McKinley’s Diplomatic Approach

1. McKinley’s Diplomatic Approach • McKinley wanted to avoid war and take a diplomatic approach • Successful at first but doesn’t last long • Spain recalled Weyler • Modified concentration policy and offered limited self-government • De Lôme Letter- February 1898 • Private letter written by Spanish Minister to the U.S. Enrique Dupuy de Lôme • Called and criticized McKinley for being weak and a “bidder for admiration of the crowd” • Americans angered by insult

2. U.S.S. Maine Explodes!

3. U.S.S. Maine Explodes cont. • U.S.S. Maine blew up on February 15, 1898 • Sent to bring home American citizens in danger • No one really knew why or how it exploded but journalists exaggerated the reports • April 20, 1898- Congress agreed and declared war against Spain • War in the Caribbean • Naval blockade of Cuba • Admiral William T. Sampson sealed the harbors • 125,000 Americans volunteered to fight • Rough Riders • 1st United States Volunteer Calvary led by Theodore Roosevelt

4. Defeating the Spanish (CUBA) • San Juan Hill • Most famous land battle- very strategic hill • Rough Riders played a minor role • Roosevelt declared hero • Spanish fleet destroyed while trying to escape Cuba • U.S. invaded Puerto Rico on July 25, 1898

5. Spanish-American War in the Philippines • Spanish-American War began in the Philippines before it struck in Cuba • April 30, 1898- George Dewey steamed the navy into Manila harbor and opened fire on the fleet • Dewey gathered support from Filipinos who wanted independence • 11,000 Americans joined rebel forces led by Emilio Aguinaldo • Spanish troops surrendered by August

6. Treaty of Paris • Spain sold the Philippines to the U.S. for $20 million • Spain freed Cuba • Imperialism- McKinley faces the decision of what to do with the Philippines. • Civilize and Christianize them • Filipinos had been Christian for years • Should the Philippines be annexed? • The treaty decided that the U.S. now included Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines