Chapter 18 Section 2 Guided Reading

Causes: How did each of these contribute to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War?

1) American business owners-

2) Jose Marti- A Cuban poet and journalist living in New York who started a revolution 1895. He used an active guerrilla campaign and deliberately destroyed properties, primarily of American sugar mills and plantations, organizing Cubans against Spain, in order to provoke American intervention.

3) Valeriano Weyler- Spain sent General Valeriano Weyler to restore order in Cuba. He attempted to stop the rebellion by forcing the whole rural population into concentration camps, where thousand of Cubans died and a total of 300,000 resided. Civilians could not give help to rebels when they were in these camps.

4) Yellow journalism- Yellow journalism is a method of propaganda, which was used by the newspaper tycoons who headed the New York World and the New York Journal. It wildly exaggerated accounts of Weyler's cruelty, with stories of poisoned wells and children thrown to sharks. This lured and enraged readers, as it was supposed to do, and increased American sympathy for the Cuban cause.

5) De Lome letter- The New York Journal printed a letter written by the Spanish minister to the U.S., Enrique Dupuy de Lome. In the letter, he attacked president McKinley, who had been attempting to resolve the conflict with Spain peacefully, seeking to avoid war. He had succeeded in getting Spain to recall Weyler and give Cuba limited self-government. However, in the letter, he called McKinley "weak" and "a bidder for the admiration of the crowd". The Spanish government apologised and the minister stepped down, but Americans were insulted.

6) U.S.S. Maine- Just a few days after the scandal of the de Lome letter, American resentment towards Spain was deepening, and became outrage. The U.S.S. Maine had been sent to Cuba in order to bring American citizens home who were in danger from fighting and to protect American property. The ship blew up in the harbor of Havana, and more 260 men were killed. American newspapers claimed the the Spanish had blown up the ship, which further contributed the the outrage felt by Americans.


Effects: What happened to each of these territories as a result of the Spanish-American War?

7) Cuba: The Rough Riders, a voluntary cavalry with the assistance of American troops, won the battle of San Juan Hill, which was strategically important. 2 days later, the Spanish fleet attempted to escape, and a naval battle ensued. The Spanish fleet was destroyed, and in the treaty of Paris, it was freed and given to the U.S.
8) Puerto Rico: Was given to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris.
9)Guam: Was given to the U.S. in the Treaty of Paris.
10) Philippine Islands: The Philippine Islands were the first places the Americans went in the war. Commodore George Dewey gave the command to open fire on the Spanish fleet at Manila, the capital of the Philippines, and within hours the U.S. had destroyed every Spanish ship there. As a result of the victory, U.S. troops were able to land in the Philippines, and just months later, Spanish troops in Manila surrendered to the U.S. Were sold to the U.S. for $20 million in the Treaty of Paris.