On April 20, 1898, a joint resolution of Congress recognized Cuban independence and authorized the president to use force to expel Spain from the island. The Teller Amendment disclaimed any intent to annex Cuban territory. The purpose of the war was to free Cuba, but the first battles were fought in the Far East, where, on April 30, Commodore Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay. By August, Americans occupied the Philippines. American forces won a swift victory in Cuba as well. Spain agreed to evacuate Cuba and to cede Puerto Rico and Guam to the United States. The fate of the Philippines was determined at the peace conference held in Paris that October.
Almost overnight, the United States had obtained a substantial overseas empire. Some Americans expressed doubts over the acquisition of the Philippines, but expansionists wanted to annex the entire archipelago. Advocates of annexation portrayed the Philippines as markets in their own right and as the gateway to the markets of the Far East. Many Americans, including the president, were swayed by "the general principle of holding on to what we can get."
A diverse group of politicians, business and labor leaders, intellectuals, and reformers spoke out against annexing the Philippines. Some based their opposition on legal and ethical concerns; for others, racial and ethnic prejudice formed the basis of their objections. In the end, swayed by a sense of duty and by practical concerns, McKinley authorized the purchase of the Philippines for $20 million. After a hard-fought battle in the Senate, the expansionists won ratification of the treaty in February 1899.
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