McKinley Ultimatum

Although Spain begrudgingly accepted the conditions of the McKinley Ultimatum and belatedly agreed to grant Cuba its independence (April 10), President William McKinley still asked Congress for permission to intervene in Cuba on April 11, 1898. In defining America’s war objectives, Congress endorsed the Teller Amendment which insisted that the United States would not annex Cuba, but would “leave control of the island to its people” once the war with Spain concluded.

Before responding to this class participation assignment, please review the following website on the McKinley Ultimatum:
Profiles of the U. S. Presidents website: “William McKinley: War with Spain”Links to an external site.

For this week’s participation assignment, please respond to the following questions:
1. Discuss America’s motivations for fighting a war with Spain. In your response, please describe both the official rationale and the more nefarious reasons why a war with Spain was desirable to the United States by April 1898. Your answer also should describe the circumstances that helped mobilize public opinion that a war with Spain was necessary.
2. In your opinion, was the United States justified in declaring war on Spain in April 1898? Please use specific examples to defend your position. Essays will be graded according to content, accuracy, and the degree of knowledge and analytical insight produced in your response. Students are strongly encouraged to incorporate any provided outside resources into their essays to strengthen their responses

Last Completed Projects