IB Docs (2) Team
2. Spanish–American War (1898): causes and effects
The Spanish-American War was a major turning point in USA foreign policy; it ended Spanish colonial rule in the Americas and resulted in the US gaining territories in the western Pacific and in Latin America. It thus 'marked the beginning of what would come to be called the American century.’ (George C. Herring)
Guiding questions:
Why was there increased US interest in Cuba by the 1890s?
What was the role of the ‘yellow press’ in inflaming tensions between the US and Spain?
How did the explosion of the USS Maine on 15 February 1898 lead to a declaration of war?
What are the perspectives of historians on the declaration of war in 1898?
Where was the Spanish-American war fought and what happened at the Paris peace conference?
How did the US expand its territory after the war with Spain?
What were the effects of the war for Cuba?
Why did conflict continue in the Philippines?
What were the effects of the Spanish-American War?
Starter Activity:
You have already explored the different reasons for the US to pursue an expansionist foreign policy and these different motivations were at play in causing war with Spain 1898.
In pairs read through the source below and identify the key points made by historian George C Herring about the Spanish American war.
George C Herring. The American Century & Beyond. US Foreign Relations 1893 – 2014. OUP. 2017. P. 11
What was once called the Spanish-American War was the pivotal event of a pivotal decade, bringing the ‘large policy’ to fruition and marking the United States as a world power… The very title is a misnomer, of course, since it omits Cuba and the Philippines, both key players in the conflict. Despite four decades of ‘revisionist’ scholarship, popular writing continues to attribute the war to a sensationalist ‘yellow press’ which allegedly whipped into martial frenzy an ignorant public that in turn drove weak leaders into an unnecessary war. The war itself has been reduced to a comic opera, its consequences an aberration. Such treatment undermines the notion of war by design, allowing Americans to cling to the idea of their own noble purposes and sparing them responsibility for a war they came to see an unnecessary and imperialist results they came to regard as unsavoury. Such interpretations also ignore the extent to which the war and its consequences represented a logical culmination of major trends in nineteenth century US foreign policy. It was less a case of the United States coming upon greatness almost inadvertently than of it pursuing its destiny deliberately and purposefully.
1. Why was there increased US interest in Cuba by the 1890s?
.png)
Economic reasons
Cuba, a Spanish colony 90 miles off the coast of Florida, was opened-up to trade in 1818. By the 1800s Cuba was the world’s number one producer of sugar and trade agreements started to replace US reliance on trade with Spain. The US came to see the economic value of Cuba due to its key resources – not only sugar but also tobacco.
In addition, the US military saw the potential strategic benefits of establishing a naval base there due to Cuba’s position within the sea-trade routes of the Caribbean. President Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) had suggested as early as 1820 that Cuba would be the most ‘interesting addition’ to the United States, even mooting that the US should take Cuba. In addition, Secretary of State to President James Monroe - John Quincy Adams, later advised the US ambassador in Spain that it was likely the US would annex Cuba within the next 50 years. There were rebellions in Cuba against Spanish rule throughout the 19th century. Power there was held by the plantation owners who were of Spanish descent.
The US offered to buy Cuba from Spain three times – in 1848, 1854 and 1859. In 1854, a secret protocol was drafted by US diplomats who wanted to add Cuba to the union as another slave state. The Ostend Manifesto suggested the US buy Cuba from Spain for $130 million and that if this was rejected war would be necessary. The manifesto made reference to the concept of Manifest Destiny. However, there was a public scandal when the protocol was leaked and considerable outrage from US anti-slavery groups.
A major Cuban rebellion against Spanish rule developed in 1868 and continued until 1878. During the ‘10-year war’ the Cuban rebels used guerrilla warfare, and its fighters were known as mambises. President Ulysses Grant did not attempt to suppress rebel activities based out of New York and public opinion favoured US military support and recognition of the rebel government. Grant and Secretary of State Hamilton Fish would only go as far as to declare in favor of independence and an end to slavery in Cuba. Grant actually cautioned Congress against official recognition of the rebels and stated that the US intended to maintain neutrality. Cuban rebels were also suspicious of US interests in the island and were worried that its involvement would not lead to real independence. In 1878 a fragile peace was established in Cuba as both sides were exhausted – Spain agreed to some limited autonomy.
