what happened to guam during the spanish american war
Capture of Guam The Capture of Guam was a bloodless event between the United States and the Kingdom of Spain during the Spanish–American War. The U.S. Navy sent a single cruiser, the USS Charleston, to capture the island of Guam, then under Spanish control. However, the Spanish garrison on the island had no knowledge of the war and no real defenses. They surrendered without resistance and the island passed into American control. The event was the only conflict of the Spanish–American War on Guam.
Spanish–American War President McKinley signed a joint Congressional resolution demanding Spanish withdrawal and authorizing the President to use military force to help Cuba gain independence on April 20, 1898.[15]. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 21. On the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba.[16] On April 23, Spain stated that it would declare war if the US forces invaded its territory. On April 25, the U.S. Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had de facto existed since April 21, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun.[17] The United States sent an ultimatum to Spain demanding that it surrender control of Cuba, but due to Spain not replying soon enough, the United States had assumed Spain had ignored the ultimatum and continued to occupy Cuba.[18][not in citation given]