Paris, Treaty of

Paris, Treaty of (1898).The Treaty of Paris, signed on 20 December 1898, between Spain and the United States, ended one war and set the stage for another. Following the U.S. military victories at Manila Bay in May 1898 and in Cuba in early July, Madrid asked for an armistice that began in August. Peace negotiations followed in Paris, the main sticking point being the future of the Philippine Islands, a Spanish colony since 1564. President William McKinley insisted that Spain cede sovereignty to the United States. The treaty gave the United States temporary control over Cuba (Congress had rejected annexation in the Teller Amendment when it declared war) and actual possession of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Spain received $20 million.

The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty in February 1899 by one vote more than the necessary two‐thirds. By that time, some Filipino nationalists, angry at U.S. intentions, had launched attacks that opened the Philippine War, which lasted several years, became a bitter guerrilla struggle, and ended in defeat for the native fighters. The Treaty of Paris marked the high tide of late nineteenth‐century colonialism in the United States. The euphoria of victory over Spain turned into significant popular unhappiness and doubt about a protracted war against the Filipinos.
[See also Caribbean and Latin America, U.S. Military Involvement in; Cuba, U.S. Military Involvement in; Spanish‐American War.]

Bibliography

Lewis L. Gould , The Presidency of William McKinley, 1980.

Lewis L. Gould