Encyclopedia
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
Pacific,
Africa, and the
West Indies. Much of the
empire had gained its independence and a number of the areas still under Spanish control were clamoring to do so.
Guerrilla forces were operating in the
Philippines , and had been present in
Cuba since before the 1868-1878 Ten Years' War decades. The Spanish government did not have the financial resources or the personnel to deal with these revolts and resorted to forcibly emptying the countryside and the filling of the cities with
concentration camps to separate the rebels from their rural base of support. Many hundreds of thousands of Cubans died of starvation and disease in these circumstances, 200,000 alone in the more peaceful western Cuba.The Spaniards also carried out many executions of suspected rebels and harshly treated suspected sympathizers. The war saw both Cuban rebels and Spanish troops burning and destroying infrastructure, crops, tools, livestock, and anything else that might aid the enemy. In 1895, a young
Winston Churchill travelled to Cuba to witness the battles between the Spanish troops and Cuban rebels. 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.
William Randolph Hearst's newspaper in New York documented the atrocities committed in Cuba. The civilian death toll was very high, and a real rebellion was being fought against Spanish rule. Public opinion in Cuba favored American intervention.
Joseph Pulitzer was also a key in publicizing the war in New York City. His newspapers, along with Hearst's,
exaggerated news of the atrocities in Cuba in an attempt to sway popular opinion in New York City in favor of intervention. Fueled by the reports of inhumanity of the Spanish, a majority of Americans became convinced that an "intervention" was becoming necessary.
Sinking of the USS Maine
On February 15 1898, an explosion sank the American battleship USS
Maine in
Havana harbor with a loss of 266 men. Evidence as to the cause of the explosion was inconclusive and contradictory. It might have been an accident, or a Spanish mine or a Cuban mine. Although Hearst and Pulitzer published
inflammatory articles in New York City, major papers elsewhere remained cautious. Americans remained unsure of the cause; most blamed the Spanish for not controlling their harbor.
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, offered $150 million dollars to purchase Cuba's independence, but Spain refused, as the money did not exist. The Cubans then deftly negotiated and propagandized their cause in the U.S. Congress.
Humanitarian interests dominated American opinion. President McKinley and House Speaker Thomas Reed worked hard to calm the mood, as did many Republicans, but the pressure from Democrats 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 politically dangerous. Much more acceptable to the Spanish was fighting a war . That way the albatross of Cuba could be shed without civil war at home. The U.S. government had considered purchase of Cuba over the years but had always decided against making an offer. No major American leader proposed annexing the island because none thought Cuba could be assimilated into the American political system. 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 acquisition of the island, and no major business interests proposed acquisition. Senator
John M. Thurston from the farm state of Nebraska did argue that a war would bring more government spending so that, "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." However most businessmen opposed war and supported McKinley, according to historians' analysis of the business press and statements by business leaders across the country.
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 U.S. 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
On 15 February 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine was mysteriously blown up in Havana harbor, killing 266 men. Forces in the U.S. favoring intervention in Cuba seized on this incident to accuse Spain of blowing up the ship . Swept along on a wave of nationalist sentiment, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution calling for intervention and
U.S. President William McKinley was quick to comply. 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. The decisive event was probably the speech of Republican Senator Redfield Proctor in mid-March, very thoroughly analyzing the situation and concluding war was the only answer. The business community and religious communities, which had opposed war, now switched sides, leaving McKinley and Reed almost alone. 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. 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 .
Theaters of operation
The Philippines
- For more on engagements in the Philippines, please see Philippine-American War, Philippine Revolution.
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 the Battle of Manila Bay. The success of the Pacific Fleet was due to the Spanish Navy being trapped in the bay.
Meanwhile, Dewey allowed
Emilio Aguinaldo to return to the Philippines. Aguinaldo's forces attacked the Spanish on land, successfully defeating them and ended with the Battle of Manila where the Spanish surrendered Manila to the U.S. Army.
Cuba
Theodore Roosevelt had actively encouraged intervention in Cuba and, while assistant secretary of the Navy, placed the Navy on a war-time footing. He ordered Dewey and the Pacific fleet to the
Philippines and he worked with
Leonard Wood in convincing the Army to raise an all-volunteer regiment, the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. Wood was given command of the regiment that became quickly known as the "
Rough Riders".
