The next rebellion was organized in New York by a group of veterans of the Ten Year`s War under Calixto García, one of the few revolutionary leaders who had not signed the Pact of Zanjon. In 1878 he organized the Cuban Revolutionary Committee in New York and issued a manifesto against Spanish despotism. A positive response came from several revolutionary leaders and La Guerra Chiquita (The Little War) started in Cuba on August 26, 1879. Once again, the ill-prepared revolutionaries met with strong resistance, and the war was over by September 1880. Even though this defeat had a tremendous impact upon the exiled revolutionaries and plans for a future uprising came to a halt, the idea of fighting for Cuban independence was not completely abandoned.

The 15 years that preceded the War of 1895 were politically uneventful, and the Spanish promises of reform remained unfulfilled. In 1881 the Spanish constitution of 1876 was extended to Cuba, but it was of little practical effect. Even though Cubans were entitled to send representatives to the Spanish Cortes, or parliament, Cuban deputies represented the more conservative elements of Cuban society.