Information on Spanish-American War-Use this to complete graphic organizer
Descriptions of conditions in Cuba
From Cuba, reporters wrote stories about the Spanish treatment of the Cuban people designed to tug at the heartstrings of Americans. Horrific tales described the situation in Cuba--female prisoners being abused, rampant executions, valiant rebels fighting, and starving women and children figured in many of the stories that filled the newspapers. During the war, Spanish authorities began putting Cubans into concentration camps in order to crack down on those providing support to the Cuban rebels living in the countryside. Due to poor planning, many Cubans died or suffered horribly in these camps from the lack of sanitation and provisions. These horrible tales made great for great headlines for the American newspapers.
Today, historians point to the Spanish-American War as the first press-driven war. Although it may be an exaggeration to claim that Hearst and the other yellow journalists started the war, it is fair to say that the press fueled the public's passion for war. Without sensational headlines and stories about Cuban affairs, the mood for Cuban intervention may have been very different. Following reports of Spanish abuses, the US sent a ship the USS Maine, to monitor humanitarian conditions in Cuba.
Yellow Journalism is a popular type of exaggerated, sensationalized journalism in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Yellow Journalism played a major role in the Spanish-American War, as they understood that a war with Spain would sell newspapers.
Famous Yellow Journalists
Competing newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were master propagandists who used sensational stories about the major political and social issues of the late nineteenth century to sell newspapers. Their newspapers inflamed public opinion against Spain, helped precipitate the Spanish-American War, and increased the American public’s interest in America’s role abroad.
Propaganda is an “idea, fact, or allegation spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause.” Propaganda can be partially based on accurate facts, but these facts are usually distorted or manipulated to convey the impression the propagandist desires. This was certainly the case in terms of the Spanish-American War.
The DelomeLeter
On February 9, 1898, the contents of a seized Spanish letter caused an international scandal that fueled anti-Spanish and pro-war feelings in the United States. While in Washington in the middle of December, Spanish ambassador Enrique Dupuy de Lôme wrote a personal letter to his friend José Canalejas who was in Cuba. The letter contained these derogatory comments about President McKinley and his policies concerning Cuba:
“Besides the natural and inevitable coarseness with which he repeats all that the press and public opinion of Spain have said of Weyler, "It shows once more that McKinley is weak and catering to the rabble and, besides, a low politician who desires to leave a door open to himself and to stand well with the jingos of his party."
Somehow, Dupuy de Lôme's letter fell into the hands of Cuban rebels who then sent the letter to Cuban Junta abroad. Cuban expatriots took the letter to U.S. Secretary of State William R. Day and exposed Dupuy de Lôme's insults. New York Journal owner William Randolph Hearst published the letter on February 9, with the headline "The Worst Insult to the United States in Its History." Once Hearst published the letter, the news of the insults filled newspapers across the country, and the story became a true international scandal--the U.S. public was outraged, the President demanded an apology, and the ambassador resigned. In the end, the Dupuy de Lôme letter scandal left Spain further demonized and the U.S. public calling for action; these forces pushed the United States closer to war. .
Sinking of the Maine
After the sinking of the Maine on February 15th 1898, yellow journalists, with no evidence, unequivocally blamed the Spanish. While no definitive evidence has been found to settle the matter, most modern investigations have concluded that the explosion was an accident; the result of a poorly planned ship design that placed the coal fueled engine next to the armory. Nevertheless, yellow journalists seized on the opportunity to create a sensationalized news story by claiming the Spanish planted a bomb during the night.
Following the explosion on the USS Maine, the ship’s commanding officer Captain Sigsbee wrote the following message:
“Maine blown up in Havana Harbor at nine-forty tonight and destroyed. Many wounded and doubtless more killed or drowned. Wounded and others on board Spanish man-of-war and Ward Line steamer. Send lighthouse tenders from Key West for crew and the few pieces of equipment above water. No one has clothing other than that upon him. Public opinion should be suspended until further report. All Spanish officers, including representatives of General Blanco, now with me to express sympathy.”
The New York Journal was owned by Hearst, and its headline: “Who Destroyed the Maine?” is a perfect example of yellow journalism. Although Captain Sigsbee cautioned against jumping to conclusions, the media had already reached a verdict designed to sell papers. Following widespread public outcry, America demanded Spain allow for Cuban independence. Instead Spain declared war and the US followed suit.
