The Spanish American War
comparative Essay
883 words
The Spanish American War
Hi I'm doing my report on the Spanish American War. In the following pages I will be giving information on how and why the war started, major battles, and the results of the war. I will also include stories from people on the battleship Maine.
Introduction The Spanish American War marked the emergence of the United States of America as a world power. The war which lasted only 10 weeks between April and August of 1898 took place over the liberation of Cuba. In the course of the war the U.S. won Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands. A large aspect to the begining of the war was the explosion and sinking of the Maine on February 15 1898 at 9:30 PM in Havana Harbor. 260 American naval personnel where killed or wounded. The USS Maine was the second "second class" battle ship constructed for the U.S. Navy. It took almost nine years to complete three year took waiting for armor. The USS Maine was at the time the largest ship to be built in a U.S. Navy yard. The USS Maine arrived in the Havana harbor in Cuba on Jan. 24 of 1898. The USS Manie was sent to Cuba in response to a small protest by Spanish officers. The ship was under the command of Captian Charles Sigsbee.
When the Manie sank there where 2 separate explosions ammunition continuted to explode for hours after the blast. Some people say that the Maine was torpedoed or blown up with under water explosives by the Spanish Navy, others say that the 896 ton capacity coal bunker exploded but most people at the time said that the ship was torpedoed and blamed Spain for the sinking of the ship. After the disaster an official court of inquiry was held to determine the cause of the blast. The Navy said that the ship was sunk by a water mine, but stated that it could not fix responsibility on any single person or persons.
Declaration of war At the time of the sinking of the Maine U.S. President William Mckinley was in office. Pres. Mckinley had hoped to avoid going to war with Spain but along with thousands of other Americans was swept up in the feeling to support war. In 1898 Pres. mckinley asked to declare war on Spain.
The war begins At the begining of the war there were almost 200,000 Spanish troops located in Cuba.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the spanish american war marked the emergence of the united states of america as a world power.
- Explains that the manie was torpedoed or blown up with under water explosives by the spanish navy, while the 896 ton capacity coal bunker exploded. after the disaster an official court of inquiry was held to determine the cause of the blast
- Explains that pres. mckinley had hoped to avoid going to war with spain but was swept up in the feeling to support war.
- Compares the spanish and u.s. forces in cuba, stating that there were about 200,000 spanish troops and about 125,000 local volunteers in havana.
- Explains that the navy's basic job was to blockade the island of cuba. if the spanish army could be cut off from seaborn supplies from spain, it would greatly weaken it.
- Compares the spanish navel force with the u.s. force of four battle ships and two armed cruisers. sampson was forced to leave half of his forces at hampton roads, virginato discourage spanish bombardment.
- Explains that sampson couldn't watch the two major cuban ports of cienfuegos and santiago de cuba located in southeastern cuba.
- Explains that the rough riders cavalry division was dismounted and advanced to santiago de cuba. the u.s. division launched a badly constructed attack at el cany and san juan hill.
- Explains that the treaty of paris provided the withdrawal of spanis troops from cuba leaving the island under temporary u.s. occupation.
- Explains that in december 1898 the united states announced the establishment of u.s. military rule in the philippines. as justification for takin over the phlippines it was argued that the us could not honorably hand back the islands to spain.
Related
- explanatory
- analytical
- argumentative
- comparative
- Taking a Look at the Spanish American Warexplanatory essayDuring his presidency William McKinley said, “War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed.” His message never fully reached the American people because in the late 19th century the people were longing for an opportunity to keep up with other empires and they took the first chance they approached. They saw war with Spain as a quick way to prove supremacy and saw plenty of benefits. The Spanish American war was inevitable for America because the people had a strong drive for global power and influence and although it was not completely necessary it resulted in positive outcomes and later greatly helped progress the country.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that william mckinley's message never reached the american people because they saw war with spain as a quick way to prove supremacy and saw plenty of benefits.
- Explains that the war concepts originated from cuban conflicts with spanish rule, which resulted in many deaths by starvation, exposure, and disease. the idea of war was spread with the rapidly growing journalism industry of the 1890s.
- Explains that the spanish-american war changed the fate and global status of america forever. mckinley's first military action was to blockade cuba from spanish ships.
- Explains that the spanish-american war ended spain's control of its empire in the west and opened new opportunities for america with overseas power.
