United States and the Spanish American War

It was on April 25, 1898 that Spain and the United States. As a result of the war the United States acquired territories in the Pacific and in Latin America. The war seemed to start when Cuba was struggling to gain independence from Spain. This was long before Cuba was a threat to us during the Cold War. This was early February of 1898. Being so close to America, American sympathy for the rebels rose. There was large demand for U.S. intervention after an unexplained sinking of the USS Maine. In April Spain passed an armistice and gave Cuba limited powers of self-government. The U.S. congress did not fully agree with this and issued resolutions that declared Cuba’s right to independence. They demanded the withdrawal of Spain troops. The President also announced there was no plans for the United States to annex Cuba.
Naturally Spain was not a fan of United States actions. Spain declared war on the United States on April 24, 1898. United States responded by declaring war the next day. On May 1, 1898, United States forces destroyed an anchored Spanish fleet in a leisurely morning in the Philippians engagement that cost only seven American seamen wounded. It was safe to say Manila itself was occupied by U.S. troops by August. There was an elusive Spanish Caribbean fleet located in Santiago harbor in Cuba by U.S. reconnaissance. A U.S. landed on the east coast of Santiago and slowly advanced to attack this fleet. The Spanish fleet tried to retreat westward was under heavy fire and ultimately surrender to the U.S. virtually ending the war. By the Treaty of Paris (signed Dec. 10, 1898), 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.
Hawaii was annexed on July 7 during the Spanish American war. Though there was some tension about whether or not to annex Hawaii, it was ultimately seen as the right move for America. The United States wanted their land