“Toward the end of his presidency, [President Grover] Cleveland relented a bit on his neutral stance, perhaps because his successor William McKinley would have to manage whatever ensued. On December 1896, Cleveland commented that the United States might have to respond if Spain was unable to settle the Cuba issue. Hannis Taylor, U.S. envoy to Madrid, actually proposed that Spain grant Cuba autonomy to [Spanish] President [Antonio] Cánovas, but received no response. Ironically, less than a year later Cánovas was dead and by the following year Spain granted a limited autonomy to Cuba.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
“Grover Cleveland: 1837-1908,” Library of Congress, LOC.gov