Nevertheless, US economic links with Cuba continued to grow and in 1877 83% of Cuban exports went to the US. More and more US citizens moved to live in Cuba. After the conflict, US citizens bought up estates cheaply due to the economic fallout of the Ten Year’s War. By the 1880s, the Cuban economy was much more involved with the US than Spain. Secretary of State James G Blaine stated in 1881 that if Spanish control ended, Cuba must become American and not fall under dominance from another European power. By 1890 imports from Spain amounted to 7 million pesetas whereas imports from the US stood at 61 million per annum. Duties were taken off Cuban sugar and US interests then gained control of its sugar industry. After 1895, the US was the largest market for Cuban goods.
A leader of the Cuban rebels, Jose Marti [‘El Apostol’] set up the Cuban Revolutionary party whilst in exile in the US in January 1892. Another major rebellion against Spanish rule was launched in 1895. Marti went back to Cuba but was killed in the first few weeks of the conflict in May 1895. By this time the US had $50 million invested in Cuba and the annual sugar trade was worth double this. President Grover Cleveland had declared the US neutral in the war, however there was growing calls for US intervention. The uprising led to brutal strategies and atrocities. The Cuban rebels scorched earth tactic led to the destruction of US property, Spanish reprisals included the use of torture and fortified camps in which civilians died in appalling conditions.
In December 1896, Cleveland stated that the US may intervene if the Cuban crisis was not brought to an end.
The rebels had gained ground in Cuba by 1897, and the new US president William McKinley offered $300 million to buy Cuba from Spain. This offer was again rejected by the Spanish.
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
Draft a report to President McKinley’s state department on the benefits for the US of intervening in the Cuban struggle against Spanish rule in 1897. The focus of your report should be on US economic interests. You should also include reference to relevant ideas and arguments made at the time for the US to pursue an expansionist foreign pollicy, for example - Manifest Destiny, preclusive imperialism, moral reasons and strategic aims.
2. What was the role of the ‘yellow press’ in inflaming tensions between the US and Spain?
1898. Cartoon depicting Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst pushing against wooden blocks spelling WAR.
https://www.history.com/news/spanish-american-war-yellow-journalism-hearst-pulitzer
The role of the media
The term ‘yellow press’ (see the extract by Herring above) refers to newspapers associated with presenting poorly researched articles with sensational headlines designed to increase sales. Yellow journalists would use exaggeration, scandal-mongering and sensationalism to gain attention. Often there would be lots of images or drawings and fake interviews. The yellow press also usually championed the under-dog. Two newspaper magnates of the time - Joseph Pulitzer and his New York World and William Randolph Hearst and his New York Journal used their publications to whip up US public opinion against the Spanish during the Cuban uprising. Indeed, the conflict has been popularly held as the first media war and some historians have seen the role of the yellow press as a significant factor in the US declaration of war in 1898.
Headlines and front page pieces decried the brutality and cruelty of the Spanish forces. The yellow press anti-Spanish reports were backed by Cuban rebel leader Gonzalo de Quesada – but Marti had not wanted to court US intervention. Cuban revolutionaries in New York eagerly fostered these press reports and used the newspapers to spread propaganda. The yellow press was seen to shape public opinion, increase hostility towards Spain and to pressure the government for war. Historian Michael Robertson suggested that ‘Newspaper reporters and readers of the 1890s were much less concerned with distinguishing among fact-based reporting, opinion and literature.’
However, the majority of US citizens did not live in New York and did not read these newspapers. Historian George C Herring argues that it was the politicians that manipulated the press rather than the yellow press shaping public opinion to pressure the government.
Task One
ATL – Research skills
In small groups investigate the articles published by Joseph Pulitzer (New York World) and William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal). Discuss with your group how these articles may have shifted public opinion towards war with Spain in the late 1890s
Diplomacy, the media and political pressure
The role of the De Lome letter played a role in making President McKinley more inclined to intervene. The letter, or note, written by Senor Don Enrique Dupuy de Lome, the Spanish Ambassador to the US to Don Jose Canelejas, the Spanish foreign minister criticised McKinley and suggest that he was ‘weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd’. The note was intercepted by Cuban revolutionaries who handed it over to the yellow press. The press published the letter on 9 February 1898.
Task Two
ATL – Thinking skills
In pairs view the De Lome letter. You can look at the original handwritten note and the transcript in English.