- Explains that the spanish-american war resulted in achievements for the americans. senator thurston of nebraska said that war with spain would increase the business and earnings of every american railroad.
- Explains that berbusse, edward j, the united sates in puerto rico, 1898-1900 the university of north carolina press, 1966.
- Cites traxel, david, "crucible of empire: the spanish-american war".
955 wordsRead More - Spanish-American Waranalytical essayApril 15, 1898, was a pivotal movement in American history. The United States declared war upon Spain, and forever changed the lives of people in both countries. The war between the United States and Spain was preceded by three years of fighting by Cuban revolutionaries attempting to gain independence from Spanish colonial rule. Throughout these three years, many causes for a declaration of war were created adding fuel to a growing fire of outrage throughout the nation.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that april 15, 1898, was a pivotal moment in american history when the united states declared war on spain, and forever changed the lives of people in both countries.
- Explains that americans were war-mad and felt sorry for cuban people because even after the ten years war of 1868-1878, they still had not gained their independence.
- Explains that the public opinion was heavily based on what they read in newspapers. hearst and pulitzer made cuban news distorted and blew it out of proportion. the spanish-american war was known as the first "media war".
- Explains that america was concerned about business interests in cuba, with over $50 million invested in sugar, tobacco, mining and other public utilities. after the second war for independence, jose marti launched a revolution.
- Explains that cuba is located in a prime location, making it convenient to have as an international ally for the future. the united states had no intention of taking cuba’s independence via the teller amendment.
- Explains that the uss maine mysteriously exploded on february 15, 1898. yellow journalism advocated that spaniards deliberately blew the ship up, which outraged many citizens.
- Explains that the spanish-american war was of very little importance from a military standpoint, but many important results came about after it ended.
- Explains that the treaty of paris, signed on december 10, 1898, ended the spanish-american war and granted the united states their first overseas empire.
- Analyzes how the annexation of the philippines led to the rebelling of filipinos and the philippine-american war in 1899.
- Describes how america extended its power into the pacific ocean with the annexation of hawaii in 1898. the spanish-american war encouraged this thinking because it brought a strong sense of nationalism to the country.
- Analyzes how the end of the war signaled a significant shift in powers as the united states became imperialistic.
- Explains that the united states built the panama canal to connect the atlantic and pacific oceans and make the transportation of goods and governing easier for them.
- Explains that the spanish-american war led to america becoming an imperialistic nation. the strong sense of public involvement in the country encouraged the taking of colonies.
- Opines that it was logical that america would take advantage of its power and expand its territory accordingly. it was vital for the united states to become imperialistic for national security and economic reasons.
- Explains that the spanish-american war opened the doors for america to reach its peak power. it allowed expansion, the gaining of valuable assets, and much more.
1054 wordsRead More - Causes Of The Spanish American Warargumentative essayThe Spanish-American War began in 1898 when the United States congress approved President McKinley’s declaration of war on Spain after the explosion of the symbolic U.S.S. Maine in the Havana harbor of Cuba, and the loss of many American lives; the assumption was that Spain purposely blew up the American ship that was there to return Americans from Cuba to the United States. America also declared war on Spain because it was not able to control peace or stability in any of its countries, there were many Americans living in Cuba complaining about the brutal treatment by Spain, and because the United States had a stable economic relationship with Cuba, so it didn’t want Cuba’s economy to be ruined or its association with the country to collapse. However, Spain was already receiving revolts from the countries it possessed and imposed rule over long before the war with the United States began. The significance of this war was that Spain was treating the people in countries such as Cuba and the Philippines very brutally, and America wanted to remain neutral and did not want to join the conflict. However, as time passed and battleships and soldiers were deployed to help regulate conflict in these countries American aid was attacked and these actions angered America and caused for the declaration of war. A few main factors that are believed to have caused the Spanish-American War include: U.S. support and sympathy of Cuban independence, the commercial business interest the U.S. had in Cuba, and the attack of the U.S. battleship, U.S.S. Maine. Interpretations regarding historians and their thoughts on the causes of the Spanish-American War include economic interests, imperialist desires, and sympathy for Cuba and the Philippines. The U.S...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the spanish-american war began in 1898 when the united states congress approved president mckinley’s declaration of war on spain after the explosion of the symbolic u.s.
- Concludes that the united states sympathized with cuba and its morality of gaining independence.
- Explains that the united states stepped into the spanish-american war because cuba's economy was demolished and many americans lost money due to the failure of the economy.
