The United States declared war on Spain just over 150 years ago, setting off the greatest empire in the history of the world

In 1898, the United States declared war on Spain and entered what became known as the Spanish-American War. This war was sparked over the Cuban revolution against Spanish rule. In 1895, Cuban rebels fought to free the island from Spain. The Spanish tried to quash the rebellion and used concentration camps to fight the rebellion. This led to widespread reports of atrocities in the camps. Yellow journalism was born when Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst published stories of the atrocities in the concentration camps in order to gain public support for intervention in Cuba. This led to a long-standing criticism of journalists. The US had trade interests in Cuba. The Spanish had blockaded the island to keep out US goods and to starve the population into submission. The US was also upset that the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba had trapped US troops in the city. On April 25, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain. This marked the beginning of a great empire that the US would build and maintain for decades to come. <br><br>The US quickly won a decisive victory over Spain. Spain had a large military, but its officers had grown complacent after years of no wars to fight. Additionally, they were surprised by the rapid buildup of the US military. In contrast to other nations at the time, the US was able to quickly mobilize large numbers of soldiers, sailors, and guns to fight the war. US soldiers were also better trained than many of the soldiers that Spain was fighting. The Spanish-American War was the first war in which the US made effective use of rapid mobilization, modern logistics and communications, and modern tactics. The US was able to blockade the Spanish coast and destroy Spanish ships. The Spanish had no way to stop the US from sinking their ships. On July 3, 1898, the US and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. Spain ceded several territories to the US including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Spain also had to cede Cuba to the US as a trust territory. This marked the beginning of the US as a global empire. The US had seized a vast array of territories, including islands in the Atlantic and the Pacific. Over the next several decades, the US would send troops to fight in Asia and Europe. In the 20th century, the US became the dominant world power. This all began just over 150 years ago when the US declared war on Spain.