THESIS : ? The United States didn?t want to get involved in the Spanish-American War, but was dragged into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and wanted complete control over Cuba.? For 113 days during the summer of 1898, the United States was at war with Spain. Neither the president of the United States, nor his cabinet, nor the the queen of Spain, nor her ministers wanted the war wanted the war. It happened eventhough they made their best efforts to prevent it. It happened because of ambition, miscalculation, and stupidity; and it happened because of kindness, wit, and resourcefulness. It also happened because some were indifferent to the suffering of the world?s wretched By winning the war the United States proved the the rest of the world and to itself that it could and would fight against foreign nations. For many years, world power had been concentrated in the countries in Europe. Nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain had the most influence in global affairs. But a shift in power was gradually taking place as the United States matured. The young nation gained wealth and strength. Its population grew immensely, and many people believed it would become a major world power (Bachrach, 11) Spain was one of the many European countries that had territory in the United States.
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Spain controlled mostly some islands off the coast of Central America. The most important of these were Cuba and Puerto Rico. The United States was led to believe that the Spanish mosgoverned and abused the people of these islands. In fact, Spain did overtax and mistreat the Cubans, who rebelled in 1868 and again in 1895. Thus, the American people felt sympathetic toward the Cuban independence movement. In addition, Spain had frequently interfered with trade between its colonies and the United States. Even though the United States had been a trading partner with Cuba since the seventeenth century, Spain sometimes tried to completely stop their trade with Cuba. In Spain doing so, this sometimes caused damage to U.S. commercial interests. The United States highly disagreed with Spain?s right to interfere with this trade relationship. (Bachrach, 12) The United States was also concerned that other trading and commercial interests were threatened by the number of ships and soldiers Spain kept in the area. If the United States had to fight a war with Canada or Mexico, these Spanish forces could quickly mobilize against the United States. U.S. officials especially wanted Spanish troops out of Cuba because it lies only ninety miles of the coast of Over the years, then, the United States built up a great deal of resentment toward Spain, although it was unable to oppose such a powerful nation.
At the same time, Spain?s power was gradually weakening. Its economy had declined, and its military ships and weaponary were antiquated and in disrepair. Rapid political change toward the end of the noneteenth century further weakening Spain?s power. Because political parties were attempting to overthrow its monarchy, the Spanish government was forced to devote many of its soldiers to defending the monarchy. As a result, there were fewer resources available for defending its distant colonies around the world. The stage was set for the United States to take stand against Spain. The United States didn?t want to get involved in the Spanish-American War, but was dragged into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and wanted complete control over Cuba (Bachrach, 13).
The American press played a major role in leading the United States into a war against Spain in 1898. The press aroused a nationalist sentiment to such a fever pitch that President McKinley came to believe that if he did not fight the Spanish, he and his political party would suffer. This uproar was stimulated by two giants of the American press world. During the entire course of the Cuban rebellion, from 1895 to 1898, two rival newspapers foight their own war in the United States to gain supremacy in the American newspaper market. Both were published in New York City, and both had enormous national circulation and influence. These newspapers used the events in Cuba as a backdrop of their own journalistic rivalry. By reporting events in Cuba in a biased, inaccurate, and inflammatory way, these newspapers led the American public to demand that the quarrel with Spain be settled through war The moment was ripe for a military spirit to seize the American people. It had been more than thirty years, a full generation since the Civil War, which ended in 1865. As historian Gregory Mason points out, people had forgotten the horrors of that bloody conflict, and many yound men were eager to fight a war against Spain. There was yet another reason why the journalists of the period were so influential. In the days before the radio and television, newspaper were the major source of news. Publishers exercises a tremendous amount of political influence. But newspapers did not attempt to adhere to a policy of objective presentation of facts. In the 1890?s, it was common for a newspaper to report the editor?s interpretation of the news. If the information was inaccurate or even false, it was rarely challenged by the public, who had little or no means to verify it (Bachrach, 30).
The Essay on The Spanish american War 4
Hi I'm doing my report on the Spanish American War. In the following pages I will be giving information on how and why the war started, major battles, and the results of the war. I will also include stories from people on the battleship Maine. Introduction The Spanish American War marked the emergence of the United States of America as a world power. The war which lasted only 10 weeks between ...
Before the Spanish-American War, the press began to print any story it could find about the events in Cuba. Whether or not the news was verified, it was presented as though it were completely true. Step by step, the press heightened the American sense of outrage at reputed Spanish brutality toward the The two men who were primarily involved in thepress were William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. These men, especially Hearst, Became associated with the new, colorful but irresponsible approach to journalism known as yellow journalism. Willian Randolph Hearst was born into a wealthy Californian Family. He went to New York City and bought the New York Journal in 1896. When Hearst purchased it, the Journal operated as newspapers do today. It reported stories only after their accuracy had been checked and prided itself on a fair, objective approach to news. It also was a failing financially. Hearst wanted to revive the Journal?s circulation and make his newspaper the most powerful in the American politics. Another man, however, stood in the way of his goal. This man was Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of the New York World. The World was easily the dominant newspaper in the United States when Hearst arrived in New York City.
