Spanish American War Essay

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Introduction On April 25th, 1898, over 5,349 people were killed when the United States of America went to war with Spain. When the war ended it was a very happy day for many, but also a very sad day for others. Why did this happen? What did American and Spain have against each other? What resulted from the war? Causes of the War In the 1800s, Spain had control over a lot of land, like The Philippines Islands, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. But that reign didn't last very long. From 1868 to 1878, Cuba started to rebel against Spain to gain independence. This was called the Cuba War of Independence. However, after these ten years, the war was ended with no good results for Cuba; Spain still had control. Some years later in the 1890s, Cuba once again …show more content…

During Jose Rizal's absence, Andrés Bonifacio wanted to overthrow Spanish rule and called for the Filipinos to revolt. This was called Grito de Balintawak. In the 1880s and 1890s, Puerto Rico had political parties that wanted more independence, while others wanted to ally with the United States. However, the United States had a main interest in Cuba. In 1896, President Cleveland said that the U.S. might intervene if Spain doesn't end the crisis in Cuba. However in 1897, President McKinley wanted to get more involved after the New York Journal published a letter from the Spanish Minister that was criticizing the President. After the U.S.S Maine mysteriously blew up on February 15, 1898, President McKinley declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898. The fighting began in the Philippines Islands at the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1st. Results of the War-The Treaty of Paris After the war ended, Spain renounced all claim to Cuba, ceded Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for $20,000,000. This was the Treaty of Paris. This was a sad day for the once-proud Spanish rulers. Most of their oversea holdings were given to the United

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