1. The Spanish-American War

2. Causes of war. The Virginius affair: The ship Virginius was captured by the Spanish navy off the coast of Jamaica. The Spanish executed several of the members of the crew who were British and American. After the executions The H.M.S. Niobe intervened and stopped any further executions. The Spanish government then sent the Virginius back to America along with the rest of the crew. The incident left tensions tight between America and Spain.

3. Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine In 1898 the battleship U.S.S Maine was sent to Havana Cuba to protect U.S. citizens during a political uprising in Cuba. Three weeks after its arrival the Maine was sunk by an explosion that destroyed the front part of the hull. While the actual cause of the explosion is still uncertain the leading theory at the time was that the Spanish sunk the Maine as a act of war. This spurred the war cry “remember the Maine, to hell with Spain” which was used by the public which was very pro-war with Spain. Eventually the government listened to the public and on April 25 1898 the United States declared war on Spain.

4. The War The war lasted four months. The war was fought in Cuba, Guam, and the Philippines. The first battle was fought in the Philippines on May 1 st with the Americans brutally defeating the Spanish without losing a single man at the battle of Manila Bay.

5. The War cont. Both the Spanish and American armies were ill prepared to fight a war, with both sides losing more men to dieses than to the enemy. On July 1 st the American Armies won major land victory’s which forced the Spanish navy to retreat but were destroyed by the American Navy. War ended on August 12 th 1898.

6. Aftermath The Treaty of Paris gave the United States Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. It also recognized Cuban independence The United States was viewed as a world superpower for the first time in history.

7. Work cited "Spanish-American War." United States American History. Web. 23 Feb. 2012.. "Spanish-American War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2012..