Woodrow Wilson And The Spanish American War
The Spanish Empire was witnessing a decline in the 19th century with many its colonies winning their independence. By the 1890s, Spain just had a few colonies in the Pacific Ocean, Africa and West Indies. On the other hand, the United States was on the rise, and it considered Spain to be an easy target. |
Many people were in favor of having an armed conflict with Spain. The media started exaggerating the problems that were occurring in Cuba. The Spanish were being portrayed as ruthless barbarians who were torturing the Cubans. This caused the people to become all the more anti-Spain, and they wanted the government to interfere because Cuba was located closed to America, and this meant that Cuba belonged to them and not Spain.
The Spanish American War started on February 15, 1898 after an explosion in Havana Harbor sank an American ship killing 260 men aboard. The prompted the then president William McKinley to send US troops to Cuba to defend American interests and to end the ongoing civil war in the island nation. This caused Spain to break off diplomatic relations with the US.
However, the first battle of the Spanish American War occurred in the Philippines on May 1, 1898 in Manila Bay. The locals attacked the Spanish on land while Commodore George Dewey and his navy attacked them on the sea. This prompted the Spanish soldiers to surrender.
The Americans then established a base in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and this facilitated the American troops' capture of the island and its waterways. The attack was led by Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders. Thereafter, the American troops captured Puerto Rico.
Spain quickly decided to get out of the war and signed the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. This treaty ensured that the US got Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam from Spain, while Cuba was given its independence but on certain conditions like the island could not form an alliance with any other nation.
The American troops were stationed in all the places, but in 1916 a war broke out between the American troops and the locals in Philippines. The American troops managed to defeat the locals. However, president Woodrow Wilson ordered the American troops to return, and the Philippines was given its independence.
Therefore, it can be said that Woodrow Wilson was not directly involved in the Spanish American War.
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