Causes Of The Spanish American War

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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.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... ... middle of paper ... ... has still not been identified to this day. This sudden attack left the American populace speechless and in utter resentment of the Spanish, and as outrage broke a rallying cry did too, “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain.” However, Spain at the time was blamed for the explosive occasion and war quickly followed between Spain and America, and the Spanish-American War was fought on Spanish territories such as Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The overpowering and overwhelming military of the United States crushed Spain in all of their fights, causing the war to come to an end in mid July. After six months of continuous fighting, December 10, 1898 marked the official end date of the Spanish American War with the Treaty of Paris. Later the United States took hold of Spain’s overseas territories and Puerto Rico and Guam were ceded to the United States.

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