Discuss a] why the yellow press decided to publish it b] what impact the letter might have had on US public opinion towards Spain and c] what McKinley’s administration would have thought about the letter and its publication.
Extension Activity:
Read more about the impact of the Yellow Press in these articles. How far can it be compared to 'fake news' of today? How important do you consider the Yellow Press to have been in causing the war? To what extent do you agree with Herring's view above regarding the Yellow Press?
History.com: Did Yellow journalism fuel the outbreak of the Spanish- American War?
The Public Domain Review: Public Yellow Journalism:The 'Fake News' of the 19th Century
National Geographic: In a battle for readers, two media barons sparked a war in the 1890s
3. How did the explosion of the USS Maine on 15 February 1898 lead to a declaration of war?
The trigger
Following rioting in Havana in January 1898, the US government sent the USS Maine for a ‘friendly visit’ to Cuba; this was the diplomatic justification for the ship to visit, in line with international law, but the Maine had in fact been ordered to Havana harbor to protect US interests. Despite the clear tensions between the US and Spain, the Maine was in harbor for 2 weeks without incident. Then, just a few days after the De Lome letter was published, an explosion on 15 February sank the battleship in Havana harbor. The scene was one of carnage, 350 casualties and 266 crew were killed. On March 9, Congress approved a $50 million build-up of its military forces.
McKinley sent a team to investigate the cause of the explosion. At the end of March this inquiry found that a mine had blown up the Maine. The Spanish were held responsible. Historian Dana Wegner highlights how this conclusion ‘benefitted all bar the Spanish’; Spain was losing control of Cuba and was militarily weak. Spain sent in its own team of investigators who concluded that it was not a mine but some accident on board the ship itself that had led to the explosion.
Task One
ATL – Thinking and self-management skills
Discuss in small groups what historian Dana Wegner meant when he suggested that the conclusion of the US inquiry into the explosion of the USS Maine ‘benefitted all bar the Spanish.’
Hearst then published alleged ‘Spanish plans’ to torpedo the Maine. The press promoted the slogan: ‘Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain’.
Political reasons
On April 21, McKinley ordered the blockade of Cuba and then declared war on Spain on April 25. Historians have debated the extent to which the President’s hand was forced into war for political reasons. Vice president Garret Augustus Hobart had cautioned the president that the Senate could constitutionally declare war without his approval and support for the ‘jingoists’ and war-hawks had gained ground. In other words, the declaration was a piece of realpolitik and McKinley’s own sentiments were to avoid war and pursue diplomacy. Another political reason for war was that it might help gain the Republicans public support in the upcoming mid-terms.
However, Secretary of War Elihu Root claimed that the President had a way of making people believe ‘his ideas were their own’ and historian Walter LaFeber argues that McKinley’s decision was calculated. La Feber suggests that the president was determined to take advantage of a weak Spain but did not want to present the US as the aggressor – therefore the Maine presented him with the perfect opportunity to act.
Task Two
ATL – Self-management skills
Read through the source below.
H Zinn. A People’s History of the United States. 1995
[McKinley] did not want war; he had been sincere and tireless in his efforts to maintain the peace. By mid-March, however, he was beginning to discover that, although he did not want war, he did want what only a war could produce; the disappearance of the terrible uncertainty in American political and economic life, and a solid base from which to resume the building of the new American commercial empire.
With reference to Zinn’s perspective, discuss in small groups, what the primary factor/s were that led President McKinley to declare war on Spain?
Task Three
ATL – Thinking and communication skills
Watch the first 35 minutes of this documentary. Click on the eye below to see questions to answer as you watch the video.
Questions:
- Why did the US government send the USS Maine to Key West?
- What did the USS Maine symbolise?
- What did Cuba represent for the US at this time?
- Why was public support for the Cuban rebels ‘catching fire’?
- Cuba became the battleground for circulation between which two newspaper magnates?
- When did the USS Maine arrive in Havana harbor?
- What, according to naval historian Ivan Musicant, ‘grossly insulted’ president McKinley?
- The explosion of the Maine led to greatest loss of sailors lives in US history – until which event?
- Who urged patience while ‘we must learn the truth’?
- Who might have had a motive to blow up the Maine?
- What did the ‘jingoists’ believe about the explosion?
- Historian Ivan Musicant suggests that a motive for war was that ‘Spain blocked US hegemony of’ what?
- Which group in congress promoted the military preparation bill of $50 million?
