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The Spanish-American War took place in '''1898''', and resulted in the United States gaining control over the former colonies of Spain in the Caribbean and Pacific . The US lost 379 troops in combat and over 5,000 to disease. As a result of the war, Cuba would be declared independent in 1902. Background By the late nineteenth century Spain was left with only a few scattered possessions in the with both Cuban rebels and Spanish troops burning and destroying infrastructure, crops, tools, livestock, and anything else that might aid the enemy. Nevertheless, by 1897 the rebels had mostly defeated the Spanish. They were firmly in control of the eastern countryside and the Spanish could only leave urban centers in columns of considerable strength. These events in Cuba coincided with a battle for readership between two New York City newspapers run by Hearst and Pulitzer . Hearst's style of " Yellow Journalism " would outdo Pulitzer's, but outside of New York City, few people read their papers. However, Hearst did document the atrocities committed in Cuba. The Cuba n civilian death toll was very high, and a real rebellion was being fought against Spanish rule {Link without Title} . Public opinion in Cuba favored American intervention. Fueled by the reports of inhumanity of the Spanish, a majority of Americans became convinced that an "intervention" was becoming necessary. Among these was young in the harbor of Havana on the 15th of February 1898. Though later analysis has proved otherwise, Americans believed that the explosion was caused by the Spanish. A naval inquiry (fueled by Pulitizer and Hearst's heartfelt articles on the incident) at the time concluded that the Spanish had indeed caused "The Maine" to explode. There were, however, very real pressures pushing toward war within Cuba. Faced with defeat, a lack of money, and resources to continue fighting Spanish occupation, Cuban revolutionary and future president Tomás Estrada Palma , then Head of the Cuban Revolutionary Junta , secured $150 million dollars from a U.S. banker to purchase Cuba's independence, but Spain refused. He then deftly negotiated and propagandized his cause in the U.S. Congress, eventually securing the bill for U.S. intervention. Humanitarian interests dominated American opinion. President McKinley and House Speaker Reed worked hard to calm the mood, as did many Republicans, but the pressure from Democrats like Hearst and Pulitzer in New York City, and Democratic politicians across the country, steadily increased. Spain could not back down without creating a crisis at home. Spain was on the verge of civil war and surrender to American demands would be dangerous. Much more acceptable to the Spanish was being defeated by a vastly superior power in an honorable war. That way the albatross of Cuba could be shed without civil war at home. Americans had considered purchase of Cuba over the years but had always decided against making an offer. No one thought Cuba could be assimilated into the American political system, even if its location was so close. Much of the island's export business and high technology was already in American hands, and most of Cuba's trade was with the U.S. Thus there was no economic need for acquisioton of the island, and no major business interests proposed acquisition. Most businessmen opposed war and supported McKinley. Senator John M. Thurston of Nebraska : "War with Spain would increase the business and earnings of every American railroad, it would increase the output of every American factory, it would stimulate every branch of industry and domestic commerce." The United States Navy had recently grown considerably and been reorganized, but it was still untested, and Navy leaders hoped war would help it prove itself. To this end, the US Navy drew up contingency plans for attacking the Spanish in the Philippines over a year before hostilities broke out. In Spain, the government was not entirely averse to war. The U.S. was an unproven power, while the Spanish Navy, however decrepit, had a glorious history, and it was thought it could be a match for the U.S. The DeLome Letter was an example of the doubts of Spain as to whether the U.S. was powerful enough to defeat them. There was also a widely held notion among Spain's aristocratic leaders that the United States' ethnically mixed army and navy could never survive under severe pressure. Declaration of war , 1898]] On February 15 1898 , the American Battleship USS ''Maine'' in Havana harbor suffered an explosion and quickly sank with a loss of 266 men. Evidence as to the cause of the explosion was inconclusive and contradictory, but the American press, led by the two New York papers, proclaimed that this was certainly a despicable act of Sabotage by the Spaniards. The press aroused the public to demand war, with the slogan ''"Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!"''