“Spanish-American War: (1898) Conflict between the U.S. and Spain that ended Spanish colonial rule in the New World. The war originated in Cuba’s struggle for independence. The newspapers of William Randolph Hearst fanned U.S. sympathy for the rebels, which increased after the unexplained destruction of the Maine. Congress passed resolutions declaring Cuba’s right to independence and demanding that Spain withdraw its armed forces. Spain declared war on the U.S. in 1898. Commodore George Dewey led the naval squadron that defeated the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, and General William Shafter led regular troops and volunteers (including Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders) in the destruction of Spain’s Caribbean fleet near Santiago, Cuba (July 17, 1898). In the Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898), Spain renounced all claims to Cuba and ceded Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the U.S., marking the U.S.’s emergence as a world power.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Mark's Text Terminal 