Naval operations in Cuba
The first action in
Cuba was the establishing of a base at Guantánamo Bay on 10 June by
U.S. MarinesSpanish 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. The mission was a failure and Hobson and his crew were captured. They were exchanged on July 6, and Hobson became a national hero; receiving the
Medal of Honor in 1933 and becoming a Congressman.
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
U.S. 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 U.S. forces under former Confederate General
Joseph Wheeler ignored Cuban scouting parties and orders to proceed with caution. They caught up with and engaged the Spanish rear guard in the
Battle of Las Guasimas. Here, U.S. forces were checked momentarily although the Spanish continued their planned retreat.
Battle of El Caney and San Juan Hill
On July 1 a combined force of about 15,000 American troops in regular infantry, cavalry and 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. More than 200 U.S. soldiers were killed and close to 1,200 wounded in the fighting. Supporting fire by Gatling guns was critical to the success of the assault . 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 their 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 which fought its way past determined Cuban resistance, but arrived too late to participate in the siege.
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 . The campaign turned into a bloody strangling siege. 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 borne disease . 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 seas around Cuba. This prevented re-supply of the Spanish forces and also allowed the U.S. 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, 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 U.S. Navy warships were sighted off the coast of
Puerto Rico. 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. On June 25, the
Yosemite blocked San Juan harbor. On July 25, General
Nelson A. Miles, brought with 3,300 soldiers landed at Guánica, Puerto Rico and took over the island with little resistance.
Peace treaty
With both fleets incapacitated, 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.
Mark Twain described the Moro Crater massacre.
Aftermath
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 .
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
great power. The defeat paradoxically postponed the civil war that seemed imminent in 1898 and created a renaissance known as the Generation of 1898. The Spanish eventually had a
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 prohibited it from signing treaties with other nations or contracting a public debt. Most notoriously, the Amendement granted the United States the right to militarily invade Cuba when it saw fit, a provision on which the United States acted numerous times. The Platt Amendment also provided for the establishment of a permanent American naval base in Cuba, which would lead to 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
Frederick Funston with particular ferocity. However, Funston, who was in the Philippines because, after fighting with Cuban rebel forces he had given his parole [not to again fight in Cuba], is notable for his adroit capture of
Emilio Aguinaldo which much decreased the
Philippine-American War's intensity, and other deeds which earned him the Medal of Honor and promotion by Lieutenant General
Arthur MacArthur, Jr., father of
Douglas McArthurWilliam Randolph Hearst emerged as a national institution: the first media tycoon 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 is a 1941 [i] mystery [i]/drama film [i] released by RKO Pictures [i] ...
, 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
Yankees 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 laws 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.
Propaganda in the War
Historians debate the extent to which propaganda--rather than true stories and actual events--caused the war. In the 1890s, while competing over readership of their newspapers in New York City,
William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph Pulitzer’s
yellow journalism are said to sway public opinion in New York City. They were not influential in the rest of the country.
Yellow Journalism is a form of propaganda, according to the idea 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
In the United States, the Spanish-American ]] 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.
Further reading
Diplomacy and Causes of the War
- James C. Bradford , ed., Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War and Its Aftermath , essays on diplomacy, naval and military operations, and historiography.
- Lewis L. Gould, The Spanish-American War and President McKinley
- Hendrickson, Kenneth E., Jr. The Spanish-American War Greenwood, 2003. short summary
- Ernest R. May, Imperial Demoracy: The Emergence of America as a Great Power
- Walter Millis, The Martial Spirit: A Study of Our War with Spain
- H. Wayne Morgan, America's Road to Empire: The War with Spain and Overseas Expansion
- John L. Offner, An Unwanted War: The Diplomacy of the United States and Spain over Cuba, 1895-1898 .
- Offner, John L. "McKinley and the Spanish-American War" Presidential Studies Quarterly 2004 34: 50-61. Issn: 0360-4918
- Pratt, Julius W. The Expansionists of 1898
- Schoonover, Thomas. Uncle Sam's War of 1898 and the Origins of Globalization. 2003
- Tone, John Lawrence. War and Genocide in Cuba, 1895-1898
The War
- Benjamin R. Beede, ed. The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934 . an encyclopedia
- Donald Barr Chidsey, The SpanishAmerican War
- Cirillo, Vincent J. Bullets and Bacilli: The Spanish-American War and Military Medicine 2004.
