The Spanish-American War

1. How was the United States connected to Cuba in the 1890s?
  The United States was connected to Cuba in the 1890s in many ways, but it started with sugar.  America had investments worth about fifty million dollars in Cuba.  Most of this was in the industry around sugar.  Once America had taken tariff off Cuban sugar in 1890, this sugar was much less expensive because tariffs are taxes put on imports.  So many Americans bought this sugar, which benefited both American investors and the economy of Cuba.  The trade between the companies eventually reached around one hundred million dollars a year, which is certainly a connection between two companies.  How the depression in 1893 is proof of this connection.  The US government wanted to ensure that those producing sugar in America were protected, so they cut down on the amount of sugar that was imported.  They did this by putting a 40 percent tax on sugar from Cuba in 1894.  It was no longer cheaper to buy Cuban sugar and Cuba's economy suffered greatly, which shows the connection between America and Cuba and the effects they had on one another.  This also caused many Cubans to rebel and America played a large part in that.  Even though US ports tried to stop this, many weapons were smuggled from the US to Cuba, which shows another connection.  Those were two of the biggest ways the US was connected to Cuba.



2. What were the main reasons the United States intervened in Cuba? (i.e. went to war) Which reason do you believe was most important? Explain your answer. 
The main reasons the United States went to war with Spain in Cuba were the "atrocities" committed by the Spanish, sympathy with the Cubans, insults, the U.S.S. Maine, power, and economic strength.  The Spanish atrocities that were reported to the public were mainly through newspapers who were gathering their stories from Cuban rebels in New York.  Some were true, like of the Spanish "re concentrating" Cubans into areas without necessities, but some were not.  The newspapers knew that these stories sold and they also made people sympathetic, yet there were other issues that made people sympathize.  The oppressed Cubans made Americans think back to when they were oppressed by England.  Also, many African-Americans were sympathetic because the Cubans were mainly black and also oppressed.  One insult that irritated some was the one made by Enrique Dupuy, who was the Spanish ambassador to the United States.  He made many insulting comments about President McKinley, which did not help how the United States felt about Spain and only increased the tension.  Another reason was that the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in a Cuban Harbor.  Two hundred and sixty Americans were killed and many in the press blamed the Spanish, even though this was not proven.  This made many call for war with Spain over Cuba.  Also, many in the government thought that power and stability on a global level would be gained if Cuba was taken over.  Many of these people also believed that a stable economy would be created if Cuba was taken over my the United States.  Others believed that the United States should interfere because, according to the Monroe Doctrine, European powers were not supposed to be in the Western Hemisphere.
  In my opinion,  following the Monroe Doctrine was the best reason to become involved with Cuba.  The United States had made a statement that the Americas were not to be interfered with.  In the late 1800s America was still a new nation.  If they wanted any credibility, they would have to stand by their beliefs. America would not be taken seriously if they never followed through with what they said they were going to do.  If the Monroe Doctrine stated that Europe should not be in Cuba, America needed to force the Spanish out of Cuba.  This act alone would have gained more power, respect, and stability on the global level and taking over Cuba would not have even been needed.



3. Why were many African-Americans eager to serve in the Spanish-American War?
Many African-Americans were eager to serve in the Spanish-American War.  To begin with,  many African-Americans sympathized with the Cubans because most of them were struggling and black, like they had been and still were in some cases (especially with discrimination).  The major reasons African-Americans wished to serve in the war was for their advancement. In the United States at the time, there were great amounts of racism and discrimination and one of the only ways to advance themselves personally and advance the race was in the army.  Many in the African-American community believed that fighting would gain them respect, as a race, and started dissolve the discrimination.  Many African-Americans wished to join when the country called for volunteers, but only three states allowed them to join and then five more states during the next call.  Despite their eagerness, African-Americans did not advance easily, even if their regiments were the best.  Although, in the war some were allowed to control regiments and the black regiments were used quite often because the government believed that African-Americans could deal with the climate and were more immune to the diseases than whites.  Despite some being advanced and being used often in battles, African Americans still faced discrimination and they were not advanced on a whole, even if they were eager.


