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Cuba Gains Independence Cuba was a Spanish colony until Spain's defeat in the Spanish- In the nineteenth century, many Americans believed in Manifest Destiny, an idea that it was the destiny of the United States to expand across all of North America. American newspaper publishers Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst fueled American patriotism by reporting sensational stories about Spanish brutality in Cuba. The United States tried to purchase Cuba from Spain four times in the nineteenth century. Spain's empire in the Caribbean was crumbling and Spain might have agreed to sell Cuba if the Americans offered a more reasonable price. In 1898, American president William McKinley sent the United States battleship Maine to Cuba to protect American citizens. Angry crowds protested when the battleship arrived because they felt the Maine was a threatening gesture to Cuba. That night, the city was awakened by a blast that sank the Maine, killing more than 250 crewmen. The cause of the disaster was not uncovered. The Americans blamed underwater mines, while Spanish investigators insisted it was an internal explosion. The American people were outraged. The phrase, "Remember the Maine" became a battle cry encouraged by Pulitzer and Hearst. The people demanded war, and Congress agreed. The United States Congress declared that Cuba was an independent The United States recognized Cuba as an independent nation, but would not agree to withdraw their forces unless the Cubans agreed to several conditions. The Platt Amendment was passed by the American Congress in 1901 and added to the Cuban constitution. It gave the United States the right to lease land for a naval base on Cuban territory, and gave the United States the right to intervene with military force should events on the island seem to be dangerous to American interests. The United States occupied Cuba from 1906 to 1909, and again in 1912. This angered many Cubans, who felt they were putting themselves under the control of a foreign power. |
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American War. The war originated in the Cuban struggle for independence but the United States had a bigger role than Spain.
nation, and authorized President McKinley to use the military to force the Spanish from Spain. The resulting Spanish-American War was brief and one-sided. After the American victory, Spain granted independence to Cuba and gave the United States the colonies of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam in exchange for $20,000,000.