PowerPoint Presentation
Spanish American WarKEY POINTS ABOUTBackground:
Who: Spain vs. America Where: Philippines, Cuba (Spains
Colonies)
In the 1800s, the USA wanted to increase its influence in Latin
America by increasing the sale of American Products in the region.
Americans wanted Europeans to realize that the USA was the dominant
power in the region.
Spanish-American WarIMPERIALISM: The forceful extension of a
nation's authority by territorial takeover.Established economic and
political domination.
American Economic InterestsTHE 2 Ws What: Many of Cubas sugar
plantations were owned by Americans
WHY: Americans protecting their economic interests
Sinking of the Maine in Havana Harbor1 W and an HWhat:USS Maine
explodes in Havana, Cuba Most Americans believe it was Spains
fault
How did it lead to war:Spark that started the war in 1898
Remember the Maineand to Hell with Spain!
Funeral for Maine victims in Havana
Alfred T. MahanLeading naval plannerWriter of the famous book,
The Influence of Sea power upon History (1890)He passionately
argued that the key to imperial power was control of the
seas.RESULTS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
United States emerged as a world power
Cuba gained independence from Spain
U.S. got possession of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto
Rico
THE PANAMA CANALGreatly reduce travel times for trading and
military ships by providing a short cut between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans. The construction of the Panama Canal involved
overcoming geographic obstacles such as rocky & unstable
terrain & mosquito-infested swamps.
The shortcut
The American battleship Maine blew up in a Havana harbor in
1898, started the war. Initiated U.S. propaganda Remember the Maine
inspiring support for U.S. revenge on Spain. War ends in 1898,
United States became a WORLD POWER!EXPANDED to new overseas
territory Panama Canal was created. SummarizeThe ship had been
ordered to Cuba in January to protect American lives and property
from the Spanish American assumed that the Spanish had sunk the
ship partly because of an inaccurate naval court report.
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