Spanish American War, Essay Example

What do you consider the primary cause of the Spanish-American War?

Although not the only cause, I consider the primary cause of the Spanish-American war had much to do foreign policy and America getting involved in Cuba’s fight for independence, during the Cuban Revolt. The primary cause of the Spanish-American war also had much to do with propaganda from “yellow journalism”, which was circulated back and forth between journalists, William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. They basically made up or exaggerated stories about the conflict to sell more papers, which was why the U.S. acted on the war.

There was conflict between Spain and Cuba that included Spain sending 100,000 troops to Cuba to brutalize them. In addition, other incidents put the U.S. and President McKinley in a position to act on the war. These incidents included The De Lome Letter and the sinking of the Maine, a U.S. battleship. The De Lome letter was written by the U.S. Spanish minister and criticized President McKinley, and there is speculation about whether the sinking of the U.S. Maine was an intentional act. However, the yellow journalist used these events to upset the American people, causing them to rally for President McKinley to take a stand and act on the war. He wanted to try to assist Spain and Cuba to end the war peacefully, but public pressure forced McKinley to intervene and demand a ceasefire between Spain and Cuba. When the ceasefire did not happen, the Spanish-American war erupted with the U.S. winning the war and taking political control of Cuba afterwards.