The Spanish American War In the years leading up to the Spanish American War, the United States experienced a growth in ethnocentrism, a belief in manifest destiny and Anglo-Saxonism. It was this combination of views that provided the incentive for the U.S. public to advocate the nation’s engagement in an overseas dispute. On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. …showed first 75 words of 598 total…

…showed last 75 words of 598 total…Rico. His forces landed near Ponce and marched to San Juan with virtually no opposition. Representatives of Spain and the United States signed a peace treaty in Paris on December 10, 1898 established the independence of Cuba, ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States, and allowed the victorious power to purchase the Philippines Islands from Spain for $20 million. The war had cost the United States $250 million and 3,000 lives, of whom 90% had perished from infectious diseases.