What caused the Spanish-American War, and how did it make the United States a world power?
Analyze the causes and consequences of the Spanish-American War, including yellow journalism, the explosion of the USS Maine, the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and the debate between imperialists and anti-imperialists (NGSSS SS.912.A.4, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Spanish-American War for the Florida US History exam: yellow journalism and the USS Maine, the war with Spain, the acquisition of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, the Philippine-American War, and the imperialist versus anti-imperialist debate, with worked stimulus questions.
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What this topic is asking
The Spanish-American War of 1898 was the moment the United States announced itself as a world power. The NGSSS benchmark SS.912.A.4 wants you to analyze the causes of the war (especially yellow journalism and the USS Maine), its consequences (an overseas empire), and the debate it triggered between those who wanted colonies and those who opposed them. This is a Reporting Category 1 topic the EOC tests with a newspaper headline, a map of new possessions, or a quotation from the imperialism debate.
The causes of the war
What yellow journalism was
Be careful not to confuse yellow journalism with muckraking. Muckrakers exposed real abuses to spark reform; yellow journalists exaggerated or invented stories to sell papers and inflame emotion.
The consequences: an overseas empire
The United States won quickly. In the peace settlement:
- Cuba gained nominal independence but came under heavy US control through the Platt Amendment, which let the United States intervene in Cuban affairs.
- The United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines as territories.
Almost overnight, the United States had become a colonial power with possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The imperialism debate
The debate had bloody consequences: Filipinos led by Emilio Aguinaldo, who had expected independence, instead fought the United States in the Philippine-American War, a long and brutal conflict that contradicted the idea of a "splendid little war."
Try this
Q1. Explain how yellow journalism helped cause the Spanish-American War. [2]
- Cue. Sensational, exaggerated, and often false newspaper stories inflamed American anger at Spain (especially after the USS Maine exploded), building public pressure for war.
Q2. Identify two territories the United States acquired as a result of the war. [2]
- Cue. Any two of: Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines (and effective control over Cuba through the Platt Amendment).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of FLDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksA newspaper headline from 1898 screams REMEMBER THE MAINE! in giant letters and blames Spain for the explosion without proof. This kind of sensational reporting, which helped push the United States into war, is calledShow worked answer →
A single-select stimulus item (Reporting Category 1, SS.912.A.4).
Correct answer: yellow journalism, the use of exaggerated, sensational, and often inaccurate stories to sell newspapers and stir up public opinion.
Markers reward identifying the sensational, unproven headline as yellow journalism that inflamed support for war with Spain. Distractors such as "objective reporting" or "muckraking" (which exposed real abuses to spark reform) describe different kinds of journalism.
FL EOC (US History, style)1 marksAfter the Spanish-American War, anti-imperialists opposed taking the Philippines as a US colony mainly because they argued thatShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Reporting Category 1, SS.912.A.4).
Correct answer: ruling a colony without the consent of its people contradicted American principles of liberty and self-government.
Markers reward connecting anti-imperialism to the founding ideal of consent of the governed. Distractors claiming anti-imperialists wanted more colonies, or feared losing trade, misstate their position, which was that imperialism betrayed American democratic values.
Related dot points
- Analyze the causes of American imperialism, including economic, military, and ideological motives, the annexation of Hawaii, and foreign policies such as the Open Door, the Roosevelt Corollary, and dollar diplomacy (NGSSS SS.912.A.4, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on American imperialism for the Florida US History exam: the economic, military, and ideological causes of overseas expansion, the annexation of Hawaii, the Open Door Policy, the Panama Canal, the Roosevelt Corollary and Big Stick diplomacy, and dollar diplomacy, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the causes of World War I, the reasons the United States entered the war in 1917, including unrestricted submarine warfare, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmermann Telegram, and the American contribution to Allied victory (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on US entry into World War I for the Florida US History exam: the MAIN causes of the war, American neutrality, unrestricted submarine warfare and the Lusitania, the Zimmermann Telegram, the declaration of war, and the American Expeditionary Force, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the impact of World War I on the home front, including war mobilization, propaganda, the Espionage and Sedition Acts and limits on civil liberties, Schenck v. United States, and the Great Migration (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the World War I home front for the Florida US History exam: war mobilization and propaganda, the Espionage and Sedition Acts and limits on civil liberties, the Schenck v. United States decision, women in the workforce, and the Great Migration, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze Wilson's Fourteen Points, the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, the Senate debate and rejection of the treaty, and the return to isolationism after World War I (NGSSS SS.912.A.5, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Treaty of Versailles for the Florida US History exam: Wilson's Fourteen Points, the terms of the treaty and the League of Nations, the Senate debate over the League and Article X, the role of Henry Cabot Lodge, and the American return to isolationism, with worked stimulus questions.
- Analyze the Progressive movement, the muckrakers, trust-busting and consumer protection, the reforms of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, and the constitutional amendments that expanded democracy (NGSSS SS.912.A.4, Reporting Category 1).
An EOC-level answer on the Progressive Era for the Florida US History exam: the muckrakers, trust-busting and the Pure Food and Drug Act, the reforms of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, the initiative, referendum, and recall, and the Sixteenth through Nineteenth Amendments, with worked stimulus questions.
Sources & how we know this
- US History End-of-Course Assessment Test Item Specifications — Florida Department of Education (2013)
- US History Reporting Category Statements — Florida Department of Education (2013)