This hope of the President was strengthened, towards the end of 1897, by a dramatic incident in the political life of Spain.

On the 8th of August, the Spanish Prime Minister, the Conservative Antonio Canovas del Castillo, was assassinated, and was succeeded on the 4th of October by the Liberal, Praxedes Mateo Sagasta.
The new Spanish Government listened to American demands and made large promises of amelioration of conditions in Cuba.

General Blanco was substituted for General Weyler, whose cruelty had made him known in the American press as "the Butcher"; it was announced that the reconcentrado camps would be broken up; and the Queen Regent decreed the legislative autonomy of Cuba.

Arrangements had been made for the handling of minor disputes directly with the Governor-General of Cuba through the American Consul General at Havana, General Fitzhugh Lee.

On December 6, 1897, McKinley, in his annual message to Congress, counseled patience.
Convinced of the good intentions of the new Spanish Government, he sought to induce American public sentiment to allow it time to act.