The Emerging
World Power
1898-1909
Our form of government,
our traditions, our present
interests, and our future
welfare, all forbid our
entering upon a career of
conquest.
-William Jennings
Bryan,
Dec. 3, 1898
The Spanish American War
A Catalan satirical drawing published in La
Campana de Gràcia (1896), criticizing U.S.
behavior regarding Cuba. Text below reads:
"Keep the island so it won't get lost."
• A principle target of American
imperialism was the
Caribbean area
• Expansionists from the South
had coveted Cuba as early
as 1850
• In the 1890s, large American
investments in Cuban sugar,
Spanish misrule in Cuba,
and the Monroe Doctrine all
provided justification for U.S.
intervention
Causes of War
American Jingoism
• In the 1890s, American public opinion
was being swept by a growing wave of
jingoism-an intense form of nationalism
calling for an aggressive foreign policy
• Expansionists demanded that the
United States take its place among the
great European powers
• Not everyone favored this policyincluding Presidents Cleveland and
McKinley
• Both thought military action was morally
and economically wrong for the U.S.
• Nevertheless, specific events would
lead to war with Spain
Reasons to Fight a War
Male Spanish officials strip
search an American woman
tourist in Cuba looking for
messages from rebels; front page
"yellow journalism" from Hearst
Cuban revolt in 1895:
-Spain’s creation of “reconcentration
camps” by Spanish General Weyler
created American sympathy for
Cuban patriots fighting for their
freedom and created fear that
Spanish misrule in Cuba menaced
shipping routes to the West Indies.
The “yellow press”:
-Hearst’s New York Journal and
Pulitzer’s New York World used
atrocity stories (some real, some
fabricated) to create sympathy
among Americans
Reasons to Fight a War
continued…
Pulitzer's treatment in the
World emphasizes the horrible
explosion of the Maine
De Lome letter 1898:
-Spanish minister (Dupuy de Lome)
based in Washington, D.C., wrote a
letter critical of President McKinley
that became public, raising the ire of
many Americans.
Sinking of the Maine:
-In February 1898 (week after letter), the
USS Maine paid a courtesy call (and,
if necessary, to protect and evacuate
U.S. citizens) to Havana, Cuba.
-It exploded in the harbor on February
15, killing 260 U.S. sailors.
-The yellow press blamed it on the
Spanish, inciting war fever in the U.S.
Americans Demand War
President McKinley
• Following the sinking of the Maine, President
McKinley issued an ultimatum to Spain-agree to
a ceasefire with the rebels
• Spain capitulated but the American public and
Congress demanded war
McKinley’s war message:
-President McKinley reluctantly sent a war
message to Congress on April 11 and gave four
reasons for the U.S. to intervene in Cuba
(1) Put an end to the bloodshed in Cuba
(2) Protect the lives and property of the U.S.
(3) End the “very serious injury to the commerce,
trade, and business of our people”
(4) End “the constant menace to our peace”
arising from the disorders in Cuba
Congress Declares War
Senator Henry M. Teller, a
Democrat from Colorado,
proposed the Teller
amendment to ensure that
the United States would
not establish permanent
control over Cuba
following the cessation of
hostilities with Spain.
• On April 20, Congress issued a
4-part statement:
1. Cuba was free.
2. Spain must withdraw from
Cuba.
3. Armed forces will be used to
achieve the above.
4. The U.S. has no intention of
annexing Cuba (known as the
Teller Amendment).
Fighting the War
• The first shots of the SpanishAmerican War were fired in Manila Bay
in the Philippines
• The last shots were fired only a few
months later in August
• So swift was the U.S. victory that
Secretary of State John Hay called it
“a splendid little war.”
John Hay
The Philippines
The Battle of Manila Bay
• Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley’s
assistant secretary of the navy,
was an expansionist who wanted
to use the nation’s all new steel
navy
• Roosevelt ordered the fleet
commanded by Commodore
George Dewey to the Philippines
• On May 1, Commodore Dewey’s
fleet smashed Spanish ships in
Manila Bay
• Allied with Filipino rebels, U.S.
troops supported by naval
bombardment captured Manila on
August 13
Invasion of Cuba
United States Army
officer Colonel Charles
A. Wikoff was the most
senior U.S. military
officer killed in the
Spanish–American War.
• More troublesome than the Philippines
was the U.S. efforts in Cuba
• The U.S. was ill-prepared with a largely
volunteer force that landed in Cuba
(June)
• More than 5,000 American soldiers died
of malaria, typhoid, and dysentery (500
died in battle)
• Attacks by both American and Cuban
forces quickly subdued a much larger but
poorly led Spanish army
Invasion of Cuba continued…
General Joe Wheeler with the
command group of the 1st US
Volunteer Regiment, the "Rough
Riders" in Tampa—Col Wood is 2nd
from right with Lt Col Roosevelt far
right.
• The most celebrated event of
the war was a cavalry charge up
San Juan Hill in Cuba by the
Rough Riders
• This regiment was assembled
by Roosevelt and led by Col.
Woods
• On July 3, the U.S. Navy
destroyed the Spanish fleet at
Santiago Bay
• Spain was crippled and sought
terms of peace
Annexation of Hawaii
On August 12, 1898, the flag of the
Republic of Hawaii over ‘Iolani
Palace was lowered to raise the
United States flag to signify
annexation.
