Question

explain how Abraham Lincoln is involved in our study of U.S. History II.

What was the main cause of the Spanish-American War?

Please in detail please

Answer 1

answer-

1-Reconstruction was a difficult problem to handle – especially given that the former master-slave relationships in the South needed to be drastically redefined.

After major Union victories at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln began preparing his plan for Reconstruction to reunify the North and South after the war’s end. Because Lincoln believed that the South had never legally seceded from the Union, his plan for Reconstruction was based on forgiveness. He thus issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 to announce his intention to reunite the once-united states. Lincoln hoped that the proclamation would rally northern support for the war and persuade weary Confederate soldiers to surrender.

Lincoln’s blueprint for Reconstruction included the Ten-Percent Plan,which specified that a southern state could be readmitted into the Union once 10 percent of its voters (from the voter rolls for the election of 1860) swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. Voters could then elect delegates to draft revised state constitutions and establish new state governments. All southerners except for high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials would be granted a full pardon. Lincoln guaranteed southerners that he would protect their private property, though not their slaves. Most moderate Republicans in Congress supported the president’s proposal for Reconstruction because they wanted to bring a quick end to the war . In many ways, the Ten-Percent Plan was more of a political maneuver than a plan for Reconstruction. Lincoln wanted to end the war quickly.

2-On April 21, 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. It would be the first overseas conflict fought by the U.S. It involved major campaigns in both Cuba and the Philippine Islands.

Causes of the Spanish American War

Spain was already feeling damaged by the fact that it had seen a huge decline in its authority over the South Americas after the losses incurred in the Spanish American wars of independence.

This loss of authority effectively meant that the Spanish Empire that once was did not exist anymore, or at best was on a rapid decline to nonexistence. The only colony left under Spanish rule was Cuba; the issue was that the Cubans had been pushing for decades to have independence from their colonial rulers.

America watched on at the movements in Cuba as they started to grow their own interests in the Caribbean in an attempt to increase their power base.

It seems the Americans had watched Britain’s rise to world power and the largest Empire the world had ever known and concluded that having authority of the seas means gaining authority overall. This meant they wanted more control over places in the Caribbean and Hawaii so they had more sea bases for controlling the oceans around the United States.

Spain was adamant in holding on to Cuba as it was a financially strong income generator for Spain as well as having been a part of Spain for four hundred years, the Americans had other plans.

The Americans were starting to lose patience over the whole Cuba affair because they were losing shipping and economic interests as trade with Cuba fell. The US also had heavy economic interests in Cuban sugar which was seeing a nose dive in financial income.

It was not war that America wanted initially; it was more the whole Cuba situation resolved so they could get back to the usual economic fortunes that America was used to.

To try and resolve the situation diplomatically both countries engaged in political conversation, the conversations went well and it was agreed that Cuba would gain its autonomy on 1st January 1898.

Only 11 days after Cuba gained its autonomy riots erupted when Spanish officers took a dislike to the Newspaper publications about Spain. The Americans took this as the opportunity to send USS Maine to protect Americans in Havana.

When USS Maine landed in port a huge explosion blew up the ship and killed some 266 American sailors. After review it was deemed the explosion was external thus making it an act of war. American Navy investigators said that it was clear the explosion was set on the outside of the hull and blew up the powder magazines.

Media in America straight away blamed the Spanish and Politicians in America set aside $50 million then declared war on the Spanish