Name: __________________________________ Date: _______ Period: ____

The Spanish-American War of 1898

Utilize the reading to answer the following questions and identify the key players of the
Spanish American War.

Key Players: Identify the following people as you read your worksheet
Jose Marti: leader of the insurrection of Dupuy de Lome: Spanish minister, called
Cuban nationalists McKinley spineless

William McKinley: President of the United Theodore Roosevelt: assistant secretary of

States the Navy, officer, Rough Rider, President

William R. Hearst: New York Journal George Dewey: Commodore of the United
States; stationed in Phillipines

Joseph Pulitzer: The New York World Emilio Aguinaldo: Filipino nationalists
leader

Conditions in Cuba:
-   Who was Jose Marti? Provide two examples of how he fought against Spanish
rule.
burned crops of sugar cane and attacked passenger trains

-   What did Spanish officials do to Cuban civilians in reaction to Marti’s attack?

Spanish military officials herded the rebels into barbed-wire concentration
camps.

Causes of the Spanish American War:

Summarize the four major causes of the Spanish American War.
•   American companies with large investments in the Cuban sugar industry (a total
of about $50 million) were outraged at the destruction of their property
•   Two American newspaper publishers, William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer,
seized the chance to boost their respective circulations by highlighting Spanish
atrocities against Cubans. – Yellow Journalism
•   Hearst published a letter written by the Spanish minister in Washington DC.
Dupuy de Lome, in which de Lome denounced President McKinley as a spineless
politician.
•   American battleship Maine which had been sent to Havana harbor to evacuate
Americans should need arise, exploded and sank

Declaration of War: Date - April 11, 1898

What three things did Roosevelt and other pro-war men believe was at stake in this war?
•   the large American sugar investment
•   trade with the island
•   American power and influence in the Western Hemisphere.

What was the Teller Amendment?

declared that the United States would guarantee Cuba it’s independence once the Spanish
were driven from the island
Major Battles: The Philippines
Describe the major aspects of the battle. What happened? Who won?
Four battleships sank ten Spanish ships with only a few minor casualties. Waited
in August, and with the help of the nationalists they overran Manila on August 13.

Major Battles: Cuba

•   Number of American troops?
17,000
•   Where did the American soldiers depart from?
Tampa
•   Who were the rough riders?
a crew of volunteers organized by Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt
•   What occurred on Kettle Hill?
Roosevelt boasted of shooting and American soldier at point-blank range.
But Roosevelt neglected to mention that he and his men had received
crucial backup support from two American regiments that day.

“Splendid Little War”

Why was this war described as a “splendid little war”

Results of the War:

•   How many American died in the Spanish-American War?
Battles claimed 385 American lives.
•   What caused the majority of American deaths?
Diseases such as malaria, typhoid, dysentery, yellow fever, and rotten met ate
by soldiers claimed over 5,000 lives
•   What land did Americans gain from this war?
Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and the island of Guam in the Pacific.
•   Describe the Platt Amendment
Guaranteed continuing U.S influence over the country, including the
stationing of American troops at a naval station on Guantanamo
•   What did the United States pay for the Philippines? What were two reasons why
the U.S wanted to control the Philippines?
The United States agreed to pay $20 million for the Philippines. McKinley’s
motives in acquiring the islands stemmed from both commercial interests (the
Philippines as a gateway to China) and religious concerns (the opportunity for
Protestants to convert Spanish-speaking Roman Catholics.)
Filipino Insurrection
•   Why did Filipino rebels begin fighting American forces?
Were not about to bow to a new colonial power

•   How many troops were needed to subdue the Filipino rebels? Provide 3 examples
of methods used to subdue the Filipinos.
100,000 troops to subdue the rebels

•   How many Americans were killed? How many Filipino rebels were killed? How
many Filipino civilians were killed?
4,000 American and 20,000 Filipino rebels died in combat. As many as
600,000 Filipino civilians succumbed to disease and starvation