The Spanish-American War

What was it good for?

American Empire● Manifest Destiny

○ By Late 1880s, completed.

○ The “Wild West” no longer existed

○ What’s next■ Expansion

● European Colonialism○ Berlin Conference

1884■ Carving up Africa

○ US Late to the game

How to build an empire?

● The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 by Alfred Thayer Mahan○ Discusses how Great Britain was able to build an

empire based on its Naval Power○ U.S. policy makers thought this would work for U.S.

interests as well○ http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13529/13529-

h/13529-h.htm● In order to make the U.S. a world naval

power they needed an empire○ Why? ○ Coaling stations to resupply their ships

Building the Empire

● Hawaii○ 1875: Reciprocity

agreement with the United States■ Binded Hawaii to the U.

S. Economy○ 1893: American sugar

growers on the island overthrew the Hawaiian Monarchy under Queen Liluokalani, put a republic in its place and asked for annexation from the U.S.

○ 1898: U.S. annexes Hawaii

Building an Empire

● Samoa○ 1872: U.S. acquired the harbor of Pago Pago○ 1899: the Samoan islands were divided between the

United States and Germany

Building an Empire

The War

Main Causes1. The Desire for the Spanish Naval Bases in the

Pacific2. Yellow Journalism

a. Many historians have judged this to be the most important cause3. Anger caused by the Spanish Concentration Camps

of the Cubans4. The de Lome letter

a. A letter written by a Spanish minister to a friend in Washingtonb. Called McKinley a “Spineless Politician”

5. The Explosion of the Maine

The Ground War

● Rough Riders○ Roosevelt’s Cavalry unit

● Battle of San Juan Hill ○ Major military action, led to

Roosevelt being declared a hero

● 5,000 Americans died, 400 of which were in battle○ the rest were because of

poor food and sanitary conditions and malaria

Consequences of the War

1. The war marked the end of the Spanish empire in the Americas started by Columbus

2. The acquisition of possessions in the Pacific immediately made the United States active in the affairs of the Pacific region

3. The United States was recognized as a world power

4. The war brought together the North and South for the first time since the Civil War, healing some of the mental wounds