The Spanish-American War: Conflict Between The USAd Spain

The Spanish-American War was a conflict between the U.S. and Spain. It resulted in the end of the Spanish Colonial rule in the Americas and in U.S. acquisition of territories in the western Pacific and Latin America. The war started because of the struggle Cuba was having, to get independence from Spain. It began in February 1895. The demand for U.S. intervention became an insistent chorus when the battleship USS Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor, but nobody knew how. The battleship USS Maine had been sent to protect the U.S. citizens and property after anti-Spanish rioting in Havana. On April 9th Spain announced an armistice and speeded up its new program to grant Cuba limited powers of self-government. Soon after, the U.S. congress issued resolutions
that declared Cuba’s right to independence, and they demanded the withdrawal of Spain’s armed forces from the island. They authorized the President’s use of force to secure that withdrawal while renouncing any U.S.
design for annexing Cuba. On April 24th, Spain declared war on the United States. Then, on April 25th, the U.S. declared war on Spain, which was made retroactive to April 21st. The war was one-sided because Spain hadn’t readied its army or navy for a distant war with the formidable power of the U.S. A United States naval squadron was led into Manila Bay by Commander George Dewey, on May 1st, 1898. It destroyed the anchored Spanish fleet and only seven American seamen were wounded. Manila was occupied by U.S. troops by August. The Spanish Caribbean fleet, which was under Adm. Pascual Cervera, was located in Santiagio Harbor in Cuba by U.S. reconnaissance. Regular troops and volunteers under General William Shafter, including Theodore Roosevelt and the “Rough Riders”, landed on the coast of east Santiago. They slowly advanced on the city, trying to force Cervera’s fleet out of the harbor. On July 3rd, Cervera led his squadron out of Santiago while trying to escape westward along the coast. All of his ships came under heavy fire from the United States and were beached in a burning condition. On July 17th, Santiago surrendered to Shafter, and that ended the
war. When the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10th 1898, Spain renounced all claim to Cuba. Guam and Puerto Rico ceded to the United States, and transferred sovereignty over the Philippines to the United States for 20,000,000. The Spanish-American war was a very important point in the history of both antagonists. Spain’s defeat turned the nation’s attention away from its overseas colonial adventures and inward upon its domestic needs. This process led to both a cultural and a literary renaissance and two decades of much-needed economic development in Spain. The United States was victorious and emerged from the war a world power with far-flung overseas possessions and a new stake in international politics that would soon lead and play a determining role in the affairs of Europe.
The Spanish-American War and Its Consequences
The United States wasn’t prepared for war.
Americans had an enthusiastic spirit but lacked military strength. What made America’s problems more manageable was one thing. Spain was even less ready for the war than the United Sates.
The Platt
Amendment
Cuba became the foundation for a new Latin American policy. In the Platt Amendment of 1901, it was stated that Cuba wasn’t allowed to enter any treaty that might endanger their independence. To prevent European gunboats from landing on Cuban shores, Cuba was prohibited from incurring large debt. If these conditions were violated, Cuba agreed to permit American troops to land and restore order. The US was granted a lease on a naval base at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba became a legal protectorate of the United States. President Roosevelt was convinced that all of Latin America was vulnerable to European attack, so he dusted off the Monroe Doctrine and added his own corollary. The Roosevelt Corollary went one step further than just blocking further expansion of Europe in the Western Hemisphere. If any Latin American nation engaged in “Chronic Wrongdoing”(large debts or civil unrest), the United States military would intervene. Europe was to remain across the Atlantic, while America would police the Western Hemisphere. In 1905, the first opportunity to enforce this policy came. The Dominican Republic was in jeopardy of invasion by European debt collectors. The US invaded the island nation, seized its customs houses, and ruled the Dominican Republic as a protectorate of the United States until the situation was stabilized.