PEOPLE

 

Emilio Aguinaldo

.       Filipino general during Philippine Revolution against Spain

.       Appointed himself leader of the Philippines when his forces expelled Spain

.       Declared war on U.S. after Americans refused to recognize his authority and sent troops to occupy the country

 

Leon Czolgosz

.       Became anarchist sympathizer after losing factory job, 1898

.       Assassinated President William McKinley, 6 September 1901

.       Arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death by electrocution

 

John Hay

.       U.S. Secretary of State under President William McKinley

.       After McKinley's assassination, continued to serve under Theodore Roosevelt

.       Helped author the Treaty of Paris, which ended Spanish-American War

.       Announced Open Door policy, 1899, which called for equal American access to China

 

Enrique Dupuy de L™me

.       Spanish diplomat during late 19th century

.       Wrote a letter to an official in Cuba in 1898, criticizing U.S. President McKinley as "weak"

.       Letter leaked to the U.S. press, fueling public support for war against Spain

 

José Martí

.       Cuban revolutionary leader

.       Founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party while in exile in New York, 1892

.       Warned, "Once the United States is in Cuba, who will drive it out?"

.       Killed during a Spanish ambush while fighting in Dos Rios, Cuba

 

William McKinley

.       Republican president elected in 1896 and reelected in 1900

.       Asked U.S. Congress for declaration of war against Spain amidst public pressure, April 1898

.       Historians still debate whether he had imperialism in mind when he chose to intervene in Cuban Revolution

.       Assassinated in September 1901 by anarchist Leon Czolgosz

 

Orville H. Platt

.       Republican senator from Connecticut in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

.       Authored amendment that set up conditions for U.S. withdrawal from Cuba, 1901

.       His policy ultimately solidified Cuban dependence on the U.S.

 

Theodore Roosevelt

.       Leader of the Republican Party and the Progressive Party in the early 20th century

.       Vice President under William McKinley

.       Became President after McKinley assassination and then elected in 1904

.       Founded the Rough Riders military regiment to fight in the Spanish-American War

.       Considered himself "natural leader" and a hero in the war

 

Josiah Strong

.       Protestant clergyman and writer

.       In his book Our Country, 1885, called for whites to "civilize and Christianize" the American West

.       Said civilizing "savages" was key to a thriving American economy

.       Those in favor of U.S. expansion took inspiration from his work

 

Frederick Jackson Turner

.       American historian in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

.       Best known for his "Frontier Thesis," presented at 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago

.       Said that great era of American expansion was over

.       Also said that expansion could continue if U.S. looked to the rest of the world

 

Mark Twain

.       Perhaps the greatest writer in American history

.       One of the founders of the American Anti-Imperialist League

.       One of the most vocal critics of U.S. plans to annex Philippine Islands

 

EVENTS

 

1895 Cuban Revolution Against Spain

.       Led by José Martí and the Cuban Revolutionary Party

.       Coverage of bloody conflict in U.S. fueled popular cries for American intervention to help Cubans fight Spain

.       Officially ended by Treaty of Paris, which left Cuba free of Spain but dependent upon U.S.

 

1898 De L™me Letter

.       Letter written by Spanish diplomat criticizing President McKinley as "weak"

.       leaked to American press and New York Journal published it in full, 9 February

.       fueled popular cries in U.S. for war against Spain

 

1898 Explosion of USS Maine

.       U.S. battleship Maine exploded in harbor in Havana, Cuba, killing 266 crewmen, 15 February

.       without evidence, U.S. Navy announced that Spanish mine caused the explosion

.       press coverage of the incident fueled popular cries in U.S. for war against Spain

 

1898 Spanish-American War Declared

.       under pressure from U.S. public, Congress voted to declare war on Spain

.       with declaration, Congress issued Teller Amendment, which said that U.S. had no intention to annex Cuba and would leave island after the war

 

1899 Treaty of Paris

.       authored in part by U.S. Secretary of State John Hay

.       officially ended the Spanish-American War, 11 April

.       Spain agreed to acknowledge Cuban independence; ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to U.S; sold Philippines to U.S. for $20 million

 

1899 Philippine-American War Begins

.       Began after U.S. troops occupying Philippines killed 3 Filipino soldiers

.       War declared by Emilio Aguinaldo, self-declared leader of Philippine Republic

.       Brutal fighting would last for 4 years

 

1901 Platt Amendment

.       Amendment to Cuban constitution proposed by Republican Senator Orville H. Platt, established conditions for U.S. withdrawal from Cuba after the Spanish-American War

.       Granted U.S. government the right to intervene in Cuban affairs whenever necessary; forced Cuban government to lease military bases to U.S.; limited Cuban authority in negotiating treaties with other nations

.       Policy ultimately left Cuba dependent upon U.S.

 

1902 Philippine-American War Officially Ends

.       President Theodore Roosevelt declared the end of war in the Philippines

.       By this time, 4,200 U.S. were dead, over 200,000 Filipino dead

.       Despite President Roosevelt's announcement, Filipino nationalists and U.S. troops continued to fight for next 13 years

.       U.S. troops remained in Philippines until 1946, when U.S. finally granted Philippine independence

 

 

GROUPS

 

American Anti-Imperialist League

.       Formed in 1898 as a reaction to American involvement abroad

.       Main goal was to oppose U.S. annexation of the Philippine Islands

.       Included political figures, scholars, businessmen

.       Author Mark Twain was one of its most vocal members

 

Cuban Revolutionary Party

.       Founded by Cuban leader José Martí while he was in exile in New York, 1892

.       Inspired in part by American revolutionary history

.       Led Cuban forces against Spanish colonizers, beginning in 1895

 

Rough Riders

.       Founded in 1898 by Republican political leader Theodore Roosevelt

.       Included Ivy Leaguers, miners, cowboys, Native Americans, sons of Confederate veterans, African Americans

.       Fought for just a few months in Cuba during the tail end of the war

.       Revered as heroes upon return to U.S.

 

 

CONCEPTS

 

Imperialism

.       A government policy or action meant to exert power over another nation or territory

.       Usually involves military force; usually aimed at acquiring land

.       Can also be result of extensions of economic, political, or religious power

 

Annexation

.       Formal government acquisition of territory

.       Usually achieved by military conquest or occupation

 

Yellow Journalism

.       Term for type of sensationalistic reporting in American newspapers during 1890s

.       Characterized by inflammatory accounts of horrific events in Cuba during Cuban Revolution, mainly torture of insurgents

.       Contributed to public outcry in U.S. for declaration of war against Spain

 

PLACES

 

The Philippines

.       Island nation in the Pacific was Spanish colony prior to "liberation" by Americans

.       Following Spanish defeat, Filipino insurgents fought against American occupying army for more than 4 years, 1899-1903

 

San Juan Hill, Santiago, Cuba

.       Site of famous Battle of San Juan Hill, 1898, where Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders captured a Spanish position