War+-+Spanish-American+War

//"It has been a splendid little war; begun with the highest motives, carried on with magnificent intelligence and spirit, favored by the fortune which loves the brave."// -John Hay The Spanish-American War occurred during a time of great change in America; with all of its attention being focused internationally, at underdeveloped nations. America began competing with other powerful nations for power and influence in those targeted areas, which eventually led to a full-out war with Spain. **Fought:** April 25. 1898 - August 12, 1898 (it was a very short war!) **Where:** Cuba, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Guam

**Causes of the War:**
 * Cuban Revolution: beginning in 1895, Cubans living under difficult economic conditions began rising up against their Spanish rulers.
 * American newspapers began picking up on the events unfolding in Cuba to great enthusiasm by the masses. that and Cubans living in America rallied up support for the war
 * a letter written by Spanish minister in Washington, Dupuy de Lome, criticizing President McKinley ignited heavy American anger
 * The Maine, an American battleship ordered to Cuba to protect American lives, blew up, supposedly by a Spanish submarine mine

The war was fought in four places: Guam, the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.

Philippines
 * Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt ordered America's Pacific squadron to attack Spanish naval forces in the Philippines
 * America almost immediately destroyed all of Spain's fleets
 * it was during this period that the war changed form being about freeing Cuba to stripping Spain of its colonies
 * America proposed annexation of the Philippines, which produced much debate. Some claimed America now claimed responsibility for the ravished islands, and others said territories so far away would be hard to manage

Cuba (and It's Battle for Independence)
 * the American naval fleet kept a Spanish fleet against the coast of Cuba
 * Roosevelt left his position as Secretary and joined a cavalry unit known as the Rough Riders, which led a charge up Kettle Hill
 * while General Shafter's army was weak from sickness, the Spanish fleet's admiral Cervera feared the effort was hopeless and tried to escape, which resulted in the American squadron destroying his entire fleet

On August 12, an armistice ended the war. In December of that year, The Treaty of Paris was signed and brought a formal end to the war. Spain handed the Philippines over to the U.S. and anti-imperialist groups fervently opposed ratification of the treaty.