My dad loaded information on me today. Apparently the Spanish-American War was filled with a bunch of information. The first was the De Lome Letter written by Señor Don Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, the Spanish Ambassador to the United States. This letter tells his opinion on the Spanish involvement in Cuba and United States President McKinley conducting negotiations between representatives of states.
Next is the U.S.S. Maine. The U.S.S. Maine is the first navel ship to be named after Maine. This ship was commissioned in 1895 and was originally supposed to be used as an armed vessel. On February 15, 1898 the U.S.S. Maine was recovered in Havana Harbor in Cuba. Since the sinking, it was decided that it was becoming an official observation sight. This was the climax in pre-war tension. Many Americans believed it was Spain's fault for the sinking of this vessel.
Yellow journalism, or as my dad calls it the yellow press, is a type of journalism that prints little to no real and accurate news and instead uses eye-catching images and big printed words to sell more papers. They do this by using exaggeration of news events, scandal, or sectionalism. By extension, the term yellow journalism is used today as a derogatory to decry any journalism that treats news in an unprofessional way.
Under the Treaty of Paris, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over a title to Cuba with the island to be occupied by the United States. Under the Teller Amendment Congress had already decided against annexation. Under the new Cuban constitution, however, U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations through the Platt Amendment; this, however, was later renounced as part of the Franklin Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy. Puerto Rico was invaded by the United States with a landing at Guanica. As an outcome of the war, Jones-Shafroth granted all the inhabitants of Puerto Rico U.S. citizenship in 1917. The US granted Puerto Ricans the right to democratically elect their own governor in 1948. In Guam, settlement by foreign ethnic groups was small at first. After WW2 showed the strategic value of the island, construction of a huge military base began a large influx of people from other parts of the world. Guam today has a mixed population of 164,000. The indigenous Chamorros make up 37% of the population which consists of Whites and Filipino with smaller groups of Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Micronesians, Vietnamese and Indians. The Philippine Revolution against Spain began in April 1896. The Spanish-American War came to the Philippines on May 1, 1898, when the United States Navy's Asiatic Squadron, commanded by Commodore George Dewey, defeated the Spanish Pacific Squadron under Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasarón during the Battle of Manila Bay. On June 12, Philippine revolutionaries declared independence and establishment of the First Philippine Republic. On December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American war was signed. The treaty transferred control of the Philippines from Spain to the United States. This agreement was not recognized by the Philippine revolutionaries, who declared war against the United States on June 2, 1899. The Philippine-American War ensued. In 1901, Emilio Aguinaldo, president of the Malolos Republic, was captured and pledged his allegiance to the American government. The U.S. unilaterally declared an end to the conflict in 1902. Scattered fighting continued, however, until 1913.
When the Spanish-American War began, Roosevelt resigned as assistant secretary of the Navy and volunteered for service as commander the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, a unit known as the Rough Riders—an elite company comprised of Ivy League gentlemen, western cowboys, sheriffs, prospectors, police officers, and Native Americans. Once in Cuba, Roosevelt distinguished himself by leading them on a charge—on foot—up San Juan Hill (actually Kettle Hill) on the outskirts of Santiago. The contingent suffered heavy casualties. The Rough Riders returned to the United States as war heroes. Their varied backgrounds, colorful leader, and bravery on the battlefield brought them considerable attention. Roosevelt personally reveled in his time in the military. He later wrote about his military exploits: "I would rather have led that charge and earned my colonelcy than served three terms in the United States Senate. It makes me feel as though I could now leave something to my children which will serve as an apology for my having existed."
Picture Sources:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Uss_maine_bb-10.jpg
http://www-tc.pbs.org/crucible/headlines/headline-2.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Moll_-_A_Map_of_the_West-Indies.png/285px-Moll_-_A_Map_of_the_West-Indies.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/SanJuanHeightsUSArmyJuly1898VictorsKettleHill.jpg
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