- Why might McKinley have been reluctant to send US boys to war?
- What was the Spanish response to McKinley’s ultimatum to grant Cuban independence or face prompt military intervention by US?
4. What are the perspectives of historians on the declaration of war in 1898?
llustration by John James Ingalls. 1898.
President McKinley asked congress to approve the deployment of military forces to Cuba. In response to this, the Spanish announced that there would be an end to hostilities, but events were now moving quickly in the US. On 20th April a Congress Joint Resolution authorised the use of force to expel the Spanish from Cuba if its troops did not withdraw forthwith. Congress simultaneously passed the Teller Amendment to reassure conservatives in the US - and the Cuban rebels - that the United States had no intention of annexing Cuba. The conservatives had insisted on the amendment as Cuba was non-white and predominantly Catholic, not a suitable territory to become part of the United States. US sugar producers also backed the amendment to prevent cheap Cuban sugar flooding their markets.
At this point, Spain attempted to garner support from other European powers. Although the German Kaiser Wilhelm II considered backing Spain to forestall what he saw as a US strategy to expand its influence in the region – in the end Spain did not gain any allies. On 24 April 1898 the US declared war on Spain.
Task One
ATL: Thinking and communication skills
In pairs or small groups identify the justifications / reasons President McKinley outlines in his message to Congress requesting a declaration of war with Spain on 11 April 1898
Task Two
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In pairs review the chart below summarizing some of the historiography on the causes of the Spanish-American war. Discuss which viewpoints you consider most convincing and why.
2. In the same pairs discuss what the US philosopher William James meant when he commented at the outbreak of war in 1898 that the US had ‘puke[d] up its ancient soul…in five minutes without a wink of squeamishness’.
Task Three
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs discuss why Fidel Castro’s government in the 1960’s added this inscription to the USS Maine memorial in Havana:
‘To the victims of the Maine who were sacrificed by imperialist greed in its mission to conquer the island of Cuba’
5. Where was the Spanish-American war fought and what happened at the Paris peace conference?
‘Once the US is in Cuba, who will get her out?... to change master is not to be free’
Cuban leader Jose Marti.
The Spanish-American war fought in the Caribbean and in the Pacific.
War in the Caribbean
After the declaration of war, a US expeditionary force gathered at Tampa in Florida in May and these troops were transported to Cuba in June. The US navy planned operations in Puerto Rican waters during the war which had been a Spanish colony since 1493. The US had not been interested in annexing Puerto Rico previously as it was poor and lacked infrastructure. But during the conflict the US deployed 3000 troops there.
Although US forces lacked organisation and equipment they were still able to defeat the Spanish. On 29 May the US navy destroyed most of the Spanish fleet and the remainder sheltered in Santiago harbor which was then blockaded. 17 000 troops landed east of Santiago in June and joined up with Cuban General Garcia’s force of 5000. On 1 July these forces had captured San Juan Hill, then bombarded the port and the Spanish fleet at anchor. The remnants of the Spanish fleet was destroyed attempting to leave harbor on 3 July. Santiago was besieged until it surrendered on 17 July as Garcia’s troops approached.
The Spanish flag was replaced with the US flag in the city. The Cubans were told that they could not enter Santiago as the rebels would ‘plunder’ and pillage. This obviously led to outrage in Cuba, Garcia was appalled at this ‘slander’ of his people.
In Cuba, the war was known as the 'US intervention in Cuba’s war of independence', but in the US Cubans were depicted as unfit for self-government.
On 12 August 1898, Spain agreed to withdraw from Cuba and relinquished control of Puerto Rico. It was also agreed that there would be a peace conference in September to decide the fate of former Spanish territories. Garcia was advised to demobilise his forces.
War in The Pacific
Theodore Roosevelt, assistant secretary of the navy, urged the commander of the US Asiatic fleet, commodore George Dewey, to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines after the declaration of war with Spain. As with US support for the Cuban revolutionaries in the Caribbean, Dewey had contacted exiled leaders of the Filipino independence movement – specifically Emilio Aguinaldo - before the outbreak of war. On 30 April, four US cruisers and two gunboats sank all ten Spanish ships in Manila harbor. No US losses were incurred.
In July, US forces had taken the Mariana island of Guam – a Spanish colony. Guam was a strategic point between the Philippines and Hawaii. The Spanish troops on the island did not even know their nation was at war with the US and surrendered.
