The Spanish-American War: The Fighting and Results

1. US History Spiconardi The Spanish-American War: The Fighting and Results

2. The Teller Amendment • Prior to the start of the war, Congress passed the Teller Amendment • Teller Amendment  Under Sen. Teller of Colorado, the amendment vowed that the U.S. would not annex Cuba after the war’s conclusion, but rather “leave control of the island to its people” NO! Based on what we have learned about the US this unit, do you think the US followed through on its promise? Sen. Henry Teller (R-Co)

3. The War • Fighting occurred in Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines • Problems • The U.S. Army was depleted after the Civil War some 35 years earlier, as it only had 28,000 members. • The U.S. had to rely on the National Guard and volunteers to boost its numbers to 263,000 • This led to many untrained and undisciplined soldiers • Enter Theodore Roosevelt…

4. The War • The Rough Riders • A group of volunteer infantry soldiers who, as Roosevelt stated, were “children of the dragon’s blood” and eager for war • Many were too young to remember the horrors of the Civil War and saw war as an adventure

5. Segregation in the army Black troops were segregated from their white counterparts. When many white soldiers contracted malaria and yellow fever, the were evacuated, but blacks were left behind to fight under the belief that being use to the South’s climate would make them immune from diseases.

6. The War: Casualties and Losses The United States • 5,452 deaths • Only 379 from combat • The rest died of malaria, yellow fever, and food poisoning • Embalmed beef Scandal • A medical officer wrote, "Much of the beef I examined arriving on the transports from the United States ... was apparently preserved by injected chemicals to aid deficient cold storage…It looked well, but had an odor similar to that of a dead human body after being injected with preservatives, and it tasted when first cooked like decomposed boric acid ..."

7. The War • So despite disease and a predominately volunteer army, how the heck did the U.S. win this war? • The Navy  The U.S. had a superior navy • U.S. blockaded Cuba to prevent Spanish from reinforcing and resupplying its army on the island • Rebels Cubans and Filipinos teamed up with U.S. soldiers to fight he Spanish • Writer Sherman Anderson noted that fighting Spain was “like robbing an old gypsy woman in a vacant lot at night after a fair”

9. The Treaty of Paris • Spain, after being beaten so badly, agreed to the following: • Spain must give up all claims to Cuba • The U.S. will maintain peace and protect life & property on the island • Spain must give the U.S. control of Puerto Rico & Guam • Spain will sell the Philippine Islands to the U.S. for $20 million

10. The Platt Amendment • The Platt Amendment replaced the Teller Amendment • In exchange for withdrawing U.S. Troops from Cuba: • The U.S. had an open door to intervene in Cuban affairs • Cuba also agreed to sell or lease to the United States "lands necessary for coaling or naval stations” • Cuba leased Guantánamo Bay to the United States

11. The Philippine-American War • Like Cuba, the U.S. took control of the Philippines and intended to “uplift and civilize” the Filipinos • In 1899, the Philippines declared independence and took arms against the United States • After 3 years of fighting, 200,000 dead Filipinos, 5,000 dead Americans and unspeakable atrocities, the U.S. had suppressed the rebellion • U.S. promised Philippines self government in 1916 • Philippines was granted independence in 1946