Spanish-American War

Roosevelt's "Rough Riders" in the Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American War itself was a short conflict that started in April of 1898 and ended in August of 1898. The conflict was a culmination of failed Cuban revolutions and the implementation of the United States' aggressive imperialist agenda. The sinking of the USS Maine by an unknown party sparked the war, but Spain quickly conceded. The Treaty of Paris (1898) decided that Spain would no longer control Cuba, and that Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines would be annexed to the United States. This marked the first big overseas territorial expansion for the United States and solidified the United States as an imperial power.