• For decades before the war, the
Hawaiian islands were settled by
American missionaries and
entrepreneurs
• U.S. expansionists wanted the islands,
and in 1893, overthrew the Hawaiian
monarch Queen Liliuokalani
• President Cleveland opposed
annexation, but when war broke out
against Spain the Congress and
President McKinley completed
annexation in July of 1898
• Hawaii became a territory of the U.S. in
1900 and the last state in the union
August 1959
Controversy Over the Treaty of
Peace
Post-Spanish-American War map of
"Greater America," including Cuba
and the Philippines.
• For more controversial than the war
itself were the terms of the treaty of
peace signed in Paris on Dec. 10,
1898
• The terms provided for the following:
(1) Recognition of Cuban independence
(2) U.S. acquisition of two Spanish
islands-Puerto Rico and Guam
(3) U.S. acquisition of the Philippines
(Spain received payment of 20
million)
• American were not prepared for the
idea of taking a large Pacific island
nation
The Philippines Question
Popular anti-imperialist
cartoon (1899)
• Controversy over the Philippine question
took many months longer to resolve than
war with Spain
• Opinion both in the Congress and the
public was sharply divided between
imperialists and anti-imperialists
• The Treaty of Paris would require a 2/3s
vote by the Senate to ratify the taking of
the Philippines
• Anti-imperialists argued that such action
would violate the principles of the
Declaration of Independence and
entangle the U.S. in Asian politics
• On Feb. 6, 1899 the imperialists prevailed
with the ratification of the treaty 57 to 27
(2 votes short for anti-imperialists)
Filipinos React
Emilio Aguinaldo in
the field.
• Filipino nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo and
others were outraged by the actions of
the U.S.
• Aguinaldo claimed the U.S. had
promised to make the Philippines
independent immediately.
• He declared the creation of the
Philippine Republic on January 23,
1899-fighting began on February 4.
• The U.S. sent 70,000 troops, but it was
an unpopular action in America.
• The insurrection cost the lives of many
Americans-more than the Spanish
American War
The Insurrection Ends
A group of Filipino combatants are
photographed just as they lay down their
weapons prior to their surrender.
• Aguinaldo was captured in
March 1901 and the U.S.
set up a colonial
government in the
Philippines.
• William Howard Taft was
appointed the first governor
of the colony.
• The insurrection ended in
1902 after three years of
intense fighting
Other Results of the War
• Imperialism remained a major issue in the U.S. even
after the ratification of the Treaty of Paris
• An Anti-Imperialist League, led by William Jennings
Bryan, rallied opposition to further acts of expansion in
the Pacific
Insular (island) Cases:
-One question concerned the constitutional rights of the
Philippine people: Did the Constitution follow the flag?
-Bryan argued in the affirmative while imperialists argued in
the negative
-the issue was resolved in favor of imperialists in a series of
Supreme Court cases that ruled-constitutional rights
were not automatic, only Congress could decide such
rights
Cuba and the Platt
Amendment
Page one of the Platt
Amendment.
• Previously, the Teller Amendment
guaranteed Cuba’s sovereignty
as an independent nation
• Nevertheless, American troops
remained in Cuba from 18981901
• In the latter year, Congress made
withdrawal of troops conditional
to Cuba’s acceptance of certain
terms
• These terms were set by the Platt
Amendment of 1901
Platt Amendment Terms
(1) Never sign a treaty w/ foreign power that impairs
independence
(2) Never build up excessive public debt
(3) Permit the U.S. to intervene in Cuba’s affairs to
preserve its independence and maintain law/order
(4) Allow U.S. to build and maintain a naval base in Cuba
(Guantanamo Bay)
• Cuba agreed, adding these provisions to their new
constitution, and essentially making the U.S. their
“protectorate”
The Election of 1900
Presidential election results map. Blue
denotes states won by Bryan/Stevenson,
Red denotes those won by
McKinley/Roosevelt.
McKinley
Bryan
• The Republicans nominated
President McKinley and ran
New York Governor Theodore
Roosevelt for vice president
• The Democrats ran William
Jennings Bryan who argued
for free silver and an antiimperialism platform
• Most Americans had accepted
the gold standard as the right
economic policy and the
acquisition of the Philippines
as an accomplished fact
• McKinley won the election!
Recognition of U.S. Power
Image: 1899 Satire of Kipling's phrase "the
white man's burden" shows the colonial
powers being carried as the burden of their
Philippine subjects
• One positive consequence of the
Spanish-American War was its
effect on the way both Americans
and Europeans thought about
U.S. power
• Americans were filled with pride,
even the southerners felt “better”
about their part in the nation after
the bitterness of the Civil War
• European nations now recognized
the U.S. as a first-class power
with a strong navy and a new
willingness to take an active role
in international affairs
Key Names, Events, and
Terms
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cuba
Jingoism
Valeriano Weyler
Yellow journalism
Spanish-American War
De Lome Letter
Maine
Teller Amendment
Philippines
George Dewey
Theodore Roosevelt
Rough Riders
Hawaii, Liliuokalani
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Puerto Rico; Guam
Philippine annexation
Emilio Aguinaldo
Anti-Imperialist League
Insular cases
Platt Amendment 1901
John Hay
Question
Which of the following was an IMMEDIATE cause
of the Spanish-American War?
(a) Cuban nationalism
(b) U.S. expansionism
(c) Yellow journalism
(d) The sinking of the Maine
(e) Business need for raw materials and new
markets
Answer
D: The sinking of the Maine