Spanish–American War
Conflict that ended Spanish empire and launched U.S. overseas power.
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The war marked the end of nearly four centuries of Spanish presence in the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific.[1] Hostilities between Spain and the United States occurred from April 21 through August 13, 1898.[1]
Life and work
Congress passed a joint resolution on April 20 demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing military force.[2] The U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay on May 1.[3] U.S. forces landed in Cuba on June 10 and captured Santiago de Cuba on July 17.[3] The war formally ended with the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, which ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S..[4]
A rebellion against Spanish authority was initiated by Cuban nationalists in 1895, and colonial forces put it down with great severity.[5] General Valeriano Weyler, who was called "the Butcher," was sent by Spain to replace the more reluctant Governor-General Martínez Campos.[6] To safeguard American citizens, the armored cruiser USS Maine was dispatched to Havana in January 1898.[7] A huge blast in Havana Harbor caused the Maine to sink at 9:40 P.M. on February 15, 1898, resulting in 260 sailors killed.[8]
William McKinley, the U.S. President, requested that Congress grant him the power to stop the fighting in Cuba on April 11, 1898.[2] The transfer of the Philippines to the U.S. required a $20 million payment from the U.S. to Spain.[4]
What the cited sources add
The U.S. State Department account notes that the war ended Spain's colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the U.S. as a Pacific power.[2] A review by Jonathan Krohn explains that by the time Americans arrived in 1898, Cuban revolutionaries could no longer effectively resist, but political changes in Spain prevented the Spanish from exploiting this.[9] Krohn also notes that most newspaper reporters relied on Cuban nationals in New York or Miami for often untrue information.[9] The U.S. State Department account describes the first battle as occurring on May 1 in Manila Bay, where Commodore George Dewey's squadron defeated the Spanish naval force.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Herring, "From Colony to Superpower: US Foreign Relations Since 1776", Oxford University Press, 2008-10-28, p. 299–336 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "The Spanish-American War, 1898", Historian of the U.S. State Department, n.d.. facts only, no text reused. history.state.gov
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Military Book Reviews", StrategyPage.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benjamin R. Beede, "The War of 1898 and US Interventions, 1898T1934: An Encyclopedia", Taylor & Francis, 2013, p. 289; . (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Spanish-American War, 1898", Historian of the U.S. State Department, n.d.; W. Joseph Campbell, Yellow journalism: Puncturing the myths, defining the legacies (2001). (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Concentration camps existed long before Auschwitz". facts only, no text reused. smithsonianmag.com
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Spanish–American War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: US Surgeon General, "Annual report of the Surgeon General of the US Navy 1898", Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, 1896, p. 173; "The Destruction of USS Maine", Naval History and Heritage Command; "The Destruction of USS Maine", Naval History and Heritage Command (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Jonathan Krohn, "Review of Tone, John Lawrence, War and Genocide in Cuba 1895–1898. "H-War, H-Net Reviews." May 2008. online. facts only, no text reused. h-net.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Spanish–American War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Spanish–American War (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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