When Was the Spanish-American War?
The Spanish-American War took place in 1898. The war grew out of Cuba’s fight for independence, which began a few years earlier, and the sinking of the USS Maine in the Havana harbor in February of 1898.
In April of 1898, the U.S. Congress issued resolutions favoring Cuba’s independence and demanding that Spanish forces leave the island, allowing the president to use force if necessary. On April 24, Spain declared war on the United States, and the United States declared war on Spain a day later. The war lasted a few months, and with the Treaty of Paris signed in December of 1898, Spain renounced its claim to Cuba. It handed control of Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States and sold the sovereignty of the Philippines to the United States for $20 million.