- Analyzes how a symbolic battleship, u.s. s. maine, was detonated in the havana harbor of cuba. the explosion left the american populace speechless and in utter resentment of the spanish.
- States that december 10, 1898 marked the official end date of the spanish american war with the treaty of paris.
1126 wordsRead More - The Spanish-American Waranalytical essayTHESIS : “ The United States didn’t want to get involved in the Spanish-American War, but was dragged into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and wanted complete control over Cuba.”
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the united states didn't want to get involved in the spanish-american war, but was dragged into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and wanted complete control over cuba.
- Explains that the united states was at war with spain for 113 days during the summer of 1898. it happened even though they made their best efforts to prevent it.
- Analyzes how the american people sympathized with the cuban independence movement, and spain interfered with trade between its colonies and the united states.
- Analyzes how the american press led the united states into a war against spain in 1898. they used the events in cuba as backdrop for their own journalistic rivalry.
- Explains that newspapers were the major source of news before radio and television, but they did not adhere to a policy of objective presentation of facts.
- Narrates how joseph pulitzer, the owner of the new york world, outdoed him. hearst was convinced he could make the journal more popular than the world.
- Explains barnes, mark r. puerto rican land campaign, part 1, online, and conway, christopher. imperialism.
1517 wordsRead More - The Gilded Age History: The Timeline Of The Gilded Ageexplanatory essay1898- The Spanish- American War began when America tried to help Cuba win their independence from Spain. Cuba had already begun revolts against Spain.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the gilded age was a time of technological advances and extreme poverty. it started the age of building railroads connecting the east and the west.
- Explains that the civil act of 1866 was presented by president johnson in order to make all men equal and get away from the idea of white supremacy.
- Describes how oakes ames and thomas durant created a fake construction company and promised to complete the transcontinental railway of 600 miles. this was known as the credit mobilier scandal because the government lost lots of money.
- Narrates how the granger laws angered the large companies because they would lose profits. railroads raised their prices for farmers to transport their goods.
- Explains that william seward purchased alaska from russia for seven million dollars. this was known as "seward's folly".
- Explains that the establishment of social darwinism came from the idea of a man named charles darwin. he coined the phrase "survival of the fittest".
- Explains that the crime of '73 devalued silver and made gold the primary metal in the united states.
- Explains that the chautauqua movement was encouraged by theodore roosevelt in order to professional educate adults.
- Describes the battle of little big horn, a battle fought with the sioux and cheyenne indian tribes against colonel george custer.
- Explains that the sioux and cheyenne wars were fought over land. the american wanted the land to expand westward and discover gold.
- Explains that rutherford b. hayes made a deal with southern democrats to ensure his win in the election under the condition that he remove troops from the southern states.
- Explains that munn vs. illinois dealt with the unreasonable prices of the railroad companies and the farmers fighting to keep their farms.
- Explains that the jim crow laws officially marked segregation from the colored and the whites. the laws ensured separation with public facilities and restricted blacks’ rights.
- Describes the bland-allison act of 1878, which was intended to provide a more free coinage of silver.
- Explains that helen hunt jackson wrote the novel a century of dishonor, which highlighted the injustices against the native americans.
- Explains that the chines exclusion act brought a temporary halt to chinese immigration. american feared that chinese would take over potential job opportunities due to their experience.
- Explains that the pendleton civil service act established that a federal officer would be chosen cased on their respectability rather than their connection to political parties.
- Explains that the haymarket incident occurred when laborers were holding a peaceful rally regarding their unfair hours when an unknown bomb was thrown. it killed seven police officers and four normal citizens.
- Explains that the interstate commerce act applied to railroad companies to keep their prices reasonable and to prevent monopoly. it also prevented the discrimination of small farmers by charging them larger fees.
- Explains that the tenure of office act limited the power of the president while following the checks and balances systems due to president johnson's overuse of executive power.
- Explains that the dawes act took native american land and separated it amongst individual natives, an attempt to force native americans into the american culture.
- Explains that andrew carnegie's the gospel of wealth suggested that the wealth give their money away for public purposes. he wanted to prevent the wealthy from being self-indulgent.
- Explains how jacob riis put together a book of photography called how the other half lives, which highlighted the impoverished areas of new york city.
- Explains sherman's anti-trust act prevents conspiracy as well as contract and relations with any foreign country.
