For centuries, Cuba had been under Spanish rule, but in the late 19th century, Cuba began agitating for independence. The brutal working conditions of Sugar mill workers only got worse as the price for Cuban sugar went down. The Cubans turned to guerrilla warfare, which was somewhat successful. To deal with the declining situation, Valeriano Weyler was sent to Cuba. Weyler used brutal tactics to crush the rebellion, word of which spread to the United States through yellow journalists such as William Hearst. These journalists slowly increased the demand for war, and President McKinley sent a ship to Cuba to protect U.S interests. When the ship mysteriously sunk, the media blamed it on the Spanish. On April 25th, 1898, Congress declared war on Spain.