Spanish American War

Deal or No Deal

US Interest in Cuba

William L. Marcy, US Secretary of State (1853-1857)

“Our minister at Madrid, during the Administration of President Polk, was instructed to ascertain if Spain was disposed to transfer Cuba to the United States for a liberal pecuniary consideration.” July 23, 1853

James Buchanan, 15th President (1857-1861)

“I reiterate [my] recommendation ... in favor of the acquisition of Cuba from Spain by fair purchase. I firmly believe that such an acquisition would contribute essentially to the well-being and prosperity of both countries in all future time.” State of the Union

December 3, 1860

Timeline Activity

Argued for:• Building the Panama Canal• Obtaining bases in the

Caribbean• Building maritime commerce• Building a navy to protect

commerce and prevent blockade

• Obtaining overseas colonies for refueling and repair

Jose Marti (1853-1895)

Exiled Cuban Nationalist

• Published newspaper La Patria Libre (Free Fatherland) in 1869

• Arrested and sentenced to six year hard labor; released and exiled from Cuba

• Founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party• Killed in a skirmish in Cuba

William Randolph Hearst Publisher, New York Journal & San Francisco Examiner

• Didn't mind fabricating stories - goal was 1 million subscribers.– “You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war”

• Published pictures showing how Spanish saboteurs had fastened an underwater mine to the Maine

Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911)Publisher, New York World & St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• At thirty-six, purchased the New York World• Sent divers to investigate the wreck of the Maine• Battled for readers with William Randolph Hearst• Endowed the school of journalism at Columbia

University in New York City

Annexation of HawaiiAnnexation of Hawaii

General Valeriano Weyler y NicolauGovernor & Commander-in-Chief,Spanish Army in Cuba

“The Butcher”

• Relocated (herded) more than 300,000 rebels into "reconcentration camps,

• Bad and inadequate food and lack of sanitation killed thousands of peasants– ~50,000 in Havana province alone– Cuban émigrés publicized Weyler's inhumanity and won the sympathy

in the U.S.

Theodore RooseveltAssistant Secretary of the Navy

• The Naval War of 1812, set the standard for studies on naval strategy and was required reading at the Naval Academy

• Befriended Alfred Thayer Mahan

"the liveliest spot in Washington...is the Navy Department. The decks are cleared for action. Acting Secretary Roosevelt....has the whole Navy bordering on a war footing.”

New York Sun

DeLome Letter• Written by the Spanish Ambassador to the

United States

• Criticized President McKinley:– “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the

crowd”– “a would-be politician”

• Published in the New York Journal - helped generate public support for a war with Spain

Sinking of the Maine

"You may fire when your are ready, Gridley""You may fire when your are ready, Gridley"

Commodore George Dewey sank the entire Spanish squadron in six hours in Manila Bay, the Philippines Islands.

Rough Riders

Platt Amendment

• Approved May 22, 1903

• U.S. - Cuba Treaty: attempted to protect Cuba's independence from foreign intervention

• Permitted extensive U.S. involvement in Cuban international and domestic affairs to enforce Cuban independence

Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine

• All that this country desires is to see the neighboring countries stable, orderly and prosperous....Chronic wrongdoing, or an impotence which results in a general loosening of the ties of civilized society, may in America, as elsewhere, ultimately require intervention...[and] force the United States, however reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such wrongdoing or impotence, to the exercise of an internal police power.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick”

Bibliography• http://www.spanamwar.com• http://www.ourdocuments.gov• http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/• http://www.historyofcuba.com/• http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/remember.html• http://www.zpub.com/cpp/saw.html• http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches• http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/• http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc• http://thebsreport.wordpress.com/2009/06/12/quote-of-the-

day-theodore-roosevelt/

Spanish American War

Deal or No Deal