Spanish American War
Major Players
United States - President William McKinley; Admiral George Dewey;
Commodore William Sampson; Commodore Winfield Schley; Major General Nelson Miles; Major General William Shafter; Major General Joseph Wheeler; and Colonel Theodore Roosevelt.
Spain - Queen Regent Maria Cristina; General Blanco; Basilo Augustin Davila;
Admiral Patricio Montojo y Pasaron; Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete; General Firmin Jaudenes; and General Jose Toral.
Cuba - Lieutenant General Calixto Garcia Iñiguez
Philippines - General Emilio Aguinaldo
Countries Involved
United States
Spain
Cuba
Guam
Puerto Rico
Philippines
Causes
The issue of the war was, Cuban revolutionary groups wanted their independence from Spain. The United States supported the rebels. Cuba and Spain could not settle their differences peacefully.
In 1895, the Cuban Revolutionary Party began a new revolution. Cuban rebels returned to Cuba to fight in this war. Spanish leaders decided to prevent Cuban villagers from helping the rebels. The villagers often supplied rebels with food and cared fro their wounds.
English: Segregated company of US Soldiers (likely...
English: A 1900 Republican campaign poster for the...
English: Santiago de Cuba and Vicinity during the ...After a while Spanish leaders gathered villagers in to a central camp and burned their farms and villages. The camp conditions were poor. Many Cubans became sick and starved in the camps. These terrible conditions attracted the attention of people in the United States.
The U.S. government became very concerned about the war in Cuba. Many U.S. citizens lived and worked in Cuba. In January 1898, riots in Havana, Cuba, destroyed shops and endangered U.S. citizens living there. Rumors also spread that Spanish soldiers planned on killing several U.S. citizens.
At the time, William McKinley was president, and he did not want to start a war, but he did want to prevent U.S. citizens from being harmed in Cuba. Spanish leaders also did not want to start a war, but they did not want to lose Cuba as a colony.