The Imperialists: 1898 Joanna B.

Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898 began with Cuban nationalists uprising against Spanish authorities in 1895. This was concerning to the US because businesspeople were losing money in their investments in the Cuban sugar industry. Throughout the uprisings, Cuban nationalists, called insurrectos, burned crops of sugar cane. Humanitarians were also outraged by the brutal concentration camps set up by the Spanish military officials. In response to published newspaper articles criticizing the inaction of President McKinley by William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, the battleship Maine was sent to Cuba to evacuate Americans. In an explosion caused by coal bins igniting a powder magazine, 260 US men aboard the ship were killed. However, William R. Hearst neglected to leave out the cause of the explosion and implied that the Spanish were responsible. Thus was the beginning of yellow journalism, which included both fact and fiction to play up the war in order to sell papers. On April 11, 1898, the US declared war against Spain to protect the sugar investment in Cuba, maintain trade with Cuba, and to establish and maintain American power in the Western Hemisphere. In the anonymous writing "Reasons For War (1898)," the author claims that the US went to battle because of "higher obligations" to address the inefficiency and indirection of the Spanish rule of Cuba. Because of the previously listed reasons, we were willing to be driven to war to finally resolve once and for all the cruel and inefficiencies that have arisen with Spanish rule not because of conquest.

            One condition that Congress included in the war declaration was the Teller Amendment. The amendment had four points, the first being that the people of Cuba should be free and independent. Second, that Spain should relinquish all authority in Cuba and move the land and naval forces. Third, the US could use force to make sure the demands are carried out. Lastly, that Cuba should be left to govern and control their island.
            In an attempt to catch Spain of guard, President McKinley launched an attack and destroyed the Spanish naval forces in the Philippines. With the help of Filipino nationalists, the US took control of the Philippines by securing Manila. Hawaii was annexed to secure a refueling station for the US naval forces in the Philippines on July 7, 1898 and was officially a US territory in 1900. The Rough Riders, led by Theodore Roosevelt and backed up by two African American regimens, defeated the Spanish in Cuba. On August 12, 1898, Spain admitted defeat and relinquished control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Cuba agreed to include the Platt Amendment (1901) into its new constitution agreeing to not make an agreement with a foreign power that would jeopardize their independence, not accumulate debt that they could not back up, allow the US to intervene to preserve their independence, sanitize the cities, and sell or lease land to the US for coaling and naval station s which led to the US military base Guantanamo Bay.
            Spain also agreed to sell the Philippines to the US for $20 million which was met with resistance by Filipino rebels resulting in a two year battle to repress the uprisings by burning villages and crops and by torturing rebel leaders. The acquisition of the Philippines was met with resistance by anti-imperialists who claimed that the US was acting out of vanity and was "unjust, ineffective and unnecessary." They also claimed that the attitude of "we know what is good for you better than you know yourself and we are going to make you do it" is a wrong and a violation of liberty which we are supposed to stand for as a nation. For the US to accept sovereignty over and unwilling people would be to destroy the fundamental principles and most noble ideas of a culture according to anti-imperialists such as Mark Twain and others in the America Anti-Imperialist League. President McKinley stated that we could not give the Philippines back to Spain because it would be cowardly and dishonorable. We also could not give them to another world power such as France or Germany because it would be bad for our businesses. Nor did President McKinley believe that they could govern themselves because they were unfit, which therefore only left the US to govern, civilize, and educate the Filipinos. His thoughts were also reflected by other supporters such as Theodore Roosevelt, who, in his essay "The Strenuous Life" (1900), who agreed that if we did not intervene, the government would be replaced by "savage anarchy." The acquisition of the Philippines proved to be an important doorway for the US into the Asian countries.