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It had the largest circulation of any newspaper in the country. It cost two cents a copy, and more than half a million copies a day were sold. This was an enormously large readership for the 1890?s. The World was so tremenously successful because of Pulitzer?s journalistic methoda. Pulitzer ordered his reporters to stretch and distort the news. His paper reported on the most sordid murders and elaborated upon details if they were paticularly bloody and horrible. These stories kept circulation up. By using these tactics, Pulitzer proved that the public had an incredible and continuous interest in such matters. Hearst decided to outdo Pulitzer. He was convinced he could make the Journal more popular than the World, and he used his family?s fortune to do it (Bachrach, 35).
All of Hearst?s information in 1896 was obtained from Cuban exiles living on the Lower East side of New York City. These men had no firsthand information about Cuban events. Nevertheless, they became ?reporters? for the Journal. Based on their ?accounts,? the Journal told the world that the Spanish had ?roasted twenty-five Catholic priests alive? and had ?resumed inhuman practice of beating Cuban prisoners to death.? Hearst saw that his sensationalism attracted readership because the circulation of the Journal began to increase. So he decided to control all news relating to the events in Cuba personally. Each story written by a reporter was edited by Hearst. Since Hearst wanted the United States to go to war with Spain, he always edited the stories to place the Spanish in the worst possible light. The Spanish government soon refused all reporters permission to leave Havana to witness events firsthand. So the reporters made up stories, artists depicted them, and Hearst edited and published them in his newspaper. It was Hearst who dubbed the Spanish general in Cuba ?butcher Weyler? for the atrocities he was reported to have committed against Cuban rebels. The Journal called Weyler a ?human hyena? and a ?mad dog.? Its description of the general was extreme: Weyler, the brute, the devastator of haciendas, the destroyer of families and the outrager of women….pitiless, cold, an exterminator of men….
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There is nothing to prevent his carnal, animal brain from running riot with itself in inventing tortures and infamies of bloody debauchy The stories that appeared in Pulitzer?s World were similar in tome but never reached the Journal?s level of exaggeration and distortion. Both Pulitzer and Hearst endorsed the idea of a war between Spain and the United States in their newspapers. A reporter claimed that Pulitzer, in fact, had said that he ?rather liked the idea of war-not a big one-but one that would arouse interest.? Despite his increasing success, Hearst became restless. He had not yet beaten Pulitzer. Equally important, Hearst feared that a war between the United States and Spain would never happen. Hearst came to view the struggle between Cuba and Spain as a battle between light and darkness. He wanted the United States to assist Cuba rebels in gaining independence from Spain. In doing so, both writers were catalysts that helped push the United States in the war (Bachrach, 39).
The Unites States wanted complete control over the seas more than anything. First, McKinley sent the Maine to Cuba as a message to Spain that the interests of the United States could no longer be ignored. Captain Charles D. Sigsbee of the U.S. Navy of the Maine made many decisions regarding this incident. The captain feared that American citizens who lived in Havana might have to be rescued and aboard the Maine. He was also concerned that if his own ship and crew were hit by gunshots exchanged between Cuban rebels and Spanish soldiers, he might be dragged into the rebellion. Worse yet were his fears that the Maine itself might be directly attacked (Bachrach 23) Sigsbee took many precautions because of these fears. He no longer permitted unescorted visits by Cuban sightseers to the Maine. Throughout the ship, he posted guards who would sound an early warning in case of an attack. Sigsbee also locked the storerooms containing the ship?s guns and ammunition. In case an attack occurred, he wanted his crew to be able to defend itself quickly. As events unfolded, however, Captain Sigsbee became a victim and never had a chance to initiate events. At exactly 9:40 pm, on the night if February 15, 1898, a massive explosion took place aboard the Maine.
The Essay on The Spanish american War
... for Spain's withdrawal from Cuba. The Spanish-American War, an important turning point in the history of the United States, was also extremely significant to the Spanish. Spain's ... few negative consequences that resulted. The Spanish-American War was the brief conflict that the United States waged against Spain in 1898. The war had ...
Then there was a second explosion. Tragically, the explosions occurred in the forward section of the ship, which was close to the living quarters of the enlisted men that retired for the night. Sigmund Rothschild, a passenger abroad the City of Washington, had gone on deck about half past nine to enjoy the I looked around, and saw the bow of the Maine rise a little, go a little out of the water. It couldn?t have been more than a few seconds after that noise…that there came in the center of the ship a terrible mass of fire and explosion, and everything went over out heads, a black mass. We could not tell what it was. It was all black. Then we heard the noise of falling material on the place where we had been, right near the smoking room. On of the life boats, which was hanging, had a piece go through it and made a hole in it. After we saw that mass go up, the whole boat (the Maine) lifted out, I should judge about two feet. As she lifted out, the bow went right down…there were screams from the water. ?Help! Lord God, help us! Help! Help!? (O?Toole, As one can see through this terrifying description, the horrible lose of 354 officials and men , pulling The United States? press blames Spain for the explosion, eventhough spontaneous combustion in coal storage or other similar accidents on ships were not entirely uncommon at the time. In March 1898, two independent commissions which investigated on-site evidence of the disaster came to opposite conclusions. The U.S. commission reported that the explosion was external (probably caused by an explosive device), while the Spanish commission concluded that it was internal (probably caused by an accident).
