Imperalism
Controversy Over Cuba:
- The Spanish -American War emerged out of events in Cuba which along with Puerto Rico represented virtually all that remained of Spain's once extensive
- american empire Cubans had been resisting Spanish rule since at least 1868, when they began a long but ultimately unsuccessful fight for independence
- many Americans sympathized with the Cubans during the ten-year struggle but the United States did not intervene
- In 1895, the Cubans rose up again and their rebellion produced a ferocity on both sides that glorified Americans
- the Cubans deliberately devastated the island to force the Valeriano Weyler, confined civilians in some areas to hastily prepared concentration camps, where they died by the thousands
- The revolt of 1895 was reported more fully and sensationally by the american press, which helped create the impression the the Spaniards were committing all the atrocities when in fact there was considerable brutality on both sides
- In the 1890's, Hearst and Pulitzer were engaged in a ruthless circulation war and they saw the struggle in porters and illustrators to the island with orders to provide accountants of Spanish atrocities
- Cuban American formed other clubs and associations to support the cause of "Cuba Libre"
- In some areas of the country, their efforts were as important as those of the yellow journalists in generating popular support for the revolution
- The mounting storm of indignation against Spain did not persuade President Cleveland to support American intervention in Cuba. He proclaimed american neutrality and he urged authorities in New York City to try to stop the agitation by Cuban refugees there
- When McKinley became president, in 1897, he took a stronger stand he took a stronger stand by formally protesting Spain's "uncivilized and inhuman" conduct, causing the Spanish government to recall Weyler modify the concentration policy and grant the island a qualified autonomy
- At the end of 1897, with the insurrection losing ground, it seemed that American involvement in the war might be averted
- Wasn't able to as a result of two dramatic incidents in February 1898. 1st: A Cuban agent in Havana stole a private letter written by Dupuy de Loeme the Spanish minster in Washington, and turned it over to the american press. The letter Described McKinley as a weak man and a "Bidder for the administration of the crowd". Dupuy de Loeme promptly resigned. 2nd: American battleship "Maine" blew up in Havana harbor with a loss of more than 260 people. The ship had been ordered to Cuba in January to protect American lives and property against possible attacks by Spanish loyalists. many Americans assumed that the Spanish had sunk the ship . War hysteria swept the country and Congress unanimously appropriated $50 million for military preparations
- McKinley still hoped to avoid a conflict but others in his administration were clamoring for war
- In March 1898, the president asked Spain to agree to an armistice negotiations for a permanent peace and an end to the concentration camps. Spain agreed to stop the fighting and eliminate the concentration camps but refused to negotiate with the rebels and reserved the right to resume hostilities to its discretion. this didn't satisfy any public opinion nor the Congress
- No agency in the American military had clear authority over strategic planning
- Only the navy had worked out an objective and its objective had little to do with freeing Cuba
- Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt was an ardent imperialist, active proponent of war, and a man uninhibited by the knowledge that he was a relative minor figure in the military hierarchy
- Roosevelt strengthened the navy's pacific squadron and instructed its commander, Commodore George Dewey to attack Spanish naval forces in the Philippines, a colony of Spain, in the event of war
- immediately after war was declared, Dewey sailed for Manila
- On May 1, 1898, he steamed into manila Bay and completely destroyed the aging Spanish fleet stationed there
- Only one American sailor died in the battle and George Dewey had become the first hero of the war
- Several months later, the Spanish surrendered the city of manila itself
- Cuba remained the principal focus of American military efforts
- At first, American commanders planned a long period of training before actually sending troops into combat
- But when a Spanish fleet under Admiral Pacual Cervera slipped past the American navy into Santiago harbor on the southern coast of Cuba, plans changed quickly and the American Atlantic fleet quickly bottled Cervera up in the harbor
- General William r. Shaffer, the American commander moved toward Santiago, which he planned to surround and capture
- Defeated Spanish forces
- Although Shafter was now in position to assault Santiago, his army was so weakened by sickness that he feared he might have to abandon his position
- Spanish government decided that Santiago was lost and had ordered Cervera to evacuate
- Cervera tried to escape the harbor but the waiting American squadron destroyed his entire fleet and on July 16, the commander of Spanish ground forces in Santiago surrendered
- At about the same time, an American army landed in Puerto Rico and occupied against virtually no opposition
- the annexation of Puerto Rico produced relatively little controversy in the U.s.
- The island of Puerto Rico had been a part of the Spanish empire since Ponce de Leon arrived there in 1508, and it had contained Spanish settlements since the founding of San Juan in 1521
- As Puerto Rican society became increasingly distinctive, resistance to Spanish rule began to emerge just as it had in Cuba
- Uprisings occurred, the most important being the Lares Rebellion which was crushed by the Spanish in 1868
- Growing Resistance brought some changes: abolition of slavery in 1873, representation in the Spanish parliament, and other changes
- Spain grants island small amount of independence
- American military forces occupied Puerto Rico until 1900 when the Foraker act ended military rule and established a formal colonial government
- Puerto Rican sugar industry flourished as it took advantage of the American market that was now open to it without tariffs.
- Americans began establishing large sugar plantations on the island and hired natives to work for them
- Puerto Ricans became increasingly dependent on imported food
- the annexation of the Philippines occasioned a long and impassioned debate
- Controlling a large and densely populate territory thousands of miles away seemed different and to many Americans, ominous
- McKinley claimed to be reluctant to support annexation but according to his own accounts, he came to believe there were no acceptable alternatives
- he claimed divine guidance for his decision to accept responsibility for the islands
- Treaty of Paris signed in December 1898, brought a formal end to the war. It confined the terms of the armistice concerning Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam.
- But american negotiators startled the Spanish by demanding that they cede the Philippines to the United states,
- The Spanish objected briefly, but an American offer of $20 million for the island softened their resistance and accepted all of the Americans terms
- In the U.S. Senate, resistance was fierce
- A powerful anti-imperialist movement arose around the country to oppose acquisition of the Philippines
- conservatives feared the large standing army and entangling foreign alliances that they believed imperialism would require and that they feared would threaten American liberties
- anti Imperialist League drew a widespread following in the Northeast
- Favoring ratification were a varied group: exuberant imperialists such as Theodore Roosevelt who saw the acquisition of empire as a way to reinvigorate the nation, some business men who saw opportunities to profit in the Philippines, and most Republicans who saw partisan advantages in acquiring valuable new territories through a war fought and won by a Republican administration
- when anti-imperialists warned of the danger of acquiring territories with large populations who might have to become citizens, the imperialists had a ready answer
- Nation's longstanding policies toward Indians, treating them as dependents rather than as citizens, had created a precedent for annexing land without absorbing people
- Fate of treaty remained in doubt for weeks, until it received the unexpectedsupport of William Jennings Bryan, a fervent anti-imperialist