Aguinaldo and his men were following the US naval advance. Dewey then asked President McKinley for invasion troops to be sent to the Philippines. 11 000 were deployed and together with Aguinaldo’s men and support from the islanders themselves – US forces took Manila on 13 August. War with Spain had officially ended 6 hours before this.
Historian Kirsten L Hoganson highlights how the US press depicted the Filipinos more negatively than Cubans, presenting them as child-like. In the final acts of the conflict in the Philippines the Spanish had proposed a surrender to US forces in a mock battle for Manila. This would mean few casualties and would allow the Spanish to maintain ‘military honour’ i.e. not defeated by the inferior Filipinos. With Aguinaldo’s forces still surrounding Manila this fake battle ensued. The Spanish duly raised the white flag and US troops took the city. Like Garcia in Santiago, Aguinaldo and his men were barred from entering Manila. But in the Philippines, Filipino revolutionary leaders retreated to organise their own government - independent of the US.
Extension task
You could explore the Philippine independence movement in more depth by reading through and discussing this EE: Sample 1: Causes of the Philippine Revolution of 1896-1898
The Paris Peace Conference
On 1st October 1898, the peace conference commenced in Paris. Despite the fact that the US had worked with the revolutionary Cubans and Filipinos in defeating the Spanish in the Caribbean and Pacific – no Cubans or Filipino representatives were invited or even consulted. The fate of these territories lay in the hands of ten US and Spanish delegates. Historian Walter LaFeber argues that McKinley was not sure in his own mind exactly what he would ask of the Spanish. The President was sure he would demand the relinquishment of Cuba, but the more difficult question was what to do with the Philippines.
Although the future of Cuba, in line with Teller Amendment, did not permit US annexation it was agreed that there would be a temporary US occupation after the Spanish left. The US, very much in line with European style imperialism, would also annex at least Manila and potentially the whole of the Philippines. It was decided that the US needed the port of Manila in order to have a naval base in the western Pacific. The tricky question was how much Philippine territory would be annexed in order to protect Manila. Public opinion in the US during the campaigns for the mid-term elections seemed to favour overseas expansion and generally approved of annexing the whole of the Philippines.
President McKinley then cabled the US negotiators his terms for peace:
- Cession of the Philippines
- Offer of compensation of $20 million
- Spain to give up Cuba, Puerto Rico and Guam.
The subsequent Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10th 1898. However, the Treaty then required ratification by 2/3 of the US senate.
Task One
ATL – Self-management and communication skills
In groups of four draft a report on the war and the terms of the treaty of Paris.
The report should include US naval and land force reports on the conflict. It must also include interviews with Cuban and Filipino revolutionaries and their perspectives on the Paris peace treaty and conflicting US conservative and pro-expansionist viewpoints on the terms of the treaty.
6. How did the US expand its territory after the war with Spain?
Hawaii
As you saw in the previous unit, the US had previously rejected the idea of annexing Hawaii, and President Cleveland had condemned the unauthorised deployment of US forces there during a coup to depose the new Queen. However, it remained unstable and when the war with Spain broke out, President McKinley went ahead and annexed Hawaii in July 1898.
Task One
ATL: Thinking skills
Go to this document – Joint Resolution to provide for the annexing of the Hawaiian islands to the US and discuss the rationale presented for this action.
Samoa
After the end of the war with Spain, in 1899, the eastern islands of Samoa were annexed by the US. The annexation could be viewed as an example of ‘preclusive imperialism’. You will have found in the last unit that there had been a confrontation with the Germans in Samoa during the first civil war there. In 1896 a second civil war broke out and the US and Britain backed one side and the Germans another. To end the conflict all three powers agreed to abolish the Samoan monarchy in 1899. The US and Germany then agreed to a partition of Samoa in the Tripartite Convention 1899, also signed by Britain. No Samoans were consulted in the process or decisions made. Pago Pago became a US protectorate and western parts became German. Britain agreed to relinquish its interests in Samoa in exchange with Germany for other territory. Samoa became a US naval station and its territories were renamed American Samoa in 1911.
Wake island
In 1899 Wake island was taken by the US as a telegraph cable station
Task Two
ATL – Thinking and self-management skills
Discuss in pairs the reasons for the US taking Hawaii, Samoa and Wake island. What factors were at play? Were these examples of preclusive imperialism, economic interests or strategic ambitions?
