The Spanish American War,
April 25 to December 10, 1898.

(Photo: Major General Frederick Funston Boyhood Home and Museum)

The United States declared war on Spain soon after the sinking of the Battleship Maine, in Havana harbor in Cuba. It ended with the
Treaty of Paris in December, in which Spain handed over control of the last vestiges of its empire. The United States took control of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.

Early in the conflict U.S. Navy commander George Dewey defeated a Spanish naval squadron in Manila Bay, opening the way for U.S. influence in the Pacific.

Early in the war Mark Twain described himself as a red-hot imperialist. But in the course of the conflict he changed his mind, saying later "I have read carefully the treaty of Paris, and I have seen that we do not intend to free, but to subjugate the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to conquer, not to
redeem... And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put its talons on any other land."

	The Motion Picture Camera Goes to War Library of Congress collection of actual footage from the turn of the century of the Spanish American War.
	Crucible of Empire: PBS the Spanish-American War sparked unprecedented levels of patriotism and confidence, the defeat of the Spanish also raised new questions about the nation's role as a world power.
	War in Perspective 1898-1998: New York Public Library This exhibition explores the sources of memories and perceptions through an examination of patriotic appeals in newspapers, pamphlets, and other historical sources.
	Online Library : Dept. of Navy An online library of images from the war, as well as the official report by the secretary of navy, 1998.