Who was the U.S. President during the Spanish-American War?

William McKinley was the U.S. President during the Spanish-American War. He served as the 25th president from March 4, 1897, until his assassination in September 1901, including the entire conflict with Spain in 1898.

McKinley initially faced pressure to intervene in Cuba, where rebels had been fighting Spanish rule. After the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, public anger intensified. Congress authorized military action, and McKinley signed the declaration of war on April 25, with the conflict officially beginning retroactively on April 21.

The war lasted only a few months. U.S. victories in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines brought Spain’s empire in the Americas to an end. The United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, while Cuba became independent under strong American influence. Theodore Roosevelt was not president during the war; he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy and later became McKinley’s vice president.