1. PROBLEMS WITH SPAIN

2. Today’s objectives  1) Explain why the United States was interested in Cuba  Discuss how the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine affected the relations between the United States and Spain

3. HOW DID AMERICA GO TO WAR WITH SPAIN?  2 pieces of the Spanish empire remain near the United States: Cuba and Puerto Rico  Many Americans were living in Cuba at the time  Many American businesses held important sugarcane industries  These people felt that the United States should help the Cubans become free of Spanish control

4. DID THE US WANT TO GO TO WAR WITH SPAIN?  President McKinley did not want to go to war with Spain  He offered to buy the island of Cuba, Spain refused  In January of 1898, he sent the battleship USS Maine to Cuba to protect American interests and property.  The fighting continued…….

5. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MAINE?  The Maine docked in the harbor of Havanna, Cuba  In the middle of the night on Feb. 15, 1898 the ship exploded  The explosion killed 260 American sailors  The sinking of the Maine shocked the nation  Newspapers blamed the Spanish government (yellow journalism- writing that prints sensational, exaggerated stories)  How did it blow up? Spain? Cuban Rebels? Accident?

6. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?  McKinley demanded that Spain stop the fighting in Cuba  Teddy Roosevelt sent Admiral Dewey and his fleet to the Philippine Islands with orders to attack their main harbor if war broke out  On April 9, 1898, Spain promised that it would stop its fighting in Cuba  They did not want to go to war with the US, but many Americans did  “Remember the Maine” became the new slogan on America

7. HOW DID MCKINLEY RESPOND?  He was criticized for not punishing Spain for the soldiers we lost  He asked Congress on 4/11/1898 for permission to use military force to stop the war  Want to help Cuba gain independence, not control it. (Spain knew about it)  Spain declared war first, then the US