Of the four military conflicts listed, the Spanish-American War was the shortest (10 weeks). It began on April 25, 1898 and ended August 12, 1898. The main issue at hand was independence for Cuba (from Spain), but fighting wasn’t limited to Cuba — battles were fought in both the Caribbean (Cuba and Puerto Rico) and the Pacific (Guam and the Philippines). When the conflict ended and treaties were signed, Spain gave up its control of Cuba and gave the Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam to the United States for a sum of $20 million.

Your other answer choices were:

  • The War of 1812 — The U.S. declared war on Great Britain during its war with France June 18, 1812. The war ended in 1815, so lasted about 2 1/2 years.
  • The Civil War — The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended April 9, 1865, making it a few days short of lasting 4 years.
  • The Korean War — The Korean War went from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953 — a bit over 3 years.

 

I hope you learned something new. :-) Stop back to check for more puzzles, quizzes, and trivia.

 

 

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