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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
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Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor on Feb. 15, 1898, killing 266 American sailors. Pressured by the "yellow press," the U.S. declares war on Spain on April 25, 1898, resulting in the deaths of thousands and the collapse of the Spanish empire. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| April 25, 1898 | The U.S. Congress declares war on Spain. |
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| May 1, 1898 | First major battle between Spanish and U.S. Forces: U.S. Commodore Dewey and his Asiatic squadron defeat the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines. |
| June 22, 1898 | U.S. troops land in Cuba. |
| July 1, 1898 | U.S. forces defeat the Spanish at the Battle of San Juan Heights. |
| July 3, 1898 | U.S. forces destroy the Spanish Fleet off Santiago Bay, Cuba. |
| July 17, 1898 | The Spanish surrender at Santiago. |
| August 12, 1898 | The U.S. and Spain sign the Protocol of Peace, ending hostilities between the two countries. |
| December 10, 1898 | The Treaty of Paris is signed by representatives from the U.S. and Spain, ending the Spanish-American War. |
| February 6, 1899 | The Treaty of Paris is ratified by the U.S. Senate. Under the treaty, the U.S. acquires control over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. |