- Graham A. Cosmas, An Army for Empire: The United States Army and the Spanish-American War
- Frank Freidel, The Splendid Little War , well illustrated narrative by scholar
- Allan Keller, The Spanish-American War: A Compact History 1969
- Gerald F. Linderman, The Mirror of War: American Society and the Spanish-American War , domestic aspects
- G. J. A. O'Toole, The Spanish War: An American Epic--1898 .
- John Tebbel, America's Great Patriotic War with Spain
- David F. Trask, The War with Spain in 1898
Historiography
- Duvon C. Corbitt, "Cuban Revisionist Interpretations of Cuba's Struggle for Independence," Hispanic American Historical Review 32 : 395-404.
- Edward P. Crapol, "Coming to Terms with Empire: The Historiography of Late-Nineteenth-Century American Foreign Relations," Diplomatic History 16 : 573-97;
- Hugh DeSantis, "The Imperialist Impulse and American Innocence, 1865-1900," in Gerald K. Haines and J. Samuel Walker, eds., American Foreign Relations: A Historiographical Review , pp. 65-90
- James A. Field Jr., "American Imperialism: The Worst Chapter' in Almost Any Book," American Historical Review 83 : 644-68, past of the "AHR Forum," with responses
- Joseph A. Fry, "William McKinley and the Coming of the Spanish American War: A Study of the Besmirching and Redemption of an Historical Image," Diplomatic History 3 : 77-97
- Joseph A. Fry, "From Open Door to World Systems: Economic Interpretations of Late-Nineteenth-Century American Foreign Relations," Pacific Historical Review 65 : 277-303
- Thomas G. Paterson, "United States Intervention in Cuba, 1898: Interpretations of the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War," History Teacher 29 : 341-61;
- Louis A. Pérez Jr.; The War of 1898: The United States and Cuba in History and Historiography University of North Carolina Press, 1998
- Ephraim K. Smith, "William McKinley's Enduring Legacy: The Historiographical Debate on the Taking of the Philippine Islands," in James C. Bradford, ed., Crucible of Empire: The Spanish-American War and Its Aftermath , pp. 205-49
References
Books
- Bryson, G. E. New York Journal. Weyler throws nuns into prison. 17 January 1897.
- Cross, W. American Heritage Magazine. The perils of Evangelina. Feb. 1968.
- Cull, N. J., Culbert, D., Welch, D. Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present. Spanish-American War. Denver: ABC-CLIO. 2003. 378-379.
- Daley, L. El Fortin Canosa en la Cuba del 1898. in Los Ultimos Dias del Comienzo. Ensayos sobre la Guerra Hispano-Cubana-Estadounidense. B. E.Aguirre and E. Espina eds. RiL Editores, Santiago de Chile 2000.pp. 161-171.
- Davis, R. H. New York Journal. Does our flag shield women? 13 February 1897.
- Duval, C. New York Journal. Evengelina Cisneros rescued by The Journal. 10 October 1897.
- Everett, Marshall History of the Philippines and the life and achievements of Admiral George Dewey: Also containing the life and exploits of Brig.-Gen. Fred Funston, and ... and the history of American expansion. J.S. Ziegler 1899 ASIN: B00087QNNS
- Funston, Frederick. Memoirs of Two Wars, Cuba and Philippine Experiences. New York: Charles Schribner's Sons, 1911
- Kendrick M. New York Journal. Better she died then reach Ceuta. 18 August 1897.
- Kendrick, M. New York Journal. The Cuban girl martyr. 17 February 1897.
- Kendrick, M. New York Journal. Spanish auction off Cuban girls. 12 February 1897.
- McCook, Henry C. The Martial Graves of Our Fallen Heroes in Santiago de Cuba. Philadelphia: Jacobs, 1899.
- Muller y Tejeiro, Jose. Combates y Capitulacion de Santiago de Cuba. Marques, Madrid:1898. 208 p. English traslation by US Navy Dept.
- Rubens, Horatio S. Liberty. The Story of Cuba. AMS Press New York, 1970 reprint of 1932 edition. SBN 404-00633-7
- Wheeler, Joseph. The Santiago Campaign, 1898.Lamson, Wolffe, Boston 1898.
- U.S. War Dept. Military Notes on Cuba. 2 vols. Washington, DC: GPO, 1898.
Web
Notes
External links
- by Lincoln Cushing
-
- from the State Archives of Florida
- Individual state's contributions to the Spanish-American War: , United States of America
-
- by Albert Nofi
- , by Edward Augustus Johnston, published 1899, hosted by the