- Explains that the wounded knee massacre occurred when settlers mistook the indians for plotting for a war when doing their ghost dance.
- Explains sherman's silver purchase act was to allow the unlimited process of silver. it was not as successful as people wanted but it did manage to increase the amount of monthly production.
- Explains that frederick turner wrote the frontier thesis, which highlights the frontier as the basis of shaping the united states.
- Describes the 1894 pullman strike, which was a strike to settle labor disagreements. the boycott failed and resulted in bloodshed.
- Explains that the atlanta compromise by booker t. washington was presented to bring awareness to racial inequalities within the southern states.
- Explains that jennings bryan delivered a speech known as the cross of gold speech in order to suggest free coinage. the decision would increase inflation and the circulation of money to help poor farmers.
- Analyzes the case of plessy vs. ferguson in which a creole argued that they were in violation of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment.
- Explains that the spanish-american war began in 1898 when america tried to help cuba win their independence from spain.
- States that the teller amendment gave the current status to american soldiers after the war and allowed the presence of the u.s. military while allowing them to rule their country.
- Narrates how a group of chinese against the qing dynasty known as the boxer's rebellion had an uprising.
- Explains that the platt amendment denied annexation of cuba after the spanish-american war and established the relationship between cuba and america.
972 wordsRead More - The Battle of San Juan Hillcomparative essayMade famous by Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer Rough Rider’s and the Buffalo Soldiers, the Battle of San Juan Hill (July 1, 1898), also known as The Battle of San Juan Heights, was the bloodiest battle of the Spanish American War. After landing on the beachhead, the US V Corps under the command of Major General William Shafter fought their way west toward the port town of Santiago. After an indecisive clash at Las Guasimas on June 24, Shafter readied his men to take the strategic heights around the city, while Cuban insurgents blocked any Spanish reinforcements arriving on the roads to the north, in what would be one of the most decisive battles of America’s “Splendid Little War.” 1
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the battle of san juan hill was the bloodiest battle of the spanish american war. the us v corps under the command of major general william shafter fought their way west toward the port town of santiago.
- Explains schubert, frank. center of military history: san juan hill.
- Explains that spain ruled over an immense and profitable global empire that included islands in the caribbean, americas, puerto rico, and cuba.
- Describes how 200,000 american regulars, national guard, and volunteers participated in the fight to earn cuba's independence. theodore roosevelt resigned his position as the director of the us navy to fight.
- Explains that the defeat of the spanish in cuba secured america as a world power. the lessons learned from the mobilization and organization of large force were numerous.
- Explains that the spanish placed the defensive trenches on the topographical crest of san juan hill, which allowed them to have effective lines of fire against troops in the fields surrounding the hills, but left them unable to fire on americans.
- Compares kinevan, marcos e., and konstam, angus. "frontier cavlryman, lieutenant john bigelow with the buffalo soldiers in texas."
1822 wordsRead More - Effects Of Spanish American Warexplanatory essayThe Spanish American War is a highly overlooked war in history but is a very important piece in what shaped today’s world. The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain’s rule on the western hemisphere and Spanish colonial rule in the Americas. The Spanish–American War was a strife in 1898 between Spain and the United States, the result of U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. U.S. attacks on Spain 's possessions in the Pacific led to involvement in the Philippine Revolution and ultimately to the Philippine–American War. It led to the U.S gaining territories in the western Pacific and Latin America, peace treaty that made the Spanish give up rule in Cuba, and to give rights over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the spanish-american war ended spain's rule on the western hemisphere and spanish colonial rule in the americas.
- Explains that the war started with the cuban fight for independence from spain, but the u.s. congress issued demands that issued independence to cuba, and demanded the retreat of spain’s forces from the island.
- Explains that spain renounced all claim to cuba, gave up guam and puerto rico, and transferred control of the philippines to the u.s.
- Explains that spain gave up the philippines to the united states in the treaty of paris. fighting broke out between american forces and filipino rebels led by emilio aguinaldo who wanted independence rather than a change in rulers.
- Explains that the decision by the u.s. to annex the philippines was not without controversy and disagreement.
- Explains that the philippine-american war began in 1899 with aguinaldo's attempts to fight a conventional war, while the second phase was marked by the filipinos' shift to guerrilla-style warfare.
- Analyzes how aguinaldo's attempt to fight a conventional war in the beginning months of the conflict proved to be an error that may have cost them the war.