. This chauvinistic belligerent feeling became known as Jingoism , a British expression first coined in 1878. U.S. President William McKinley was not inclined towards war, and had long held out against intervention, but the ''Maine'' explosion so forcefully shaped public opinion that he had to agree. Spanish minister Práxedes Mateo Sagasta did much to try to prevent this, including withdrawing the officials in Cuba against whom complaints had been made, and offering the Cubans autonomy. This was well short of full independence for Cuba, however, and would have done little to change the status quo. Thus, on April 11 , McKinley went before Congress to ask for authority to send American troops to Cuba for the purpose of ending the Civil War there. On April 19 , Congress passed joint resolutions proclaiming Cuba "free and independent" and disclaiming any intentions in Cuba, demanded Spanish withdrawal, and authorized the President to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuban patriots gain freedom from Spain. (This was adopted by Congress from Senator Henry Teller of Colorado as the Teller Amendment , which passed unanimously.) In response, Spain broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. On April 25 , Congress declared that a state of war between the United States and Spain had existed since April 21st (Congress later passed a resolution backdating the declaration of war to April 20th). Theaters of operation The Philippines For more on engagements in the Philippines , please see Philippine-American War . The first battle was in the Philippines where, on May 1 , 1898, Commodore George Dewey , commanding the United States Pacific fleet, in a matter of hours, defeated the Spanish squadron, under Admiral Patricio Montojo Y Pasarón , without sustaining a casualty at sea, at the Battle Of Manila Bay . The success of the Pacific Fleet was due to the Spanish Navy being trapped in the bay. This naval battle became a textbook example for future Naval commanders. Meanwhile, Philippine nationalists, led by Emilio Aguinaldo , attacked the Spanish on land, successfully defeating the Spanish and capturing much of the country, with the exception of Manila which was encircled by the Filipinos. The last significant action on the Philippines ended with the Battle Of Manila (July 25 1898 - August 13, 1898) where the Spanish surrendered Manila to the U.S. Army. Cuba . Lithograph by Chicago printers Kurz and Allison (1899).]] Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" Theodore ("Teddy") Roosevelt , had actively encouraged intervention in Cuba and while assistant-secretary of the Navy, placed the Navy on a war-time footing, and had ordered Dewey and the Pacific fleet to the Philippines . Once hostilities were certain, TR resigned his office, and fought for a military commission and thus had a role in the coming war. Unlike his father, who had supported the American Civil War but bought his way out of it, to his son's everlasting regret. TR wanted a part in this one. Roosevelt had been instrumental, with his Washington, DC chum, Captain Leonard Wood in convincing the Army to raise an all-volunteer regiment, the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. Initially, Roosevelt was offered a colonel's commission and command of the regiment, but wisely felt that his lack of military experience disqualified him from accepting command of a unit likely to actually go into combat and deferred to his regular army friend, Captain Wood, who was given a command of the regiment that became quickly known as the " Rough Riders ". Roosevelt ordered uniforms, took out life insurance, told his wife that he might not survive and headed off to San Antonio, Texas to train with the regiment. (In Cuba, upon Leonard Wood's promotion to command a brigade, Roosevelt himself would be given command of the regiment.) The "Rough Riders," after initial training in San Antonio , Texas, moved by rail to Tampa, Florida and, from there, embarked on shipping which "sped" off to war at the pace of the slowest vessel, 3 knots. Cuba and the adventure of a lifetime would await thousands of young Americans, rich and poor, black, white, red and brown, city boys and farm boys, young men used to polo ponies and young men used to roping cattle on mustangs. In Cuba, unreconstructed Confederates like General Wheeler and ardent unionists like LtCol Roosevelt would come together to face a common foe. It would be their "crowded hour," in Roosevelt's words. Naval operations in Cuba The first action in Cuba was the establishing of a base at Guantánamo Bay on 10 June by U.S. Marines (see 1898 Invasion Of Guantánamo Bay ) Spanish Admiral Cervera, who had arrived from Spain, held up his naval forces in Santiago harbor where they would be protected from sea attack. Assistant Naval Constructor Richmond Pearson Hobson was soon ordered by Admiral Sampson to sink the Collier ''Merrimac'' in the harbor to bottle up the fleet. Hobson modified a broken down collier and gathered a small crew of eight volunteers, and rigged the vessel with explosives. The plan was to sink the ''Merrimac'' in the narrow entry of Santiago Harbor, trapping the Spanish fleet within the harbor. The mission was a failure. Hobson and his crew were captured. They were exchanged on July 6 , and Hobson became a national hero. Ground operations in Cuba The Americans planned to capture the city of Santiago in order to destroy Cervera's fleet. The Americans forces would be aided in Cuba by the pro-independence rebels led by General Calixto García . On June 22 and June 24 , the US V Corps under General William R. Shafter landed at Daiquiri and Siboney East of Santiago and established the American base of operations, unopposed by the Spaniards who had retreated under assault by Cuban land forces. An advance guard of US forces under former Confederate General Joseph Wheeler ignored Cuban scouting parties and orders