The Philippines were under Spainish rule before the U.S. took over. Cubans started protesting against the Spanish authority. By the end of 1897 about 300,000 Cubans were relocated to Spanish guarded concentration camps. In January 1898 a riot broke out in Havana, started by mostly Cubans who were Spanish loyalists. They destroyed a printing press of local newspapers.There was an American Marine force that was stationed there. Some Americans felt fear for their lives. Because of this the U.S. sent the Maine over on January 25 to protect Americans. The Maine didn't last very long, on February 15 the Maine sank after an explosion. Investigators went through all the options on how this could have happened. Eventually people started blaming the Spanish officials in Cuba, because writers such as William Randolph Hearst wrote it in their papers as facts. The U.S. also tried to negotiate with Spain to end what they were doing to the Cubans and give them independance. Spain rejected America's plea.
America declared war on Spain on April 25, 1898. On May 1 the U.S. invaded Manila Bay. Later Guam was surrendered from the Spanish government. The war really started for the U.S. in Cuba in June when Marines captured Guantánamo Bay. The Spanish Troops outnumbered the U.S., which allowed the Mobilization Act of April 22. That Act allowed for an army of 200,000 volunteers and a regular army of 65,000. The U.S. attacked San Juan on July 1. The U.S. kept pushing the Spanish more and more inland, while killing them off. On July 16 the Spanish ageed to unconditional surrendar of their remaining troops in the city.
The war lasted roughly eight months. The war cost the U.S. $250 million and 3,000 lives. It ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10 1898. It gave Cuba independence and gave the U.S. Puerto Rico and Guam. The U.S. purchased the Philippines Islands for $20 million from Spain. In 1946 the U.S. granted the Filipinos independence after they made sure they had a good government set up. I personally think we made good moves especially since we later got help from the Philippines in WWII.Sourceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Philippines_(1898%E2%80%931946)http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/intro.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War
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