Running Head: THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The Spanish American War

As Seen by Cubans
Diana D. Mateo
University of Texas at El Paso

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

Abstract
This paper explores two different published articles that give different points of view about the
Spanish American war. During the year 1898 Cubans decided to fight against Spain to gain their
liberty but they did not accomplished anything it was later on when the U.S decided to interfere
and help Cubans to gain their independence, which they did accomplished. The articles that were
examined concentrated on different matters. The article written by Gregory Aydt focuses on how
Cuba and the U.S benefited from each other while the article written by the United States
Department of State focus on how the U.S helped Cubans gain their independence. The Spanish
American War was very important for both the United States and Cuba because the U.S gained
many countries such as the Philippines and Puerto Rico, while Cuba gained their independence,
which was very important for them due to the bad treatment that they received from the Spanish.
Keywords: Cubans independence, U.S gains

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

The Spanish American War

As Seen By Cubans
The Spanish American War was a conflict between Cuba and Spain. It was until the U.S
decided to intervene to fight against Spain to help Cubans gain their independence. Jose Marti
was a Cuban patriot and was in charge of organizing the revolution. Martin was always planning
revolts against the Spanish government and created a club know as Juntas that will later on
become sixty one clubs devoted to Cubans independence. These clubs were in charge of asking
people for money and peoples ten percent earnings. The article written by Gregory Aydt will help
examine how the United States and Cuba benefited from the Spanish American War and how
Cubans did not wanted to be annexed by Spain or the U.S. The Second genre focuses on how the
U.S gained Cubans independence. This paper will examine how the U.S helped Cubans gained
their independence and the reasons why the U.S did not annexed Cuba.
The intended audience for The Spanish American War: The Cuban Perspective and The
Spanish American War, 1898 articles were for adults and teenagers. The intended audience of
both articles used in this paper belongs to many different discourse communities, such as the
UTEP discourse community and many others. The audience might already know how Cubans
gained their independence from Spain but it is important for them to know what other country
had to intervene in order for Cuba to gain its independence. The purpose of both genres
presented on this paper is to inform and help the audience gain more knowledge on what the U.S
had to do in order to help Cuba gain its independence. In order to accomplish their purpose the
authors of both genres decided to use a very formal and well structure paper in order to get the
readers attention. Both of the genres used on this paper were trying to let the reader know the
reasons why the United States helped Cuba gain its independence.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

During the year 1895 Cuba was under the Spanish control and there were many Cubans
who were being cruelly mistreated. When the Cubans decided to fight against the Spanish for
their independence the U.S decided to intervene and help them. It was on April 11, 1898 when
president MvKinley asked the congress to end the war between Spain and Cuba in order to
establish a stable government that would ensure the peace and tranquility of Cuban and U.S
citizens on the island. The Spanish government rejected their idea and declared war on the
United States. On April 25 Spain and the U.S went to war and the U.S won Cubans
independence. The United States decided not to annex Cuba because it had to deal with the
Philippine insurrection and did not wanted to get into another war over another territory.
The structure of each genre is very well organized and the mode of delivery directly
impacts the audience. One of the things that the authors wanted to do through the way they
delivered their information was to catch the readers attention by first starting strong. The genres
that were organized differently, the first genre started with pictures and that was so people could
easily visualize the matter that was going to be discussed and after that the rest was just
information. While the second genre was a bit more serious about the subject because the author
decided not to use any colors or pictures so people could focus more on the information that was
being presented. There were many things that contribute to the message that was being intended
to be sending, such as, the use of vocabulary. Through the use of vocabulary it is very easy for a
person to know whether the author was very serious about the information he provided or
whether he just wanted to quickly share his point of view and inform. The similarities between
the two genres are that the mode of delivery of both was to impact their audience and make them
focus on the information that the individuals were about to read. The difference between both of

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

these genres was that one used more formal language to catch the attention of adults and the
other one was a little less formal to get the attention of young adults.
The Spanish American War officially ended when Spain and the United States signed the
Treaty of Paris on December 10.1898. This treaty forced Spain to give Cuba its freedom and it
also force it to cede Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. When all this happened Spain
decided to agree with the United States to sell them the Philippines. The Philippines cost the
United States about $20 million. The Treaty of Paris was ratified by the United States Senate on
February by a margin of only one vote. The United States also wanted to annex the independent
state of Hawaii. Many people believe that the United States wanted to annex Hawaii because it
was vital to the U.S economy. The purpose of acquiring Hawaii was so it could serve as a
strategic base that could help protect United States interests in Asia.
When the United States went into war with Spain the U.S used around 125,000 military
volunteers. It just took them a day to get all of those volunteers. The U.S troops first landed in
Guantamo Bay in Cuba and the rest of the forces landed near Santiago. The Spanish American
war was very important for both the United States and Cuba. It was important for Cuba because
through this war its citizens gained their independence and it was important for the United States
because it secured the position as a Pacific power. The war enabled the United States to pursue
its strategic and economic interest in Asia. It also help the United States to establish its
predominance in the Caribbean region.
The United States was the only country who decided to intervene during the Spanish
American war. It was the only country who participated because it was the only nation in the
Hemisphere at that time with enough military forces to stand up to Spain. According to

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

Guillermo de Zendegui this war was Without doubt one of the grandest, most noble, and
spontaneous acts in the history of inter American relations. Zendegui also describes the Spanish
American war as an exemplary chapter in U.S history. Before entering Cuba President
McKinley negotiated with General Gomez. After a long talk General Gomez gave permission to
the United States to intervene in Cuba even though he hated the United States. At the end of the
war General Gomez send a letter to President McKinley thanking him for the American
intervention in Cuba.
There are still many people around the world who are not very familiar with the Spanish
American War and it is very important for the audience to know more about this war because it
was not only important for the Cubans but it was also important for the Unites States. The use of
ethos, pathos and logos was crucial for The Spanish American War, 1898 genre and The Spanish
American War: The Cuban Perspective article. Both articles used in this paper were very
informative but The Spanish American War: The Cuban Perspective article written by Gregory
Aydt was more effective in conveying its message. The information provided on this article was
more concise and well structure. Most of the information provided on this article was very clear
and well structured which made it easy for the reader to have a better understanding and
knowledge of the reasons why the United States did not annexed Cuba and how Cubans gained
their independence.

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

References
Aydit, G. (n.d.). The Spanish American War: The Cuban Perspective. 1-7. Retrieved
September 20, 2016.
Office of the Historian (n.d.). The Spanish American War. Milestones: 1866-1898, 1-1.
Retrieved September 22, 2016.