Treaty+of+Paris-1898

= =

=Treaty of Paris-1898= toc The Treaty of Paris was needed to settle The Spanish-American War and who would own Cuba. President McKinley was The American President during this time-and after many victories, wanted more than was necessary from the Spaniards. Many people opposed McKinley's decisions for demanding more from the Spaniards, they were called Imperialists. Anti-Imperialists didn't oppose annexing more regions, but didn't think it was right to demand land without permission from the citizens of the annexed country.

**Before The Treaty**
Before the treaty the US had been fighting Spain for possession of Cuba. The Spanish didn't want to give Cuba to the US and Cuba wanted to be independent from Spain. The US thought Cuba would be an asset in case of another war, so they decided they wanted it. Cuba could be used as a frontier and sort of protector for the US. The Capture of Santiago was the last battle before the treaty. The US needed to locate the Spanish Fleet before it set of to Cuba, so complications wouldn't arise. US ships located the Spanish Fleet in the Santiago harbor (southern coastal Cuban city) and blocked the entrance so the fleet was trapped. The American war ships made it to Cuba, without complications.

The U.S. and Spain needed the treaty to settle The Spanish-American War. After the Capture of Santiago, Spain realized they weren't going to win and agreed to a peace treaty. Both countries had lost many soilders, and were ready for it all to end (and Spain basically had no choice). McKinley appointed 5 American peace negotiators(commissioners), 3 of which were current senators. McKinley chose current senators because he hoped that when the treaty went to The Senate, other senators would side with their fellow leaders. Spain had 3 commissioners. All of Europe supported Spain, except for England. The commissioners meet in Paris, 1889. The terms of the treaty favored the U.S., all Spain received was 20mil. for the Philippine Islands. The commissioners did this under the orders of President McKinley, he took more than American people thought was necessary and right.

Terms of the Treaty
July 30 President McKinley sent the Spanish government peace terms. Spain had to leave Cuba, and had to give US an island in the Pacific. Spain agreed to leave Cuba and gave the US Guam and Puerto Rico (these would be good in case of a war- they could be good protection). McKinley insisted on more- he wanted the Philippine Islands. Spain disagreed at first, US had done nothing to deserve The Philippines- they hadn't even fought for it! Eventually Spain had to agree- the US were holding Manila until the Philippines were settled. The US paid 20million for the Philippine Islands. Afterwards the US and Spanish commissioners met in Paris,1898 to outline the formal treaty. Then the treaty was submitted to the Senate for approval-it passed. ==

Imperialists and Anti-Imperialists
Many US citizens opposed the treaty- they thought it was wrong to take the Philippines without getting the Filipinos consent first. They also thought it was un-American because owning the Philippines would mean owning a colony. These people were called Imperialists. They thought Owning Puerto Rico was okay because they could be of use to us-but ruling over the Filipinos was just bad. The US would be like Britain, France,Germany and other imperialists nations in Europe. The Filipinos wanted freedom and thought the US could give it to them, because they had helped Cuba (even though they just made spain give cuba up, so they could have it). Anti-Imperialists didn't oppose expansion, but most thought it was morally wrong to annex the Philippines without the citizens permission. This issue divided the nation's citizens. Some said the Indian issue was exactly the same- we didnt ask for their permission either, and wondered why the Philippines was such a big deal when we had already done the same thing.

Soon after The Treaty of Paris, the Spanish-American war began. The Philippine Islands revolted and demanded independence- this was the start of the war. The Treaty was effective for a while but was soon failed, when the war started because people just disregarded it.