7. What were the effects of the war for Cuba?
General Gomez: ‘this is not the republic we fought for’
Republican campaign poster for 1900 election.
In the treaty of Paris, Spain lost all rights over Cuba. The temporary occupation actually led to US military rule which lasted until 1902 when Cuba formally gained independence. To prevent an uprising in Cuba the US appealed to general Gomez to disband his troops. Initially, Gomez stated that he could not demobilise his forces until Cubans had a guarantee of independence. However, the Cubans gained some faith in its intentions when the US began extensive public works on the island. Electricity was installed in urban areas, the telegraph system was expanded, railroads repaired, swamps drained, and roads repaired. Historian Franklin W Knight argues that this ‘made a tremendous difference among the population of Cuba.’ Subsequently, General Gomez agree to disband the Cuban army and hoped that the US would honour the Teller Amendment to guarantee Cuban independence.
However, on 22 May, 1903 the Platt Amendment Treaty was signed between the US and the newly independent Cuba. It permitted extensive US involvement in Cuban domestic and foreign affairs in order to ‘protest Cuba’s independence from foreign intervention.’ Historian Louis A Perez Jr says that there was no real choice for Cuba: it could either be a republic with the Platt Amendment or have a continued US occupation. The Cubans therefore bowed to US pressure and – narrowly - voted in the Platt Amendment to the constitution.
Historian Franklin W Knight argues the Platt amendment was the US guarantee that Cuba would remain American – it undermined any attempt of Cubans to be autonomous. In effect, the agreement turned Cuba into a US protectorate. The US set up a naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
The US ‘Island of Cuba Real Estate Company’ was set up which sold Cuban land to US citizens. The US went on to militarily intervene in Cuba using the Platt Amendment in 1906-09, 1912 and 1917-22.
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In pairs go to the Platt Amendment document and discuss the extent to which Cuban independence had been compromised by the US.
8. Why did conflict continue in the Philippines?
The critical issue that developed for the US Congress was the future of the Philippines as outlined in the Paris Treaty. There were heated debates on the Treaty with regards to this issue. Opponents to the annexation of the Philippines were critical that it would turn the US into an imperial power akin to the European imperialists it had fought in the Revolutionary War of independence. Supporters of the Treaty argued that if the Treaty was rejected not only would the war continue but it would be a repudiation of the President. According to historian Robert L Beisner, the Democratic opposition asserted that it was not possible to be a true democracy and rule an empire. There were also racist viewpoints opposed to the treaty as it involved annexing the Philippines. Wealthy industrialist William Carnegie even offered to pay out $20 million for McKinley to give the Filipinos their independence. Opponents also posed economic arguments; annexation would lead to increased taxes due to the need for an increase in military commitments.
Arguments in favour of annexation included the idea of ‘preclusive imperialism’ in that the Filipinos would be unable to defend themselves from Japanese or European imperialists. McKinley’s own speeches on the matter emphasized the need to ‘Christianize’ the Philippines (note that 7 million were already Catholic – so this would mean conversion to Protestantism). There were economic arguments in favour – it would open up and secure US trade in the region. Two days before the vote on the treaty was to be held there was a shoot-out between Filipino nationalists and US soldiers. Two democrats switched sides to support the treaty due to the ensuing rise in patriotism.
The Paris Treaty was ratified. The Philippines had no Teller Amendment. But as the US acquired its first colonies it also acquired its first rebellion. Filipinos continued to fight for independence - now against the US. Dewey called for more men and munitions to crush the Philippine rebellion swiftly.
The cost of annexation and the four years of war was high. The government had spent $600 million by 1904 and had 126 000 troops stationed in the Philippines. In the course of the conflict the US lost 1000 killed, 2800 injured and the Filipinos incurred 20 000 troops and 200 000 civilians killed.
A US anti-imperialist noted: ‘Dewey took Manila with the loss of one man and all our institutions.’
Task One
ATL: Thinking and communication skills
Watch this documentary Crucible of empire: The Spanish American War from 1.33.30 to 1.49.11 and answer the following questions (Click on the eye)
Questions:
- What does historian Walter LaFaber find interesting about the growth in the Anti-Imperialist League?
- What did the founder of the Anti-Imperialist League use in his pamphlets about the conflict in the Philippines?
