America Supports Cuba

1. Yellow journalism uses emotional language that grabs readers’ attention and can easily persuade them to support the writer’s viewpoint. If the writer took a strong stand on one side or the other of a foreign policy issue, many readers might come to support that stand.

2. America Supports Cuba • Cuban Rebellion Cuban rebels led by José Martí took control of eastern Cuba in February 1895 and in September declared their territory the Republic of Cuba. • American Neutrality The United States had significant investments in, and trade with, Cuba. President Grover Cleveland asserted that the United States would not take sides in the rebellion. But many Americans supported the Cuban rebels’ cause. • Rebels Destroy Property Cuban rebels staged hit-and-run raids, burned plantations and sugar mills, tore up railroad tracks, and attacked supply depots. The rebels hoped that the destruction of American property would lead to American intervention in the war. • Spanish Atrocities To suppress the rebellion, Spain sent some 200,000 troops to Cuba. In an attempt to keep villagers from aiding the rebels, they herded hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children into “reconcentration camps,” where tens of thousands died of starvation and disease. • Yellow Journalism Reports of the Cuban Revolution reached Americans through newspapers. Two fiercely competitive newspapers, the New York Journal and the New York World, generated much of the American support for the rebels through their creatively dramatized stories of Spanish atrocities.

3. Yes, it would not have occurred because there was no rallying cry. No, it would have occurred because American interests were heavily invested in Cuba.

4. Why might the United States have considered intervening in the war? They wanted to protect American business investments and other interests in Cuba. The proximity of Cuba to U.S. soil.

5. How did Cuban rebels deceive Americans to build support for intervention? Rebels destroyed American property, creating an economic incentive for intervention.

7. Background  • The term yellow journalism evolved from the name of a comic strip character, the Yellow Kid, who was drawn by two different artists in the New York World and the New York Journal at the same time. The Yellow Kid strips symbolized the competition between the two newspapers and eventually lent its name to their style of wildly dramatized reporting.

8. The Coming of War • Spanish Concessions In 1897 President McKinley offered to help negotiate an end to the conflict but warned the Spanish that the United States was considering military intervention. Spain made some concessions, including the removal of Weyler, but the rebels would not negotiate. • USS Maine Explodes Spanish loyalists in Cuba responded to Spain’s concessions with rioting in Havana. Fearing Americans might be in danger, McKinley sent the battleship USS Maine to Havana in case they had to be evacuated. On the evening of February 15, 1898, the Maine was ripped apart by an explosion and sank. • Spain Blamed Many Americans, their anger stoked by yellow journalism, believed the ship was destroyed by Spanish agents. “Remember the Maine!” became the rallying cry for those demanding a declaration of war against Spain. • Congress Acts On April 11, 1898, McKinley asked Congress to authorize the use of force. A week later, Congress recognized Cuba’s independence, insisted that Spain leave the island, and approved the use of armed force if necessary. • War Declared On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. The next day, the United States declared war on Spain.

9. Do you think if the USS Maine had not been destroyed, the Spanish-American War would not have occurred? Why or why not? Yes, it would not have occurred because there was no rallying cry. No, it would have occurred because American interests were heavily invested in Cuba.