to proceed with caution. They caught up with, and were ambushed by, the Spanish rear guard in the Battle Of Las Guasimas . Here, US forces were checked momentarily although the Spanish continued the retreat. Battle of El Caney and San Juan Hill On July 1 a combined force of about 20,000 American regular, all-colored Cavalry (as they were known at the time), volunteer regiments, including Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders," and rebel Cuban forces attacked 1,700 entrenched Spaniards in dangerous frontal assaults at the Battle Of El Caney and Battle Of San Juan Hill outside of Santiago . These assaults were the bloodiest battle in the war with 1,600 American and 593 Spanish casualties. Supporting fire by Gatling guns was critical to the success of the assault {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . It was then that Cervera decided to escape Santiago two days later. The Spanish forces at Guantánamo were so isolated by Marines and Cuban forces that they did not know that Santiago was under siege, and the forces in the northern part of the province could not break through Cuban lines. This was not true of the Escario relief column from Manzanillo {Link without Title} which fought its way past determined Cuban resistance, but arrived too late to participate in these. Subsequent operations After the battles of San Juan Hill and El Caney, the action was slowed by the successful defenses at and around Fort Canosa {Link without Title} . The campaign turned into a bloody strangling siege (Daley, 2000). During the nights, Cuban troops were used to dig successive series of progressively advancing "trenches," which were actually raised parapets. Once completed, these parapets were occupied by US troops and a new set of parapets constructed. The US troops, while suffering some losses from Spanish fire, suffered far more casualties from heat exhaustion and mosquito born disease (McCook, 1899). At the western approaches to the city Cuban General Calixto Garcia began to encroach on the city, causing much panic and fear of reprisals among the Spanish forces. The Americans defeated Spanish Admiral Cervera as his fleet left the safety of the port of Santiago in the Battle Of Santiago De Cuba and gained control of the waterways around Cuba. This prevented re-supply of the Spanish forces and also allowed the US to land considerable reserve forces unopposed. Within a month most of the island was in US or Cuban hands. Soon the Spanish abandoned Havana under US protection and Cuban harassing fire. Puerto Rico during May 1898]] During May 1898, Lt. Henry H. Whitney of the United States Fourth Artillery was sent to Puerto Rico on a reconnaissance mission, sponsored by the Army's Bureau of Military Intelligence. He provided maps and information on the Spanish military forces to the U.S. government prior to the invasion. On May 10 , 1898 , U.S. Navy ships were sighted off the coast of Puerto Rico . Spanish gunners stationed at Fort San Cristóbal , under the orders of Capt. Angel Rivero Mendez , fired the first shot (a 15-cm breech loaded Ordóñez rifle round), missing the USS ''Yale'' , an auxiliary ship under the command of Capt. William Clinton Wise . Two days later on May 12 , a squadron of 12 U.S. ships commanded by Rear Adm. William T. Sampson bombarded San Juan, Puerto Rico . During the bombardment, many buildings were shelled, terrifying the population of San Juan. On June 25 , the ''Yosemite'' blocked San Juan harbor. On July 18 , General Nelson A. Miles , commander of the invading forces, received orders to sail for Puerto Rico to land his troops. On July 21 , a convoy of 3,300 soldiers and nine transports escorted by the USS ''Massachusetts'' sailed for Puerto Rico from Guantánamo , Cuba. On July 25 , U.S. troops landed at Guánica, Puerto Rico and took over the island with little resistance. Peace treaty With both fleets incapacitated, Spain realized its forces in the Pacific and Caribbean could not be supplied or reinforced, so Spain sued for peace. Hostilities were halted on August 12 . The formal Peace Treaty , the Treaty Of Paris , was signed in Paris on December 10 , 1898 and was ratified by the United States Senate on February 6 , 1899 . It came into force on April 11 , 1899 . Cubans participated only as observers. The United States gained almost all of Spain's colonies, including the Philippines , Guam , and Puerto Rico . Cuba was granted independence, but the United States imposed various restrictions on the new government, including prohibiting alliances with other countries. On August 14 1898 , 11,000 ground troops were sent to occupy the Philippines. When U.S. troops began to take the place of the Spanish in control of the country, warfare broke out between U.S. forces and the Filipinos. The resulting Philippine-American War was long, bloody, incurring thousands of military and civilian casualties during its fourteen-year span. , in 1898]] Aftermath : "Ten Thousand Miles From Tip to Tip" meaning the extension of U.S. domination (symbolized by a Bald Eagle ) from Puerto Rico to the Philippines. The cartoon contrasts this with a map of the smaller United States 100 years earlier in 1798.]] A war that was in part fueled by the American public's ambition to end the abuse of Cuban natives would in the end result in three territorial conquests for the U.S., tens of thousands of Spaniards and Cubans killed, and the deaths of perhaps a