The
Spanish-American war is an interesting topic which we are studying for
social studies. We watched a 40 minute documentary posted on Youtube, where we
got the bulk of our information along with other side websites used for
additional information. This war is to me the most interesting topic we have
learned about and shows how territory’s and empires expand.
In the early 16th century the Spanish empire was expanding quickly. The Spanish had over three quarters of the land in the Americas. From the time of the very early 1600s to 1898 the Spanish empire shrunk and withered until their only remaining colonies in the New World were Cuba and Puerto Rico.
In 1895 the people of Cuba wanted to become free from the Spanish. The people of the United States were all supporters of freedom and independence, and wanted to support the Cuban rebels. Thus, the US president William McKinley sent a new, improved, steel ship named the USS Maine to watch the waters of Cuba and protect the American people living there.
Only 94 of
the 350 men survived and most were in horrific shape. That was good news for
only one group of people, the Americans in Cuba. They believed that if the USS
Maine exploded and the Americans blamed it on the Spanish, then the United
States would annihilate the Spanish and they would gain freedom. At that same
time, the US had intercepted a letter from a Spanish official calling the USA
and their president weak and cowardly. The US demanded an apology at once but
never received one. The people of the United States felt insulted and demanded
war against the Spanish.
William McKinley then wrote a private letter to the governor, who set up a panel of judges to inspect the wreck and decide if the Spanish were responsible for the explosion. On March 28 they released the final report, saying that the Spanish were indeed the ones to blame for the wreck of the USS Maine. People of the United States were furious and were ready to go to war with Spain. The next day, Spain set up its own team of judges and concluded that the ship wreck was an accident caused by the crew members. Newspapers soon discredited the conclusion as a ‘’ fish story’’ due to the lack of information to which the Spanish had access, and sensationalized the event and its aftermath.
This map shows the movements of the Spanish army and the United States army during the war against each other. |
76 Years Later
Over the years many major History organizations have conducted research and panels of people to find out the cause of the mysterious explosion of the USS Maine. They have concluded that the most plausible explanation to what caused the catastrophe was, indeed, a spontaneous combustion.
Conclusion
Sometimes
people have ideas that they believe in strongly and they sometimes bend or
ignore what all the facts are saying. That is exactly what happened in the
Spanish-American War. This led the United States to expand its territory, and caused
Spain to lose most of its land.
Time Line of events from 1895-1898
1895: The Cuban people revolted against the Spanish rule and wanted independence.
Early 1898: The USS Maine was sent over to Cuba to protect the American people living there
February 9, 1898: William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper reporter, intercepted a letter that was written by the Spanish and insulted the United States and president McKinley
February 15, 1898: The USS Maine exploded
April 11, 1898: The US congress declares war on the Spanish
May, 1898: The Rough Riders win San Juan hill in Puerto Rico
July 3, 1898: The battle of Santiago in Cuba was when the U.S navy decided that they had successfully defeated the Spanish
July 17, 1898: General William Shafter forces the people of Santiago to surrender
August 13,1898: US troops capture Manilla, ending the war
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N21Ihs8_Uqs (History Channel documentary, 2015)
http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/navalbattles1800s/p/ussmaine.htm
https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/spanishAmWar.html
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/USS_Maine_ACR-1_in_Havana_harbor_before_explosion_1898.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/USS_Maine_ACR-1_in_Havana_harbor_before_explosion_1898.jpg