When McKinley became president in 1897 he faced a growing crisis in Cuba. Questions of war and empire, however, not domestic problems dominated McKinley's term in office. In Cuba a bloody rebellion against Spain, which began in 1895, outraged many Americans who clamored for war with Spain. Using diplomacy and the threat of military intervention, McKinley secured some concessions from Spain, but when it would not give up Cuba, he led the nation into war in 1898. …