- In August 1899, how many reinforcements were requested by the US commander?
- Aguinaldo ordered a guerrilla strategy against US forces, what did this entail according to historian Filipino Ricardo T Jose?
- According to historian Stephen E Ambrose why did violence and the use of torture increase?
- The brutality of the conflict led to which newspaper magnate becoming an unexpected supporter to anti-imperialist movement?
- Why, despite the casualties and horrific reports from the Philippines, was McKinley re-elected in 1900?
- Which historian argues ‘almost never do foreign policy questions decide US elections’?
- When was Aguinaldo captured by US forces?
- Which Filipino leader declared: ‘there has been enough blood, enough tears, enough desolation. By accepting the sovereignty of the United States I believe I am serving thee - our beloved country’ in March 1901?
- Who became the first civilian US governor of the Philippine in the summer of 1901?
- Who described Taft’s mission as one of ‘benevolent assimilation’?
- What policies did the US implement in the Philippines?
- On September 5th 1901, which president visited the Pan-American exhibition in Buffalo New York and stated: ‘we have a vast and intricate business built up through years of toil and struggle in which every part of this country has its stake; isolation is no longer possible or desirable’?
- Historian La Faber suggests that he was the 1st president to tell Americans what?
- After McKinley’s assassination – who became president?
- What policies did the US implement in attempting to suppress the rebellion against its rule?
- Where had the Spanish used similar policies to try to put down revolt?
ATL: Thinking skills
In pairs read the source below and discuss Mark Twain’s perspective on US actions in the Philippines.
We have pacified some thousands of the islanders and buried them; destroyed their fields; burned their villages, and turned their widows and orphans out-of-doors; furnished heartbreak by exile to some dozens of disagreeable patriots; subjugated the remaining ten millions by Benevolent Assimilation, which is the pious new name for the musket; we have acquired property in the three hundred concubines and other slaves of our business partner, the Sultan of Sulu, and hoisted our protectorate flag over the swag. And so, by these Providences of God – and the phrase is the government’s not mine – we are a World Power.
Mark Twain
Historiography on the US annexation of Philippines
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In groups review the material you have covered thus far on the events that led the US to annex the Philippines. Read through the chart below. Copy out your own version and add supporting examples to each theme.
9. What were the effects of the Spanish-American War?
‘No war ever transformed us quite as the war with Spain transformed us’
Woodrow Wilson, then President of Princeton University. 1902.
The Spanish called the war: The Disaster whereas the US ambassador to Britain, John Hay, described it as a ‘splendid little war’. It ushered in a new era in international relations and brought an end to the Spanish empire. The US tangibly and symbolically had become a major power in world politics. It now had the ability to act on a global level. The US had gained great power status and an empire. Indeed, it had become a member of the ‘imperial club’ and its acquisition of territories in the Pacific made it a key player in that region as well as its strengthened position in the Americas region (not contained to control of Cuba and Puerto Rico). As historian George C Herring notes: ‘the war of 1898… marked the beginning of what would come to be called the American century.’
Domestically, the war unleashed a rising sense of US greatness and inspired further the notion of Manifest Destiny. The war with Spain could also be seen as bringing more unity within the US following the Civil War and the difficult period of reconstruction – the Spanish-American war had led Confederate and Union soldiers to take up the cause of Cuba Libre together.
Task One
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
In pairs look at the map below and discuss the effects of the Spanish-American War on US territory by 1900.
https://kappamapgroup.com/product/031-united-states-territory-as-of-1900/
Task Two
ATL: Thinking and communication skills
Continue watching the documentary Crucible of empire: The Spanish American War from 1.49.11 to end and answer the following questions:
- According to H W Brands, by the end of the war in the Philippines the US had no stomach for more what?
- What did Theodore Roosevelt say the Philippines had become?
- When did the US military withdraw from Havana?
- When did the US first militarily intervene in Cuba after this?
- Why does historian LaFaber see this as a turning point?
- What year was Cuba finally given independence?
- When did a nationalist revolution overthrow the US backed General Batista’s regime?
- Which Cuban leader made an illusion to events in Santiago in 1898 in his 1st proclamation?
Task Three
ATL: Thinking and self-management skills
We will consider the longer-term effects of the Spanish-American war in the next unit. From what you have studied thus far, discuss the effects of the war using the following ideas to develop your conversation.
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn