerged as a world power and expanded its role and influence across the globe.

Station 6 – Effects & Outcomes of War

WELL, I HARDLY KNOW WHICH TO TAKE FIRST!