calm
Probably the most significant event in McKinley's presidency was the Spanish-American War. The conflict between the US and Spain began with news stories of Spanish atrocities in the Spanish colony of Cuba namely Spain's use of concentration camps and brutal force to quash the Cubans' rebellion. The Spanish repeatedly promised new reforms, then postponed them. Democrats and journalism in William Randolph Hearst's newspapers pushed American public opinion against Spain. McKinley and the business community, aided by House Speaker Reed, opposed the growing public demand for war, but sensed that the public wasn't with them on this one.
McKnley dispatched the U.S.S. Maine to Havana harbor in a show of "gunboat diplomacy". On February 15, 1898, the Maine mysteriously exploded and sank, causing the deaths of 260 men. No one was officially blamed but many Americans lept to the conclusion that it was an act of agression on the part of Spain. Congress voted to go to war with Spain. The U.S. Army wasn't ready for war, but the Navy was, and militia and national guard units rushed to the colors, the most famous being Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders".
The naval war in Cuba and the Philippines was a success and after 113 days, Spain agreed to peace terms at the Treaty of Paris in July. The United States gained ownership of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico, and temporary control over Cuba. Hawaii, which for years had tried to join the U.S., was annexed.
At the Peace Conference Spain sold its rights to the Philippines to the U.S., which took control of the islands and suppressed local rebellions, over the objection of the Democrats and the newly formed Anti-Imperialist League. McKinley sent William Howard Taft to the Philippines and then to Rome to settle the long-standing dispute over lands owned by the Catholic Church. By 1901 the Philippines were peaceful again after a decade of turmoil.