A Splendid Little War US Command and Conquer
Recap Monroe Doctrine Minor purchases Minor Hostilities Latin America: sphere of influence Minor purchases Alaska Minor Hostilities Japan China
Latin America 1891 – Baltimore Affair or Scare: 2 US sailors stabbed in front of, wait for it, a bar in Valparaiso, Chile. Ultimately, US forces Chile government to pay families of the sailors $75,000. US sends troops to Rio in 1895 to protect US shipping interests from minor civil war uprising in Brazil. Venezuela Boundary Dispute – US forces England into arbitration over land issues with Venezuela.
Pacific Things US/Germany almost go to war over…Somoa. Agree to share the island – American Somoa. Hawaii – Trade treaties with England and France from 1840’s to 1890’s. US sugar planters, led by Sanford Dole, led a minor revolt/revolution against Queen Liliuokalani (tried to behead the planters) Planters demand annexation (legal claim of ownership over a territory). President Cleveland tries to restore the Queen in 1894 Annexed in 1898 because of Nationalism/Imperialism feelings caused by the Spanish-American War.
Spanish-America War Jose Marti – Cuban poet who wrote of anti-imperialism thoughts. Caused a riot against Spanish rule. Urges US to do something. Spain’s “Reconcentration Policy” – rounding up 100,000’s “revolutionaries” and placing them in concentration camps. Estimated 200,000 civilians died.
Media Google: Malaysia airplane. See what happens. William Randolf Hearst – New York Morning Journal. Joseph Pulitzer – New York World Sensationalism -- stories that are beyond belief or full of emotional hyperbole. Jingoism – See above, but with a pro-US (or any home country) bent or angle. Newspapers sell when there is a war or conflict. Pulitzer/Hearst – Write sensationalist stories about Cuban revolution. America do something! Sympathy for Cuba causes Political/Military intervention.
Splendid Little War Riots in Havana, Cuba in early 1898 cause President McKinley to send USS Maine to the harbor to protect US interests. USS Maine explodes. Newspapers? Field day. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain.” Dupuy de Lome Letter – Spanish Ambassador to US writes a letter that is stolen by the press. President McKinley is “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd.” Ouch.
Meanwhile… Secretary of the Navy, T. Roosevelt, orders the pacific fleet to get ready to destroy the Spanish fleet in Manila, Philippine Islands. US declares War in April, 1898. George Dewey leads the attack in May. Destroys the Spanish Fleet. Cuba: Voluntary Calvary (Rough Riders) led by T. Roosevelt gets lots of publicity. Leads Rough Riders up San Juan Hill! Would have been killed if not for the Buffalo Soldiers (African-American troops) protecting the RR’s flank. US Navy destroys Spanish fleet in Santiago, Cuba on July 3. War over. Treaty of Paris ends the war.
US gets… Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines. Spain gets $20 million dollars. Philippines were supposed to become independent (Filipinos fought with Americans against Spain). McKinley: “unfit for self-government” Rebellion against US occupation begins. Emilio Aguinaldo: Phil’s a republic.
Teller Amendment Attached to the Declaration of War with Spain is the Teller Amendment: US will not annex Cuba after the war But…US military will oversee Cuban affairs for 3 years after the war
Platt Amendment Cuba drafts a constitution. US inserts Platt Amendment writing into Cuban constitution. Cuba may not make foreign treaties without US permission US gets 2 navy bases on the island (Guantanamo Bay, Cuba) US may intervene in Cuba’s affairs if it is in US interest.