ABSTRACT
William McKinley exerted some pressure on Spain in the fall of 1897 to end the Cuban struggle. The decisions for war and for territorial expansion are separate and distinct themes. Logically and politically, the effort to liberate the Cubans could not end with the annexation of that island's population. The pressure group, the Cuban Revolution Party, for short called the Junta, was an agency of the insurgent Cubans. The agitation for Cuban independence was the work of an unusual coalition of five diverse segments. This chapter discusses these five diverse segments. McKinley's message to Congress avoided recognition of the "so-called Cuban Republic". After reviewing the outcome of the war and the questions of annexations, McKinley returned to the war's origins, to the events of April. Several historians have shown that McKinley developed clear lines of policy and pursued them consistently and with considerable intelligence and capacity.
