Was It "A Splendid Little War"?

 Hello and welcome back to my blog. In my final term of my junior year, I've taken a class called Policy. This unit has focused on the Legislative branch of the government. In this action project, I have researched a war and decided whether or not it was justified. I chose to study the Spanish-American war of 1898.

 

In the 1790s, the Spanish Empire was the most dominating power n the western hemisphere. By 1890, they had holdings over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, also known as The Marshall Islands. By the end of 1898, they lost those countries too. How did they lose what countries they had left?

In 1492, Spain had sailed to the western hemisphere and set a precedent for colonization. Their empire grew astronomically to the point where they were the largest dominating power by the 1790s. They were known for their cruelty to the people groups being colonized. Those who were colonized had virtually no autonomy and lacked basic human rights. By the 1500s, Encomienda systems were founded. This labor system “rewarded Spanish explorers, conquistadors, and military men with land in the New World”, along with those who inhabited the land.

Over the next hundred years, the Spaniards lost their power drastically. All of a sudden, countries are claiming independence from Spain in 1890. Cuba, being one of the few countries Spain had power over, began to fight for independence. With the little power they had left, Spain decided to prevent Cubans from doing this.

As more and more news articles went around in America, portraying “Spain’s brutally repressive measures” in preventing the rebellion, the U.S. public decided to get involved. Being that not too long ago they had been fighting for independence from England, Americans felt sympathy. In 1898, the U.S.S. Maine, a U.S. Navy ship sank in the Havana Harbor, causing more uprisings. According to William McKinley, the president at the time, he and Congress wanted to “establish a ‘stable government’ that would ‘maintain order’ and ensure the ‘peace and tranquility and the security’ of Cuban and U.S. citizens on the island.” McKinley, with the consent of congress, officially declared war on April 11th, 1898.

There was convenience to the war from America’s perspective being that they had interest in claiming Cuba as their own prior to declaring war. Congress promised that they would not do this though and passed the Teller Amendment which ensured Cuba's independence from America, were they to win the war with Spain.

Manila Bay set the precedent for the war as the first official battle on May 1st. American troops defeated the Spanish forces and moved onward to Guantanamo Bay where they were again met with and defeated Spanish forces. A series of battles followed that American forces defeated until July 26th. “Duque de Almodovar del Rio, who had replaced Pio Gullon as Foreign Ambassador… inaugurated the quest for peace”, sending a spokesperson for Spain. On behalf of the Spanish government, French Ambassador, Jules Cambon discussed a peace agreement with the McKinley administration along with a cease-fire that was signed on August 12th.

On March 12, 1901, the Platt Amendment was signed. This amendment followed the conclusion of the Spanish-American war for the independence of Cuba, however, this agreement allowed America to have control of Cuba. At the conclusion of the war, America also paid Spain $20 million for the control of the Philippines.

There has been lots of conversation about this war and whether or not it was justified. I’d say this is a complicated question to answer. In no way do I think taking control over a country without its consent is justified. However, the reason for America to go to war with Spain was to get the Pacific Coast out from under Spanish rule, which happened, and then America took control. It wasn’t until 1934 that the U.S. and Cuba negotiated further independence with President Roosevelt, as part of his “Good Neighbor Policy”. While this war was a step towards independence for Cuba, there were a lot of unnecessary deaths that resulted, as they do in wars.

Works Cited:

“Fundamental of the ENCOMENDIA System for APUSH (Watch the Video).” Apprend, 28 Nov. 2018, https://apprend.io/apush/period-1/encomendia-system-apush/.

History.com Editors. “Spanish-American War.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 May 2010, https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/spanish-american-war#causes-remember-the-maine.

“Introduction.” Introduction - The World of 1898: The Spanish-American War (Hispanic Division, Library of Congress), https://loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/intro.html.

“Spanish-American War | Animated History.” YouTube, MrBettsClass. 24 Jan. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-csV05z-PtQ.

“The Spanish-American War, 1898.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, https://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/gp/90609.htm.

Trask, David F. The War with Spain in 1898. Macmillan, 1981.