The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked a turning point in U.S. foreign policy. Fueled by yellow journalism and Cuban independence struggles, the conflict led to America's emergence as a global power. The war's aftermath reshaped the Caribbean and Pacific, with the U.S. gaining control of former Spanish colonies.

The war's consequences extended beyond territorial gains. In Cuba, the U.S. established a protectorate, while in the Philippines, American acquisition sparked a bloody resistance. These events set the stage for increased U.S. interventionism in Latin America and the Caribbean in the early 20th century.

Causes of the Spanish-American War

Tensions between the United States and Spain

• The Spanish-American War, fought in 1898, was a conflict between the United States and Spain that emerged from American support for Cuba's independence from Spanish colonial rule
• American public opinion turned against Spain due to reports of Spanish atrocities committed against the Cuban people, such as the use of concentration camps and brutal suppression of the Cuban independence movement
• The USS Maine, an American battleship sent to Havana to protect U.S. interests, mysteriously exploded and sank in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898, killing 266 American sailors
  • The cause of the explosion was never determined, but American newspapers and public opinion blamed Spain, further escalating tensions

Media influence and American intervention

• Yellow Journalism, a sensationalistic style of reporting that exaggerated and sometimes fabricated stories to increase newspaper sales, played a significant role in shaping American public opinion and drumming up support for war with Spain
  • Newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer competed for readers by publishing sensational stories about Spanish atrocities in Cuba (Hearst's New York Journal and Pulitzer's New York World)
• The Teller Amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress in April 1898, declared that the United States would not annex Cuba after the war and would leave the island's government and control to its people
  • This amendment aimed to assure the Cuban people and the international community that the U.S. intervention was motivated by a desire to help Cuba gain independence rather than territorial expansion

Results of the Spanish-American War

Treaty of Paris and territorial changes

• The Treaty of Paris (1898), signed on December 10, 1898, officially ended the Spanish-American War
  • Under the terms of the treaty, Spain relinquished control of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands to the United States, and sold the Caroline Islands, the Mariana Islands, and the Palau Islands to Germany
• Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory of the United States as a result of the Treaty of Paris
  • This status meant that Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship but did not have full constitutional rights and representation in the U.S. government

U.S. influence in Cuba

• Although the Teller Amendment had promised Cuban independence, the United States established a protectorate over Cuba following the war
  • The U.S. military occupied Cuba from 1898 to 1902, overseeing the island's transition to independence and shaping its political and economic systems
• The Platt Amendment, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1901 and incorporated into the Cuban Constitution of 1901, gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuban affairs to preserve its independence and maintain stability
  • The amendment also granted the U.S. a perpetual lease on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, which remains under U.S. control to this day

The Philippine-American War

U.S. acquisition of the Philippines and Filipino resistance

• The Treaty of Paris (1898) transferred control of the Philippine Islands from Spain to the United States for $20 million
  • This acquisition marked the beginning of American colonial rule in the Philippines, which lasted until 1946
• The Philippine-American War, also known as the Filipino-American War, was a conflict between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries that lasted from 1899 to 1902
  • Filipino revolutionaries, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, had been fighting for independence from Spain and expected to gain sovereignty after the Spanish-American War
  • However, when the U.S. acquired the Philippines through the Treaty of Paris, Aguinaldo and his followers launched a war of resistance against American colonial rule
• The conflict resulted in the deaths of over 4,200 American soldiers and an estimated 20,000 to 200,000 Filipino combatants and civilians
  • The war ended with the U.S. successfully suppressing the Filipino resistance and establishing control over the islands (Moro Rebellion continued until 1913)