Transcript 5.2 Spanish American Warx

Isolationism to Expansionism
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United States began to abandoned its traditional policy of
isolationism in the late 1800s
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United States turned to an expansionist policy for three
major reasons
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1. Economic: needed new resources and new markets
2. Military Power: nationalism pushed us to increase our
strength, acquire naval bases abroad, and challenge European
global dominance
3. Racism: Americans believed that it was our duty to spread
our superior culture and civilization to inferior peoples and
places
Interventionism
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The United States turned to a
policy of interventionism at the
onset of the Spanish-American
War

Interventionism- significant
activity by one country to
influence something that is not
directly under its control

Our involvement in the SpanishAmerican war marked our
emergence as a true world power.
Spanish-American War

US declared war on Spain for several reasons
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1. Humanitarian desire to support the rights of Cubans against
Spanish oppression
2. Domestic economic pressures pushed us to expand
capitalism to the Caribbean
3. Alfred Thayer Mahan’s push to increase our naval power
helped prepare us militarily for involvement
4. Sensationalized newspaper articles (Yellow Journalism)
exaggerated the truth of what was happening
Humanitarianism

Newspapers published accounts
of the atrocities of the Spanish
regime against the Cubans.

Most Americans sympathized
with the Cuban rebels aspirations
of liberty and democracy.
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The American public began to call
for the government to intervene
on the behalf of the Cuban rebels.
Results of Spanish
Concentration Camps in Cuba
Results of Spanish
Concentration Camps in Cuba
Economic Pressures

Economic depressions, overproduction and low prices of
agricultural goods, growing industrialism, and labor strikes
created growing fears among Americans
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Americans desperately wanted to find new markets to
expand into in order to sell our surplus of goods and our
capitalist economic system
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The Caribbean Islands seemed to be a perfect place to begin
the experiment of American interventionism
Alfred Thayer Mahan

Mahan was an American naval
officer and military historian
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Wrote an influential paper on the
importance of naval power in
world history
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Said that all powerful nations
throughout world history
possessed a significant naval
power
Believed that the US had to
increase its navy in order to
become a global power
The US followed Mahan’s advice
and began expanding its naval
capacity by building new
Battleships and acquiring land
around the world to create naval
bases

Had its eye on the Caribbean for a
new naval base
Yellow Journalism

Rival newspapers in New York
turned to Yellow Journalism to
increase sales

Yellow Journalism was a technique
that sensationalized stories to make
them more eye-catching and
intriguing

Usually sacrificed truth and
integrity in order make stories
more appealing

Often used catchy headlines and
elaborate pictures or cartoons to
draw the attention of readers
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Yellow Press stories led to a public
outcry for American intervention in
Cuba’s struggle against Spain
De Lome Letter
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Letter written by the Spanish minister in Cuba
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Criticized President William McKinley
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Called him “weak and catering to the rabble” as well as a “low
politician” who only looked out for his own interests
Published by a Yellow Journalism newspaper and outraged
the American public
Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine

US sent the U.S.S. Maine, a new
battleship, to Havana to protect
American interests in Cuba
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While there, the Maine exploded,
sank quickly, and killed 3/4ths of
its crew
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Yellow Press stories blamed Spain
even though there was very little
evidence
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“Remember the Maine, To Hell
with Spain” became a rallying cry
for action
The U.S.S. Maine
Wreckage of the U.S.S. Maine
Spanish-American War Results

War was short-lived, lasted less than 4 months
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Initial result of the war was expansion of the US into the
South Pacific
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Treaty ending the war transferred Spain’s empire into
American hands
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Annexed Hawaii and captured the Philippines
Both territories gave the US convenient fueling stops and
locations for naval bases
Ownership of the Philippines, Wake Island, and Guam in the
Pacific and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean
Cuba gained independence but became an American
protectorate (free but completely controlled by US)
US now emerged as an imperial power
American Imperialism
Annexation of the Philippines

Annexation of the Philippines
created a major debate in America
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Anti-Imperialists: Argued against
annexation because they believed
that Filipinos were racially inferior
to Americans and could never be
incorporated into the nation
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Pro-Imperialists: Argued that it was
the US’s duty to govern the
Filipinos since they were unable to
govern themselves
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Both arguments used racial
prejudices and Social Darwinism
and found domestic counterparts in
Jim Crow laws and voter
restrictions
Imperial Struggles
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Acquisition of new land led to new problems
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US had no experience governing foreign territories or
peoples and struggled with the task
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Filipinos eventually rebelled against American occupation
and were brutally suppressed by the American military
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Insular Cases: Supreme Court ruled that the “Constitution
does NOT follow the Flag”
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Subject peoples do not have the same rights as US citizens
Lands were not offered eventual statehood
Perception of US among subject peoples shifted from
champion of liberty to imperial power