CHAPTER 12: THE EMPIRE AND
THE PEOPLE
Justin Fang
BACKGROUND
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In recent years, the United States
had begun to spread its influence
around the continent by using the
Monroe Doctrine as a justification.
One such example was the MexicanAmerican War.
The idea of United States expansion
was an ideology among those in the
upper class such as military men,
politicians, and businessmen.
The men who believed in
expansionism were all connected to
one another, even some had ties to
President Theodore Roosevelt.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United
States
ECONOMIC INTERESTS
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Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the
United States
The United States turned its
eyes upon Cuba when they
began to fight their own
revolution against Spain. The
United States already had
economic interest Cuban prior
to the war.
The U.S.S Maine was sunk in
Havana harbor by a mysterious
explosion.
The explosion gave President
McKinley a reason for the
United States to go to war
against Spain.
Prior to the U.S intervention,
the Teller Amendment was
passed which stated that Cuba
would remain independent,
which was supported by antiimperialists and business
people.
WAR AGAINST SPAIN
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Not everyone was for the war.
In fact, there were many
outspoken critics of the war who
expressed themselves in
newspaper articles and
journals.
The Spanish- American War
lasted months after the United
States emerged victorious. After
the war had ended Secretary of
State John Hay called it a
“splendid little war.”
The Americans took over the
Cuban resources. United Fruit
and the American Tobacco
Company both invested
resources after the war.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s
History of the United States
AFTERMATH OF THE WAR
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Source: Zinn, 2003; A
People’s History of the
United States
Following the war, the U.S
kept their word and did not
annex Cuba, but Cuba was
told the American army would
not leave until the Platt
Amendment passed.
The Platt Amendment gave
the U.S “the right to intervene
for the preservation of Cuban
independence, the
maintenance of a government
adequate for the protection of
life, property, and individual
liberty.”
Both Americans and Cubans
felt betrayed due to the
passage of the Platt
Amendment.
AFTERMATH OF THE WAR CONT.
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Though the United States did not gain
Cuba, the States did gain several
other territories.
The Hawaiian Islands were officially
annexed during the July of 1898.
Wake Island, Guam, and the
Philippines became American
territories after the United States paid
$20 million for them.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
TROUBLE BREWS IN THE PHILIPPINES
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President McKinley said to a
group of ministers that the
United States must
Christianize them.
The Filipinos revolted in
February of 1899. The
Filipinos were lead by Emilio
Aguinaldo.
Aguinaldo wanted the
Philippines to be independent
but with U.S protection. The
United States rejected it.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
PHILIPPINE- AMERICAN WAR
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McKinley said the Filipino
rebels fired first, but
American soldiers later
testified that they had
actually fired first.
During the years of the
war, racism in the United
States intensified.
The Filipinos, brownskinned, spoke a foreign
language, and looked
strange to soldiers.
As a result of that,
American soldiers were
extremely brutal when
dealing with the Filipinos.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of
the United States
OPPOSITION OF THE WAR
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History of the United States
Many anti- imperialists
were against the war and
wrote articles against why
they were against the war.
One of those individuals
was Mark Twain.
Twain wrote,” We have
pacified some thousands of
islanders and buried them;
destroyed their field;
burned their villages, and
turned their widows and
orphans out-of-doors;
furnished heartbreak to
exile to some dozens of
disagreeable patriots;
subjugated the remaining
ten millions by Benevolent
Assimilation, which is the
pious new name of 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 protecting flag over
SUPPORT FOR THE WAR
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Even though brutality in the
Philippines was welldocumented, there were still
people for the war.
The Typographical Union was
in favor of the war because if
the Americans won, the
English- language schools set
up in the Philippines would
help the printing market.
Multiple business industries
saw profits in the Philippines,
so must businesses were in
favor of the war.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
BLACK OPPOSITION TO THE WAR
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Henry M. Turner, a bishop of
African Methodist Episcopal
Church, called the war “an
unholy war of conquest” and
called the Filipinos “sable
patriots.”
Due to most African- Americans
being against the war, there were
only four black regiments that
were on duty in the Philippines.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
BLACK AND FILIPINO RELATIONS
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Most of the black soldiers
got along with the native
people and were angered by
the white soldiers when
they called the Filipinos
niggers.
A large number of black
soldiers began to desert the
Americans forces and
joined the Filipino rebel
army.
One deserter wrote,” Our
racial sympathies would
naturally be with the
Filipinos.”
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
THE WAR AT HOME
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Following the war, black
soldiers than returned home
received mixed reactions from
people.
Willard Gatewood in Smoked
Yankees and the Struggle for
Empire wrote about how black
soldiers encamped at Tampa,
Florida ran into racist people.
It is also documented in the
book that the black soldiers
were not rewarded with officers’
commissions and that white
officers often commanded black
regiments.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the United States
CONCLUSION OF THE WAR
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The war finally ended after 3
years when the United
States emerging victorious.
With the victory, debate at
home began o shift away
from whether or no the U.S
should be fitting the war in
the first place to whether or
not the States should annex
the Philippines.
Source: Zinn, 2003; A People’s History of the
United States
REFERENCES
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Zinn, Howard. A People's History of the United States: 1942present. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. Print.