quarter of a million Filipinos {Link without Title} . The Spanish-American War is significant in American history, as it saw the young nation emerge as an Imperial power, though with domains far smaller than Britain or France. The war marked American entry into world affairs; over the course of the next century, the United States had a large hand in various conflicts around the world. The Panic Of 1893 was over by this point, and the United States entered a lengthy and prosperous period of high economic growth, population growth, and technological innovation which would last through the 1920s. The Spanish-American war marked the end of Spain as a colonial power. The defeat paradoxically postponed the civil war that seemed imminent in 1898 and created a renaissaince known as the Generation Of 1898 . The Spanish eventually had a Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. Congress had passed the Teller Amendment prior to the war, promising Cuban independence. However, the Senate passed the Platt Amendment as a rider to an Army appropriations bill, forcing a peace treaty on Cuba which severely curtailed its freedom of action in foreign affairs and allowed the United States considerable freedom to intervene in Cuban affairs. It also provided for the establishment of a permanent American naval base in Cuba, which would lead to the establishment of the base still in use today at Guantánamo Bay . The Cuban peace treaty of 1903 would govern Cuban-American relations until 1934. The United States annexed the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico , The Philippines , and Guam . The idea of the United States as an imperial power with foreign colonies was hotly debated domestically, with President McKinley and the Pro-Imperialists winning their way over vocal opposition. The American public largely supported the possession of colonies, but there were many outspoken critics such as Mark Twain , who wrote '' The War Prayer '' in protest. Mark Twain's writings attacked U.S Army General , father of Douglas McArthur in American history. The Hearst papers became so extremely successful at agitating public sentiment in favor of war, that he eventually became an archetypal figure in his own right. He had become more influential than even many politicians, and at various levels would be sought after for that influence. Decades later, a young Filmmaker named Orson Welles would immortalize the Hearst archetype with '' Citizen Kane '', a portrayal which William Hearst, in later life, would find quite displeasing, though he reportedly never saw the film himself. Another interesting but little-noted effect of this short war was that it served to further cement relations between the American North and South. The war gave both sides a common enemy for the first time since the end of the American Civil War in 1865, and many friendships would have been formed between soldiers of both Northern and Southern states during their tour of duty. This was an important development as many soldiers in this war were the children of Civil War Veterans on both sides, and many would have been raised to have opinions of their Northern or Southern neighbors which would steer more towards the negative rather than positive. The 1890s were a period of reconciliation between the former Yankee s and Confederates , marked by "Blue-Gray" Reunions and increased political harmony between Northern and Southern politicians. The " Lost Cause " view took hold in the popular imagination and many former Confederate leaders were held in general high esteem nationally. The 1890s also saw resurgent Racism in the North and the passage of Jim Crow Law s that increased segregation of blacks from whites, culminating in the '' Plessy V. Ferguson '' decision by the Supreme Court in 1896 that codified the " Separate But Equal " doctrine into law. The Spanish-American War provoked widespread feelings of Jingoistic American Nationalism that fused often-divergent Northern and Southern public opinion. Union and Confederate Veterans had organizations such as the Grand Army Of The Republic and the United Confederate Veterans . In 1904 the United Spanish War Veterans was created from smaller groups of the veterans of the Spanish American War. Today that organization is defunct, but it left an heir in the form of the Sons Of Spanish American War Veterans , created in 1937 at the 39th National Encampment of the United Spanish War Veterans. According to data from the United States Department Of Veterans Affairs , the Last Surviving U.S. Veteran of the conflict, Nathan E. Cook , died on September 10 , 1992 at the age of 106. (Thus, if the data are to be believed, Cook, born October 10, 1885, would have been a mere 12 years of age when he served in the war.) Effects of the Puerto Rican annexation Over 100 years have passed since the Guánica landing, yet the annexation of Puerto Rico continues to be an intensely debated issue today. "The voice of Puerto Rico has not been heard. Not even by way of formality were its inhabitants consulted as to whether they wanted to ask for, object to, or suggest any conditions bearing on their present or future political status...The island and all its people were simply transferred from one sovereign power to another, just as a farm with all its equipment, houses, and animals is passed from one landlord to another." This statement was part of a pamphlet titled, "The Case of Puerto