- Explains that the war was brutal for both sides but more of a loss for the philippines than the u.s. the colonial government of the united states launched the "policy of attraction" to win over key elites and other filipinos who didn't see eye to eye with aguinaldo's plans.
- Explains that the spanish-american war had great consequences and shaped today's world as we know it. it was one of the first times the u.s. showed its military and naval dominance.
1310 wordsRead More - the spanish american warexplanatory essayThe Spanish-American war was the first and biggest step that the United States of America took toward imperialism. It was the war that secured the US as the most powerful country in the world. This war was a benefit to the USA because we gained land, gained respect, and taught a lesson to one of our enemies. In addition to this, the losses that we suffered were almost nothing compared to other conflicts or wars. The Spanish-American war was by no means for the sole purpose of gaining land and respect, the United States freed an oppressed country and took pieces of land that were better off under US control.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the spanish-american war secured the us as the most powerful country in the world. the us gained land, gained respect, and taught a lesson to one of its enemies.
- Describes imperialism as extending a nation's authority by territorial acquisition or establishment of economic and political hegemony over other nations.
- Explains that the spanish-american war was good for the us because of the relatively small losses. 332 americans were killed, 1642 were injured, and 2957 died from disease.
- Explains that the us declared war on spain on april 25th, 1898, when cuba was under intense oppression from spain, which prompted spain to group the cubans into small villages where they were forced to live.
- Opines that the country does what the people want. if they want to go to war, it doesn't matter if their anger is fueled by yellow journalists who greatly blow out the facts.
748 wordsRead More - The Mexican Warexplanatory essayBeginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the mexican war and the texas revolution took place between 1845 and 1850. this war involved america and mexico fighting over texas, the base for the entire ordeal.
- Opines that president polk was the first of many great leaders in the conflict. he successfully directed the mexican war, which won much of this territory.
- Describes how general taylor's troops met the mexican forces commanded by mariano arista on may 8th, 1846. the first large-scale battle was the battle of resaca de la palma.
- Explains that the war resulted in 13,000 american soldiers dead and over 71 million dollars in costs. the issue of slaves was a very heated one.
- Explains that the mexican war was fought between the united states and mexico over disagreements that had been accumulating for two decades.
- Explains how the u.s attempted to annex texas in 1845, but mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the us. america's greed was the major reason for the conflict.
- Narrates how the tension between the u.s and mexico was mounting. president polk decided to avoid taking these territories by force and try to buy them from mexico.
- Introduces santa anna, the leader of the mexican army. he was elected 11 times but was often overthrown due to his ruling as a dictator.
- Explains that general scott's 9,000 men attacked the fortified mexican camp at conteras and won. the battle at the alamo culminated all the rage and hatred that had built up in the southwest during the 1830s.
- Explains that santa anna resigned and the new government agreed to sign the peace treaty.
2001 wordsRead More - The Spanish American War: The Causes Of The Spanish-American Warexplanatory essayTHE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR 1898 The Spanish-American War was a war fought for Cuban independence. It was fought in 1898 and resulted in an American victory. The causes of the Spanish-American War are as follows. In 1985 Lose Marti led a revolt against the Spanish, fighting for Cuban independence.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the spanish-american war was fought for cuban independence in 1898 and resulted in an american victory.
- Explains the importance of the spanish-american war, which began a period of great american investment on the island.
- Analyzes how fulgencio batista became the head of the cuban government in 1952 after previously governing from 1933 to 1944.
- Describes how the monaca barracks in santiago de cuba was the site of fidel castro's first short-lived uprising.
- Describes how fidel castro and his brother raul led a group of approximately 160 rebels in an attack on the second largest military garrison in cuba, the moncada barracks.
- Describes how che guevara met raul and fidel castro and joined the july 26th movement, which formed immediately upon batista's release of the castro brothers and other prisoners.
- Explains the importance of the granma landing because the castros and che were now in cuba.
- Explains that sierra maestra is a mountain range that runs across the south of the orient province.
- Explains that the 26th of july movement's name originated from the failed attack on the moncada barracks, an army facility in the city of santiago de cuba.
- Explains that castro's revolutionary forces took havana without the use of force, and the end of the first political cuban revolution.
- Explains that the platt amendment was passed as part of the 1901 army appropriations bill. it stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of united states troops in cuba, and an eighth condition that cuba signs a treaty.
2234 wordsRead More