The Spanish-American War

The United States against Spain. Cuban revolutionaries had already been fighting Spain for three years, and Filipino revolutionaries under Emilio Aguinaldo fought Spain in the Philippines; both expected independence.

Since the mid-nineteenth century Cubans had tried to win independence from Spain, and a new revolution began in 1895. Americans followed the conflict closely: the instability hurt U.S. economic interests, and public outrage over brutal Spanish tactics, combined with a long-held interest in ridding the hemisphere of European colonial powers, created widespread sympathy for the Cuban revolutionaries.

Toward war (February–April 1898). The battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor on February 15 under mysterious circumstances. On April 11, President William McKinley asked Congress for authority to end the fighting in Cuba. Congress’s joint resolution of April 20 recognized Cuban independence, demanded Spain’s withdrawal, and renounced any intention to annex Cuba. Spain declared war, and Congress followed on April 25.

The Pacific (May 1898). On May 1, Commodore George Dewey’s squadron destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay.

Cuba (June–July 1898). U.S. troops landed at Guantánamo Bay and near Santiago. On July 1 they took the San Juan Heights, the war’s most famous battle, in which Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer “Rough Riders” and Black regular soldiers of the 24th and 25th Infantry fought. On July 3 the U.S. Navy destroyed Spain’s Caribbean squadron as it tried to escape Santiago.

Peace (August–December 1898). A cease-fire was signed August 12 and the Treaty of Paris on December 10. Secretary of State John Hay called it “a splendid little war.”

• Manila Bay (May 1): gave the United States control of the gateway to the Philippines.
• San Juan Heights and Santiago (July 1–3): destroyed Spain’s ability to hold Cuba.

Spain relinquished Cuba and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. During the war the United States also annexed Hawaii, where a “Committee of Safety,” supported by the U.S. minister and Marines from the USS Boston, had overthrown Queen Liliʻuokalani in January 1893. The United States became a Pacific power and dominant in the Caribbean.

Annexing the Philippines provoked intense debate at home, where anti-imperialists argued that ruling colonies betrayed American principles — or, for some, that it would bring non-white peoples into the nation. In the Philippines, fighting broke out on February 4, 1899, between U.S. forces and nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo who sought independence. The Philippine-American War killed over 4,200 American and over 20,000 Filipino combatants, and as many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine, and disease. Cuba became nominally independent but subject to U.S. intervention under the Platt Amendment (1903).