Results of the Spanish-American War
The United States was simply unprepared for war. What Americans had in enthusiastic spirit, they lacked in military strength. The navy, although improved, was simply a shadow of what it would become by World War I. The UNITED STATES ARMY was understaffed, underequipped, and undertrained. The most recent action seen by the army was fighting the Native Americans on the frontier. Cuba required summer uniforms; the US troops arrived with heavy woolen coats and pants. The food budget paid for substandard provisions for the soldiers. What made these daunting problems more managable was one simple reality. Spain was even less ready for war than the United States.
Battle of Manila Bay
Prior to the building of the Panama Canal, each nation required a two-ocean navy. The major portion of Spain's Pacific fleet was located in the Spanish Philippines atMANILA BAY. Under orders from Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt,ADMIRAL GEORGE DEWEYdescended upon the Philippines prior to the declaration of war. Dewey was in the perfect position to strike, and when given his orders to attack on May 1, 1898, the American navy was ready. Those who look back with fondness on American military triumphs must count theBATTLE OF MANILA BAYas one of the greatest success stories. The larger, wooden Spanish fleet was no match for the newer American steel navy. After Dewey's guns stopped firing, the entire Spanish squadron was a hulking disaster. The only American casualty came from sunstroke. The Philippines remained in Spanish control until the army had been recruited, trained, and transported to the Pacific.
Invading Cuba
The situation in Cuba was far less pretty for the Americans. At the outbreak of war the United States was outnumbered 7 to 1 in army personnel. The invading force led byGENERAL WILLIAM SHAFTERlanded rather uneventfully nearSANTIAGO. The real glory of the Cuban campaign was grabbed by the Rough Riders. Comprising cowboys, adventurous college students, and ex-convicts, the Rough Riders were a volunteer regiment commanded byLEONARD WOOD, but organized by Theodore Roosevelt. Supported by two African American regiments, the Rough Riders charged upSAN JUAN HILLand helped Shafter bottle the Spanish forces in Santiago harbor. The war was lost when the Spanish Atlantic fleet was destroyed by the pursuing American forces.
Annexation of Hawaii
American sugar growers had a foothold in Hawaii since the mid-1850s, and become rich of the lucrative trade with the US mainland. However, the passage of the McKinley tariff in 1890 (sponsored by then Ohio Representative and future president William McKinley), which put a large tax on foreign goods, threatened the Hawaii sugar industry. Sugar growers began to pressure US lawmakers to annex the islands of Hawaii in order to get around the tariff. President Grover Cleveland refused to annex the islands, but the outbreak of the Spanish-American war gave now President William McKinley the public support and the military justification for seizing the islands. Lying between Asia and North America in the middle of the Pacific ocean, Hawaii became and remains today one of the most important naval bases for US military power.
Treaty of Paris
TheTREATY OF PARISwas most generous to the winners. The United States received the Philippines and the islands ofGUAM, Wake Island,andPUERTO RICO. Cuba became independent, but would be occupied by US troops, and run by a US provisional government for the next decade. Even after Cubans were allowed to govern themselves, American economic interests continued to exert an enormous amount of influence over the country until Fidel Castro’s Communist Revolution in 1959.
The treaty prompted a heated debate in the United States.ANTI-IMPERIALISTScalled the US hypocritical for condemning European empires while pursuing one of its own. The war was supposed to be about freeing Cuba, not seizing the Philippines. Nevertheless, after the war President McKinley argued that the Filipinos were incapable of ruling themselves. McKinley’s belief that the Filipinos were incapable of self-government was based on Social Darwinism-which supported the notion that some races were evolutionarily superior to others.
Criticism increased when Filipino rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo waged a 3-year insurrection against their new American colonizers. While the Spanish-American War lasted ten weeks and resulted in 400 American deaths, thePHILIPPINE INSURRECTIONlasted nearly three years and claimed 4000 American lives. The conflict was much more costly for the Filipinos as 20,000 combatants and over 200,000 civilians lost their lives, either to violence, disease, or famine. The American government instituted the same policies here that they were so critical of the Spanish implementing in Cuba, namely concentration camps for Filipino civilians.
Nevertheless, President McKinley's expansionist policies were supported by the majority of the American public, who seemed more than willing to accept the blessings and curses of their new expanding empire. Today the treatment of the Philippines stands in stark contrast to the American ideals of freedom and democracy for all people, and remains one of the darkest chapters in American history.