10 Questions about The Spanish-American War | History

Answer: 1898

After many attempts to avoid war, McKinley, because of jingoism (sense of national pride), public and political pressure, finally gave in to the majority, and sent a war message to Congress on April 11, 1898.

Answer: 1898

Surprisingly enough, the war lasted a mere 4 months, from April to July! Because of this short war, the Spanish-American War became known as "a splendid little war."

Answer: William Taft

McKinley declared that rebels in the Philippines were on edge with one other and that the Filipino people were "unfit for self-government." He placed Taft there to maintain stability in the island nation. Taft became a president later in his career.

Answer: George Dewey

On February 25, while his boss was absent, Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt sent cables to the Pacific to prepare for military action with Spain. When McKinley found this out, he countermanded all the cables except Dewey's, who was told to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines if war broke out with Spain. On May 1, Admiral Dewey launched a surprise attack on Spanish ships anchored in Manila Bay, destroying Spain's entire Pacific fleet in about 5-7 hours.

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, future president of the U.S., organized a group of expert cavalrymen, from cowboys to polo players, to attack the Spanish. Unfortuantely, when the battle took place, their horses never arrived, so they fought as infantrymen, along with the under-appreciated "buffalo soldiers," whom were all African-Americans.

Answer: Santiago

The Battle of San Juan Hill in July 1898 took place just outside of the southern and eastern city of Santiago. On July 3, in a desperate attempt to flee the harbor, the Americans sank every single Spanish ship, giving cause to celebrate Independence Day back in the States with an extra sense of jubilation.

Answer: Cuba

In the treaty between American and Spain that ended their war, Spain gave the U.S. the Guam Islands, the Philippine Islands, and Puerto Rico for $20 million. Cuba was granted independence, yet remained heavily influenced by American government and business. Guam and Puerto Rico are still territories of the U.S., while the Philippines were granted independence in 1946.

Answer: Explosion of the USS Maine

In early February, McKinley ordered the Maine into Havana Harbor to protect American lives and property. On February 15, an explosion aboard the ship killed in excess of 250 American soldiers. Americans pressured the president into war after this happened, due to their belief that the Spanish had bombed the ship purposely.

More recently, it is believed that there was a fire, and the potent ammunition stored aboard the ship caused the explosion.

Answer: Teller Amendment

The Teller Amendment was attached to Congress' 1898 war resolution against Spain promised Cubans their independence. The U.S. pressured the Cubans to attach the Platt Amendment to their constitution, which declared that the Cuban government could not enter any foreign agreements, must allow the U.S. to establish two American naval bases on the island, and must give the U.S. the right to intervene whenever necessary.

The Platt Amendment remained in force until 1934, save the establishment of the U.S.'s Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on the eastern end of the island nation.

The Treaty of Paris officially ended the Spanish-American War, while the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty involved the establishment of the Panama Canal.

Answer: John Hay

In a letter to his friend Theodore Roosevelt, John Hay (future secretary of state) captured the public mood when he wrote that the Spanish conflict had been "a splendid little war." Pulitzer and Hearst used "yellow journalism" to popularize their newspapers during the war, creating jingoism. Jose Marti was a Cuban journalist who led their rebellion against Spain.