Florida and the Spanish-American War of 1898

Online Classroom

Educational Units

• The Cuban Experience in Florida
  This unit provides insight into the experience of Cuban refugees in Florida using photographs, government documents, letters, videos and interviews.
• The Cigar Industry Changes Florida
  This unit focuses on the impact of the cigar industry and Latin immigration on Florida, particularly Ybor City.

Additional Resources at Other Institutions

Spanish-American War

• Florida Center for Instructional Technology, Exploring Florida, Spanish-American War: The Rough Riders in Tampa
  This excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt's book, The Rough Riders, describes the journey of the Rough Riders from San Antonio to Tampa and the days spent in Tampa waiting to ship out to Cuba.
• Library of Congress, The Spanish-American War
  This site provides resources and documents about the Spanish-American War, the period before the war and some of the fascinating people who participated in the fighting or commented about it. Information about Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States is provided in chronologies, bibliographies and a variety of pictures and text from bilingual sources supplemented by an overview essay about the war and the period.
• American Memory, Library of Congress, The Spanish-American War in Motion Pictures
  This site features 68 motion pictures produced between 1898 and 1901 of the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine Revolution. The Spanish-American War was the first U.S. war in which the motion picture camera played a role. These films were made by the Edison Manufacturing Company and the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company and consist of actualities filmed in the U.S., Cuba and the Philippines, showing troops, ships, notable figures and parades, as well as reenactments of battles and other war-time events.
• National Park Service, Buffalo Soldiers and the Spanish-American War
  The National Park Service provides a brief history of the Buffalo Soldiers and their role in the Spanish-American War.
• U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Spanish-American War Records
  The National Archives and Records Administration provides selected military service records of the Rough Riders and documents relating to the Spanish-American War and the sinking of the USS Maine.

Cuban and Cuban-American Heritage

• Florida International University, Cuban Research Institute
  The Cuban Research Institute (CRI), within the Latin American and Caribbean Center (LACC) of Florida International University, is the nation’s leading institute for research and academic programs on Cuban and Cuban-American issues. Since its founding in 1991, a blend of scholarship and the singular resources of the Greater Miami community have enabled the CRI to produce an exceptional level of research and public programs.
• University of Florida, Latin American Collection
  The Latin American Collection at the University of Florida ranks among the finest in the world. It contains approximately 500,000 volumes, 1,100 current/active serial titles, some 50,000 microforms and a growing amount of computer-based information and access.
• University of Florida, Digital Library of the Caribbean
  The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) is a cooperative digital library for resources from and about the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean. dLOC provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries and private collections.
• University of Miami, Digital Collections on Cuba and Cuban Heritage
  Cuban Heritage Collection contains manuscripts, photographs, letters, maps and other digitized resources held by the University of Miami Libraries.
• University of South Florida, Ybor City Oral Histories
  As a major contribution to the University of South Florida Oral History Program, the Ybor City Oral History Project provides primary source material about a culturally rich and diverse historic community in Tampa.

Selected Bibliography

• Bane, Michael and Mary Ellen Moore. Tampa: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Tampa: Mishler and King, 1981.
• Clancy, Jacqueline E. “Hell’s Angel: Eleanor Kinzie Gordon’s Wartime Summer of 1898.” Tequesta 63 (2003): 37-61.
• De Quesada, Alejandro M. The Spanish-American War in Tampa Bay.Dover, NH: Arcadia, 1998.
• Dolan, Edward F. The Spanish-American War. Brookfield, CT: Millbrook Press, 2001.
• Fleischmann, Thomas F. “‘Watch Miami:’ The Miami Metropolis and the Spanish-American War.” Tequesta 47 (1987): 31-48.
• Gatewood, Willard B., Jr. “Smoked Yankees” and the Struggle for Empire: Letters from Negro Soldiers, 1898–1902. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1987.
• Knetsch, Joe and Nick Wynne. Florida in the Spanish-American War. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2011.
• Langley, Wright and Joan Langley. Key West and the Spanish American War. Key West, FL: Langley Press, 1998.
• Muir, Helen. Miami, U.S.A. 2nd ed. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2000.
• Roosevelt, Theodore. The Rough Riders. New York: Charles Scribner’s sons, 1899; Bartleby.com, 1997.
• Thomas, Donna. “‘Camp Hell’: Miami during the Spanish-American War.” Florida Historical Quarterly 57 2 (Oct. 1978): 141-156.

Resources at the State Library and Archives of Florida

Florida Electronic Library
The Florida Electronic Library is a gateway to select Internet resources that offers access to comprehensive, accurate and reliable information. Available resources include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias and books providing information on topics such as current events, education, business, technology and health issues. The Florida Electronic Library offers information for all age groups, including resources for teachers.

• Beaudoin, Jack. "The Mystery of the Maine." New York Times Upfront 1 Nov. 1999: 26. General OneFile.
• King, David C. "America’s Influence Grows: The Spanish-American War and New Possessions." First Facts About U.S. History. Woodbridge, CT: Blackbirch Press, 1996. Kids InfoBits.
• Miller, Tom. “Remember the Maine: Doomed Ship USS Maine.” Smithsonian 28.11 (Feb 1998): 46+. General OneFile.

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