Rico", written by Dr. Julio J. Henna and Roberto H. Todd, leaders of the delegation that had previously advised President William McKinley on the prospective invasion of Puerto Rico , as part of the War against Spain . The Spanish-American War was an unexpected twist in the Antillean revolution, a legacy which had seen prominent figures such as José Martí and Ramon Emeterio Betances not only inspire legions to revolt against Spanish rule in the Caribbean , but to form a federation of the Major Antilles , independent of Spain and the United States . "I do not want us to be a colony, neither a colony of Spain nor a colony of the United States ," wrote Betances. The people of Puerto Rico have thrice voted to remain a Commonwealth Of The United States , rejecting measures both for independence and for full statehood within the union. As residents of a United States commonwealth, Puerto Ricans are entitled to some of the benefits of statehood. Since they are not allowed to vote for the President they are exempt from Federal income tax however any and all commerce is controlled and highly taxed before impporting or exporting it effectively raising cost two and three times the cost of products in the U.S. All commerce is also controlled by the U.S. and undergoes extensive Federal regulation and taxation. Puerto Rico has 2 representatives in Congress with no voting rights and any Puerto Rican Law can be repealed by the U.S. at anytime for any reason. Propaganda in the War It is said one of most important aspects of the Spanish-American War is the Propaganda . In the 1890s, while competing over readership of their newspapers, William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer ’s Yellow Journalism are said to sway Public Opinion and contribute significantly to America’s decision to join the Spanish-American War. Yellow journalism, the story goes, the use of sensationalized reporting to form public opinion, was utilized by Pulitzer’s New York World and Hearst’s New York Journal American . This view proposes, that by reporting graphic stories of embellished, or sometimes falsified, atrocities committed by the Spanish soldiers against the Cuban citizens, Hearst and Pulitzer created public outrage that not only greatly bolstered the sales of their newspapers, but eventually led America into the Spanish-American War. Ultimately, Hearst would defeat Pulitzer in newspaper sales, before going on to pursue political ambitions. {Link without Title} . Yellow Journalism is a form of propaganda, according to the topoi outlined by Ronald F. Reid. By appealing to the Territoriality and Ethnocentrism of readers, Hearst and Pulitzer had great influence over American opinion of the Spanish. The Spanish soldiers, portrayed as cruel and bloodthirsty, were accused of countless illegal and immoral acts. Allegations were made that innocent women were strip searched by callous troops, or taken prisoner and thrown into Cuban jails full of violent criminals. These images and stories invoked the public outcry that led to war. One of the most effective ways to rouse emotion was to portray the victimization of women, the most prominent being Evangelina Betancourt Cisneros. The articles do not only mention Evangelina but also describe her as an affluent, innocent, and young woman. She was intentionally described this way to invoke a sympathetic response. The response the authors wanted was support for the Cubans. Evangelina Cisneros was, in fact, the daughter of a rebel leader who had been imprisoned. In order to get her father moved to a better prison, Evangelina offered to stay in prison with him. After an incident with a Spanish Colonel, the nature of which is unclear, Evangelina was moved to a much harsher prison. The Spanish American War also saw the very first use of film in propaganda. A short ninety second film, called Tearing Down the Spanish Flag, produced in 1898, was a simple moving image designed to inspire patriotism and hatred for the Spanish in America. This film, as the title suggests, depicts the removal of the Spanish national flag and its replacement by the Stars and Stripes of America. This film was very effective in rousing its audience. Military decorations The Spanish-American War was regarded by both Spain and the United States as the first major conflict of modern warfare, leading into the technology of warfare that would be witnessed by the 20th century. As such, to recognize military participation in the conflict, a wide range of awards and decorations were created by all the powers involved to be bestowed upon those who had served in the Spanish-American War. In the United States, the Spanish-American War was the first military conflict to be recognized by a wide range of service medals. The Medal Of Honor also saw its first resurgence since the Civil War and the conflict saw the first wide scale recognition of individual acts of bravery by soldiers, marines, and sailors alike. The United States awards and decorations of the Spanish-American War were as follows:
The Spanish Campaign Medal was upgradeable to include the Silver Citation Star to recognize those U.S. Army members who had performed individual acts of heroism. The governments of Spain and Cuba also issued a wide variety of military awards to honor Spanish, Cuban, and Philippine soldiers who had served in the conflict. )]] References ; Books
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