Evaluate the causes of the Spanish-American War (1898).

Candidates will make an appraisal of the causes of the Spanish-American War of 1898. Both short-term and long-term causes are relevant but the focus should be on causes within Cuba and the US, rather than internal factors in Spain. Cuban internal factors that may be addressed include the causes leading to the Second Cuban War for Independence and the military leadership and “reconcentration” decree of Spanish General Weyler, which led to thousands of deaths and ended the possibility of compromise between Spain and the rebels. The role of the US press in condemning Spanish rule in Cuba, in publication of the de Lome letter criticizing McKinley, and in blaming the Spanish for the explosion of the Maine are likely points of emphasis. Candidates may also choose to evaluate the contribution of Manifest Destiny and the writings of Mahan in promoting an expansionist foreign policy that would further US economic interests.