Q4W6 Spanish American War

Q4W6 Spanish American War

U.S.S Maine

In January 1898, President William McKinley sent a battleship, the U.S.S. Maine, to Cuba. On February 15, the battleship exploded in Havana Harbor. More than 250 American sailors were killed. Although the cause of the explosion was unknown, most Americans blamed Spain and demanded war.

Multiple Choice

Which US president sent the U.S.S Maine to Cuba?

• Washington

• Lincoln

• McKinley

• Taft

Open Ended

How many US soldiers were killed when the U.S.S Main exploded?

Multiple Choice

Who did Americans blame for the explosion of the U.S.S Maine?

• Canada

• Mexico

• Cuba

• Spain

Sugar Cane

The United States declared war on Spain for the explosion. However, the US had many economic interests in the island of Cuba. American businessman owned large sugar cane plantations.

Multiple Choice

What economic interests did US businessman have in Cuba?

• Cattle Ranching

• Sheep Ranching

• Sugar Cane Plantations

• Cotton Plantations

Independence from Spain

The main cause of the war was to help the Cuban people win their independence from Spain. Many Americans saw similarities between the Cuban struggle for independence and their own struggle for independence from England during the American Revolution.

Open Ended

Many Americans saw similarities between the Cuban struggle for independence and their own struggle for independence from England during the

Remember the Struggle for Statehood

Some Americans opposed New Mexico statehood because they questioned the loyalty of many New Mexico citizens. They feared that New Mexicans might side with Spain, their former mother country, in the Spanish American War.

Multiple Choice

Americans feared that Spanish speaking New Mexicans would side with Spain in the Spanish American War.

• True

• False

The Rough Riders

President McKinley called for thousands of volunteers to join the U.S. Army and prepare to fight. In particular, the army created a special unit of “frontiersmen possessing exclusive qualifications as horsemen and marksmen.” Called the Rough Riders, they were the most famous army unit of the Spanish American War.

Multiple Select

The Rough Riders were an army unit of men that possessed the following qualifications: (Check all that apply)

• cooking

• marksman

• horsman

• speaking

Multiple Choice

The Rough Riders were the most famous army unit of which war?

• Revolutionary War

• Mexican American War

• American Civil War

• Spanish American War

New Mexico

Rough Riders

More than 350 New Mexicans volunteered to fight in this unit. New Mexicans represented about a third of the riders—the largest group of riders from any single state or territory.

New Mexican Prove their Loyalty

New Mexicans eagerly joined the fight to prove that New Mexico was loyal to the United States rather than to Spain. The brave fighting of Rough Riders like Maximiliano Luna of Los Lunas helped the United States win the war and helped New Mexico prove its loyalty. Impressed, many observers who had doubted New Mexico now supported the territory’s drive for statehood.

Multiple Choice

New Mexican's struggle for statehood was helped when 350 New Mexicans joined the Rough Riders.

• True

• False