4. How did racial attitudes at the turn of the century shape American peceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines?
The racial attitudes at the turn of the century shaped American perceptions of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.  The racial attitudes at the time were that certain personality traits and mental abilities were attributed to certain races.  Basically, whites, especially Americans and Western Europeans, came out on top while blacks were the farthest down one could be.  Asians were also not doing well and Americans were nervous about them invading America.  In political cartoons, many who were more Asian were depicted with features of blacks, which would have been lowering their status even more.  Since the majority of the populations in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines were black or Asian, this led to America not wanting to deal with them.  Americans did not think that they were stable enough to run their own governments and have democracies because they were below whites so they could obviously not manage complex things like whites could.  This, believing that blacks were inferior intellectually, and just believing that they were below them left the natives of these islands out of the negotiations.  The Spanish and Americans met about who should have which areas, but those who were natives were not invited.  The natives did play into how America made the negotiations.  The United States did not want these inferior and ignorant people in the country and could not imagine having to include them in the government.  Americans did not want all of those inferior races in Congress.  Clearly, the racial attitudes at the time about other races being inferior in many ways shaped American perceptions of those from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines as well as how they dealt with them.


5. Why did Emilio Aguinaldo feel that the United States supported his campaign for Filipino independence? 
Emilio Aguinaldo felt that the United States supported his campaign for Filipino independence.  Aguinaldo had declared himself leader of the new government and wanted elections and thought that America would help him gain the freedom to do this.  He believed this because he though that "The great North American nation" was "the cradle of genuine liberty".  In his mind, this meant that they would want to help the people in his country who were "oppressed and enslaved by the tyranny and despotism of its rulers" because he believed that that was like what American's had gone through when they there colonists.  Aguinaldo thought that Spain was oppressing the Filippino like England had oppressed the colonists, so America would have to want to free the Philippines because they were so like themselves.  Aguinaldo would have to have been surprised when America decided to take over the Philippines themselves and not give them the real freedom they desired.  However, Emilio Aguinaldo had originally felt that the United States supported his campaign because they loved freedom and had been in the same situation as the Filipinos.


6. Why do you think the Spanish-American War was called "a splendid little war" by an American diplomat at the time? Do you think we could have a "splendid little war" today? Explain your answer.
  The Spanish-American War was called "a splendid little war" by an American diplomat at the time because it was over quickly, not many were killed in battle, and there were many benefits.  The Spanish-American War started on April 19, 1898 when President McKinley was given the authority to go to war by Congress.  Within that year, on July 17th, Spain surrendered Santiago and taking Santiago was one of the main goals of America, making the war a quick and little one.  Another great part about the war is that only 345 Americans were killed in battle, although around 2,500 were killed by accidents, disease, and food poisoning.  The reason this was was a splendid one was all the benefits.  America was meeting many of their goals by taking Santiago. They wanted to force the Spanish out of Cuba and they thought that that was the first step, while also putting themselves in Cuba.  They also did not have to let Cuba be free if they were in control because of the war amendment.  Another benefit was the patriotism that was created.  Many were proud of the country and its victories.  Some also believed that America had gained respect globally and had actually made a name for itself.  However, this type of war would not be possible today.
  This type of war would not be possible because two of the deciding issues in the war were race and the advancement of America.  Without these issues, there would not have been enough support for the war.  It is not as though there is not any racism in America today, but a smaller percentage actually believe that whites are scientifically superior to other races.  Since one reason the United States had no issue going into Cuba and taking over Cuba was because they did not believe blacks were capable of running those sorts of things, it would extremely difficult to recreate that today.  Also, race and African-Americans trying to advance themselves was where many of the soldiers for the war came from, but many today do not view the military as the one place one can advance themselves.  This is not to say that there is not discrimination today, but there were such large amounts of discrimination at the time  Another reason is that many people in America really wanted America to become a global power and earn the respect of other nations.  They thought that fighting off Spain could help to gain this. Today, some are ashamed of America and there are many leader apologizing to other countries for America's action.  That want for advancement is just not there.  Without that an the special situation regarding racism, there would not be enough support for a "splendid little war" to even start. Clearly, such a war could not take place today.