1. The Spanish American War

2. 1895: Cuban Independence Movement Since its discovery in 1493, Cuba was a colony of Spain. Over the years, Cubans wanted greater control of their government. In 1895, Cubans revolted against Spanish colonial rule. In response, the Spanish army gathered several hundred thousand Cubans into concentration camps. Click here to find out what the Spanish did to the Cubans with their Reconcentration Policy. Click here

3. January 1898: U.S. battleship Maine arrives in Havana Harbor Click here Click here to learn what happened to the U.S. Maine in Havana Harbor.

4. Yellow Journalism Yellow journalism is newspaper writing that exaggerates and sometimes makes up news stories. Newspapers of this time period used yellow journalism to sell newspapers. It often changed the public’s perception about events that occurred. Click here to find out which newspapers used yellow journalism. Click here

5. April 1898: The Road to War President McKinley requested and Congress approved $50 million to prepare for war. Spain offered to negotiate but would not consider Cuban independence. Congress then passed a resolution on April 20 declaring the island independent and giving Spain three days to leave the island. In response to the U.S. declaration that Spain had to leave Cuba, Spain declared war on the U.S.

6. The Rough Riders The most colorful group of soldiers in the war was the First Volunteer Cavalry. Click here to find out why. Click here Click here to view footage of the Rough Riders. Click here

7. Casualties of War The majority of deaths in the Spanish American War were not due to combat. Click here to find out what caused the majority of casualties. Click here

8. February 1899: Treaty of Paris ratified The U.S. Navy trapped the Spanish fleet in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba in June 1898. On July 3, the Spanish fleet tried to break through the blockade but was destroyed. Click here to find out the terms of the peace treaty ratified in February of the next year. Click here Note: use the timeline links at the bottom of the page to find the treaty information.

9. The Fight for the Philippines President McKinley believed the US would benefit from the purchase of the Philippines by gaining a naval port. Filipino rebels had helped US forces capture Manila. Now they expected independence. When they realized the US intended to keep the islands, the rebels began a guerilla war against the US.

10. The Fight for the Philippines Some 70,000 US soldiers fought in the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos died before the conflict ended 3 years later. The US maintained control, allowing the Filipinos some governing control. In 1946, the US granted independence to the Philippines.

11. The map below displays territory gained by the US in the Spanish American War.