Spanish-American War
Consequences of the Spanish American War?
- Cuban independence was recognised, but the USA influenced its constitution and was allowed possession of Guantanamo Bay. - Spain lost the last pieces of her American empire by giving up Puerto Rica the Caribbean and the Pacific island of guam (part of the Mariana group) The US was able to purchase the Philippine islands for $20 million - The Anti-Imperialist League was formed in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War. - American forces invaded Cuba and gained a swift victory with minimum casualties. This victory helped to make a national hero out of Theodore Roosevelt, who resigned his position in the government and led a volunteer force, the Rough Riders, in the siege of Havana, making sure in the process that there was lavish newspaper coverage of his heroic actions. - Spain made peace at the Treaty of Paris and Cuba remained under American military rule until 1902, when it became an American protectorate. - The war with Spain included the taking of other Spanish possessions in the Caribbean and the Pacific, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippine islands become virtual American colonies. The previously independent islands of Hawaii were annexed at the same time of their significance as a naval base. - A Filipino Revolt broke out in 1899, which was only suppressed in 1902 after extensive American military action. - The American conquest of the Philippines caused controversy within the USA. For many, it was a betrayal of the principles of freedom and equality. - Critics of the new imperialist policy, such as the Anti-Imperialist League, attacked the government for deserting the anti-colonial traditions. - Founding Fathers, and for the violence, paternalism and racial prejudice that had been shown by Americans in their treatment of their 'little brown brothers' as they established control. - John Hay called it a 'splendid little war' - Not a lot of American soldiers died, more died of disease than in combat. - Spanish empire was dead, American empire was born.
What were the causes of the Spanish-American War?
- In February 1898 with the sinking of the 'Maine' they entered the war. The explosion in Havana harbour blew up and sank the 'USS Maine', killing 260 American sailors. Hearst immediately blamed Spain and urged the government into war with the battle cry 'Remember the Maine'. Investigations at the time blamed the mines for sinking the ship, most probably laid by the Spanish. An investigation, in the 1970s, claimed that the explosion was most likely the result of sparks igniting ammunition in the hold and that it was simply an accident. The anti-Spanish hysteria had not been helped by the publication of a letter from the Spanish Ambassador in Washington, Dupuy de Lome, criticizing the President. In the end, with public opinion as it was and with the deaths of the sailors, McKinley had little choice but to declare war. - The Americans were simply putting the Monroe Doctrine into action and showing support for a fellow nation trying to win its freedom from a ruling kingdom thousands of miles away - just as they themselves have done a century before. But these were more complex motives for their action. Cuba roused the feelings of the nation and it had both strategic and economic importance to the USA. - When the war broke out, it was closely followed in the American press, notably the so-called 'yellow press' of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. These two men were locked in a circulation war over their respective newspapers, the 'New York Journal' and 'New York World'. They competed to tell the most sensational stories from the war, some of which were clearly untrue but all of which were ferociously anti-Spanish. Hearst's stories, in particular of the concentration camps of the 'butcher' General Weyler where as many as 200,000 died, provoked the Americans. - The American people were genuinely outraged by the way the Spanish treated their rebel prisoners and the Cuban people. - The Teller Amendment made this clear but stating that the United States believed that 'the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent', and that 'the United States (rejects any) intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control' over the island. This would seem to support Maldwyn Jones' view. That it was passed in an atmosphere of pro-Cuban hysteria and masked America's real intention which was to take over the island. - Cuba's strategic and economic position made it attractive to America. It controlled the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and form there trade with South America. Also, if the Panama Canal were to be built, which seemed imminent in 1898, this would only increase Cuba's strategic importance. There were even those who argued that 'Manifest Destiny' extended to Cuba: just over 200 kilometres from the American coast it clearly should form part over the USA. - Cuba's economy was already dependant on exporting tobacco and sugar to American markets. When Cuban Nationalists, led by Jose Marti, began a revolt against Spanish rule in 1895, they received significant backing from American sympathisers. The Spanish army crushed the 1895 revolt but their harsh methods were strongly criticised in the USA, where there was strong support for American intervention in Cuba. - "Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!"
Events of the Spanish American War?
- McKinley took until 11 April to get approval from Congress to send troops to expel the Spaniards. He hoped for a negotiated settlement, but was unable to get Spain to agree to acceptable terms. McKinley didn't want war but knew the mood for the people was for intervention. - By Vice-President Roosevelt and by Congress, the president ordered a blockade of Cuba. War was declared on 25 April. - In April 1898, US forces launched a double attack on Spanish territories. The navy attacked Spain in the Philippeans and defeated its fleet outside Manila. In Cuba, American troops landed near Santiago and Spanish troops were blockaded in Havana. After seventeen days of fighting the Spanish forces surrendered. - Congress debated Cuba for over a week. The anti-imperialists were concerned to show that the US had no intention of throwing the Spanish out and of taking over Cuba themselves. - Admiral Dewey's Pacific squadron sailed int Manila Bay and destroyed the outdated Spanish fleet. Soon afterwards, American land forces arrived to establish military control. There was a wave of imperialist triumphalism in the American press and among politicians. - Although American officials had gained the support of the nationalist rebels, led by Emilio Aguinaldo, by seeming to promise independence for the Filipinos, it soon became clear that this was not going to happen.
Why did America win the war so easily?
- The Americans had more men than the Spanish did, giving them a large advantage. - There were American victories at El Caney Hill and at San Juan Hill, where Roosevelt's Rough Riders' led the charge against the Spanish guns. The US had entered the war with Spain completely unprepared. - The Spanish army at the time consisted of only 280,000 men and was dependent on local organisation, rather than on the federal government, for supplies and equipment, which were frequently inadequate. - Spanish commanders were fearful of defeat, knowing its wider impact on Spanish imperial power, yet they used weak military and naval strategies. - Under the Treaty of Paris, the USA acquired the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, and eventually, Cuba. - The Platt Amendment 1901, gave the United States the right to intervene to maintain the independence and stability of Cuba, and it asserted that Cuba could not make treaties that would impair that independence. Indeed, it was America who would decide what did and did not impair Cuban independence. - The constitution also granted the USA the right to maintain a base at Guantanamo Bay. US companies continued to dominate the Cuban economy until the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1958.