The Spanish-American war was fought from April 25, 1898 – August 12, 1898 (3
months, 2 weeks and 4 days). It was fought over the freedom of
Cuba because America wanted Spain to release its control over the small nation.
Before the war, America supported Cuba in its rebellion against Spain because
their economies had become intertwined.
Cuba eventually succeeded and became the Republic of Cuba in 1895, but
Spain refused to let this be the end. They
sent in 200,000 troops to take back power, and President McKinley decided that
he did not want to be involved in this war.
In January 1898, McKinley grew worried about the
Americans stationed in Cuba, so he ordered the USS Maine to go pick them up in
case of an emergency. In February, the
USS Maine exploded in the Havana Harbor, and the Americans blamed the Spanish
for it. “Remember the Maine!” was the
new slogan that was shouted among the Americans who wanted to go to war with
Spain. This put McKinley under a lot of
pressure, and he eventually had no choice but to agree to go to war or else he
would lose his job. The troops on both
sides of the war were not prepared for the intense battles and the new tropical
diseases. The Americans eventually
prevailed and protected Cuba, and they helped out Puerto Rico too.
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