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The '''Spanish-American War''' was a short conflict of a few months duration in 1898, between the [[United States]] and [[Spain]].  The war ended Spanish colonial rule in [[Cuba]] and the [[Phillipines]], and caused the emergence of the United States as a world power.

The '''Spanish-American War''' was a short conflict of a few months duration in 1898, between the [[United States]] and [[Spain]].  Although President [[William McKinley]] strongly opposed war, the Spanish were unable to meet American demands regarding the systematic, massive mistreatment of Cubans.  When the [[Battleship Maine]] suddenly exploded in Havana Harbor (no one to this day knows why), the American people zeroed in on the Cuban crisis and demanded action.  When the war came –"a splendid little war," one official called it--it lasted only six months, and was marked by dramatic American victories at sea in the Philippines and on land and sea near Cuba. The war drew Americans together, especially the Southerners whose patriotism had been in doubt since the Civil War a generation earlier. The [[Spanish-American War]] represented a significant turning point in America's position in the world. Besides acquiring Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific, territorial possessions that created new defensive responsibilities, the United States demonstrated that it had built up its naval capacity sufficiently to defeat an established European power. The war ended Spanish colonial rule in [[Cuba]] and the [[Phillipines]], and gave Spain a respite from the bitter internal struggles in the 1890s, thus postponing a civll war until the 1930s.

==Background==

==Background==

In short, the Spanish-American War was primarily a naval war, and the U.S. Navy was dramatically affected by the experience. Following the war, naval expansion continued at such a high rate that the Navy went from ranking sixth in the world in 1897 to being afforded equal status with Great Britain by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922. The Spanish-American War served as a catalyst propelling the New Navy forward, preparing it to fulfill the country's added responsibilities as a major world power in the twentieth century.

In short, the Spanish-American War was primarily a naval war, and the U.S. Navy was dramatically affected by the experience. Following the war, naval expansion continued at such a high rate that the Navy went from ranking sixth in the world in 1897 to being afforded equal status with Great Britain by the [[Washington Naval Treaty]] of 1922. The Spanish-American War served as a catalyst propelling the New Navy forward, preparing it to fulfill the country's added responsibilities as a major world power in the twentieth century.

==Links==

==Links==

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{{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio7/biblio7.htm]}}

<small>{{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.history.navy.mil/biblio/biblio7/biblio7.htm]}}</small>

[[Category:Wars]]

[[Category:Wars]]

[[Category:Spanish-American War]]

[[Category:Spanish-American War]]