After the Civil War

However, it appeared that this aspect put the fear of God into many white folks, inasmuch as they were afraid that the four million slaves who became liberated would revolt against them.
             THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR.
             Simply speaking, this war began because Cubans wanted their independence from Spain, and Americans sought world power (Spanish-American War 2002, PG). While there may have been several factors behind the ultimate cause of the Spanish-American War, the single event that remains the foremost instigator was the sinking of the battleship U.S.S. Maine on February 15, 1898 in Havana harbor.
             But tensions were high between Spain and the United States long before the Maine to her hit. It all began back in October, 1873 when the Spanish war steamer Tornado seized a boat called the Virginius on account of the American flag it was displaying. Thinking the Americans aboard were relating munitions back to Cuban rebels, they acted on their assumption of such activities and captured all aboard the vessel.
             Things only got worse with regard to the relations between Spain and America. When a revolt against Spain erupted in Cuba in 1895, America was not directly involved but they felt a protective need to send reinforcements after the war had raged on for a few years. That reinforcement was the battleship U.S.S. Maine, which was dispatched to the Havana harbor.
             What ultimately brought the Spanish-American War to an end was the implementation of the Treaty of Paris. Drawn up on October 1, 1898, by the commissioners of both Spain and the United States, the treaty sought to bring the war to an abrupt finish, as the battle had been raging on for six months at this point (Spanish-American War PG).
             The Spanish dignitaries who penned the treaty were Don Eugenio Montero Rios (President of the Senate) and Jules Cambon (French diplomat moderating on Spain's behalf). Representing the Americans were William R.