Spanish American War Research Paper

1. The Spanish American War which took place in 1898 - The Spanish American War portrayed America's rise and decline of the European powers. The war also led to America gaining territories and colonies in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean (the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, The Marianas and a host of other territories). The possession of the Philippines in particular led to permanent American involvement in Asian affairs.

American journalists reported what was happening and Americans became enraged at Spain. The Yellow Press exaggerated what was happening in Cuba, which made Americans more man than they probably should have bee. Spain decided to give limited sovereignty to Cuba, but the USA did not agree with this; the USA said Spain should fully withdraw from Cuba. President William McKinley did not want to go to war, but a large portion of America wanted to help the Cubans. On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States of America.

The U.S. newspapers quickly shoved the blame onto Spain. American people all over the country wanted to declare war upon Spain. The Yellow Press made sure to make and use every opportunity they had to inflame the situation beyond proportion. It was led by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. The two men were supported by hawkish senators and also the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt (Cavendish).

The Spanish American war of 1898 was primarily based on sugar and land, but none the less, also for freedom and rights for the blacks and mulatto minority. A war consisting of Cuba, Philippines island, Puerto Rico, Guam, and other islands. This war included many men such as Major Rowan and General Calixto Garcia. As a

The Spanish-American war commenced with the Wilson- Gorman Tariff, 1894. The American tariff on sugar imports hurt the Cuba's economy that was manufactured sugar. Angry nationalists (insurrection) revolted against the Spanish Colonial regime. Therefore, Spain sent General Weyler to Cuba to deal with the situation.

The first reason is the main reason the U.S joined the Spanish-American war is territory and resources. According to a document by Jason Colby, Spain took control of Cuba, the Philippines Islands, and Puerto Rico. The U.S was worried that

When?- The Spanish-American War was first declared by the Spanish on April 24, 1898, the following the day April 25 the U.S declared war. However, the first attack was not made until May 1, 1898 when George Dewey led the U.S. to Manila Bay. The U.S. destroyed all the Spanish’ ships there and 381 Spanish soldiers died. This has been called the Battle of Manila Bay. The Spanish-American War’s last battle was on August 13, 1898, and it was in Puerto Rico.

Most people found out through the headlines and topics of newspapers that were printed daily for the people and found that they could understand them in their fight for their freedom. Another cause that helped fuel this war was thanks to yellow journalism in newspapers, it caused many people to feel anger and hatred for spain, making Americans more thirsty for war. People making newspapers realised that all these made up stories helped make them more money, all of the fabricated, lies, and over-exaggerated headlines and stories could bring them more profit, thus initiating the start of Yellow Journalism to an extreme extent. Some of the main people that practiced Yellow Journalism was Joseph Pullitzer and William R. Hearst. These two men were enmeshed in a vicious public war.

The first is the leak of DeLome Letter from Spanish minister in Washington, Dupuy du Lome [1] to the press. This letter criticized President McKinley for being “weak” and labelled him as a “would-be politician” and a “jingoist” [2]. This letter was considered an insult to the president and the nation and further outraged the Americans toward Spain. The second immediate cause is the explosion of U.S.S Maine in Havana harbor which killed 2 officers and 258 crewmen. Even though the culprit behind this was unknown, the Yellow Journalism had successfully shaped public opinions to blame Spain for this incident and to demand the war with Spain.

Journalists proclaimed that the attack was an act of sabotage by Spain which gave United States a reason to declare war on them. The Spanish-American war proceeded for about ten weeks with United States assisting in Cuba’s liberation from Spanish control; however, the victory exhibited many challenges to the navy since the ships were untested. The first confrontation with the Spanish fleet successfully occurred in the Philippines by August 1899; subsequently,

Through newspapers, American citizens were able to watch their country flourish. These newspapers thrived under the two most powerful men, Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst. In a way to create more diverse newspapers, Pulitzer and Hearst simplified the language in their papers and added more pictures, so that they could be read by the foreigners and the uneducated (The 1899 New York Newsboys’ Strike). This strategy allowed publishers to raise their prices to “unprecedented” levels. This strategy caused circulation figures around 360,000.

the United States used propaganda targeting humanitarian concerns to incite the public to declare war. As Americans were interested in the Cuban Revolution, sensational journalism only raised tensions between the United States and the Spanish monarchy, which would help cause the war. While General Weyler

They decided to join after the explosion of the Battleship Maine and also the seen the power advances if they won. The yellow journalism did not make it any better with their manipulated public opinions which were mostly fiction. The year of 1898 was the beginning of the United States imperialistic views in which they seen after they won. With their newly gained control of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines they started to improve their businesses and took more control over them. They helped improved Cuba’s sugar production and education system.

To start off, publishers did not tell the public what they did not want them to know, and they also persuaded opinions. From an article titled, “Joseph Pulitzer,” it reads, “Yellow journalism on the part of both papers helped inflame public opinion in favor of war against Spain in 1898” (McGuire and Leslie). This is a demonstration of how yellow journalism persuaded the public to all think the same way. By doing this, the publishers hoped they could lead everyone to think the way powerful people thought.

Journal of War Spanish-American War Title: Spanish-American War Location: Cuba and surrounding ocean Dates: April 1898 - December 1898 Underlying Causes: Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain. Immediate Cause: Sinking of USS Maine Leaders (with bios): • Spanish Political: Prime Minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta: Liberal politician, agreed to constitution for Puerto Rico and Cuba that gave both countries more freedom. Often blamed for Spain's loss of territories. • Spanish Navy: Admiral Pascual Cervera y topete: After graduating from a naval cadet school, he engaged in operations near Morocco, the Sulu Islands, and the Philippines.