The real cause of the explosion remains a mystery, but the dominant view among scholars today is that it was an accident. However, the vengeful ways in which the Maine incident was portrayed, used, felt, and remembered had an unprecedented impact in rallying patriotic responses by the public in the In the wake of the Maine incident, Congress passed the Fifty Million Dollar Bill. This gave the president the authority to spend fifty million dollars to prepare the army and the navy for a war that had not yet been declared. The passage of the Fifty Million Dollar Bill reflected the unanimous belief that Spain had deliberately blown up the ship because of American sympathy for Cuban rebels Next, President McKinley insisted that Spain agree to a cease-fire with the Cuban rebels and negotiate a permanent settlement with them. After a slight delay, Spain agreed to the American demands. Two days later, McKinley asked Congress for authority to use military force to end the Cuban conflict. Essentially, this was a declaration of war. The United States Army was not prepared for war. After the Civil War, the country had drastically reduced its army. Most army units had been scattered throughout the west, where they had fought and confined Native Americans (Bachrach 29).
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The Spanish-American War of 1898 marked a turning point in American history. Within a few years of the war's end, the United States established itself as a world power, exercising control or influence over islands in the Caribbean Sea, the mid-Pacific Ocean and close to the Asian mainland. The conflict has sometimes been called "The Newspaper War," largely because the influence of a sensationalist ...
Next, Theodore Roosevelt knew the extent of the Spanish island holdings in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In particular, he has interested in one large, chain of islands that Spain owned in the South Pacific called the Philippines. Roosevelt thought that the United States should gain control of these islands because they were extremely productive agriculturally. They could also be very strategically to the United States because they were close to major trading harbors and could be used in a military attack But the Philippines would be very difficult to take form Spain. Like the Cubans, in 1898, the Filipinos were engaged in a revolt against Spain. As a result, a Spanish army of nearly sixteen thousand men under General Don Fermin Juadenes y Alvarez and a fleet of seven battleships under Adm. Patricio Montojo were in the Philippine Islands to suppress the revolt. Roosevelt was not alarmed by the presence of the Spanish forces. Instead, he made his own preparations to seize the islands in case of war with Spain with Spain. Early in 1898, while he was still under secretary of the navy, Roosevelt got his big On February 25, Secretary of the Navy John D. Long decided to take an afternoon off from work.
Roosevelt was in charge of the entire American navy for the afternoon. Roosevelt sent telegrams and messages in all directions to prepare the United States for conflict. One of these telegrams went to George Dewey, who was then in command of a very small fleet of six small battleships in Hong Kong. The In the event of a declaration of war with Spain, your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast and then you will begin offensive operations in the Philippine Islands When John Long returned to work the next day, he was furious with Roosevelt and recalled most of the On April 30, while most Americans were thinking about war in Cuba, but Dewey was in his small fleet racing form Hong Kong to Manila Bay in the Philippines. Once at sea, Commodore Dewey had his men paint all the ships. Once a bright white, the ships were soon covered with a dull gray to make them less visible to the enemy. Next, Dewey ordered that everything made of wood, including the piano on his flagship Olympia, be tossed over the side. Splintered wood presented a greater danger to his crews than enemy shells. Then with chests, chairs, and tables bobbing in the water behind them, the ships went Dewey found the Spaniards in the shallows of Manila Bay because they had been mining. According to reports, the Spanish were also preparing to use torpedo ships to destroy the small American fleet. In addition, Spanish guns had been placed on the hills at the entrance to the bay, and the guns from Fort San Antonio Abad in Manila protected the Spanish fleet ( Bachrach, 64 ).
At dawn on the first of May, the Olympia led the fleet in single file toward its enemy. The Spanish opened fire long before the Americans were within range. The Olympia moved still closer. When it reached effective range, it turned sharply to the west, bringing all its guns to bear upon the It was an unequal fight from the start. The ships of Admiral Montojo in Manila Bay were in disrepair. The Reina Cristina with Admiral Montojo aboard, along with the Castilla, Don Antonio de Ulloa, Isla de Cuba, General Lezo, El Caney, and Argos fought bravely, but their efforts were doomed. The boilers of several ships were broken, and some could not even sail because their bottoms were covered with barnacles. The Spanish ships were armed with old cannons, and the crews lacked proper ammunition and skilled marksmen, causing additional fires to break out of the old wooden planks of the When the news of the stunning victory reached home, Americans cheered ecstatically. Dewey, “the conqueror of the Philippines,” became an instant national hero. Stores soon filled with merchandise bearing his image. Few Americans knew what and where the Philippines were, but the press assured them that the islands were a welcome possession. (Bachrach, 61).
Lastly, the United States wanted complete and total control over Cuba. The American military planners had to solve a basic strategic problem in order to free Cuba from Spain. Cuba was very important colony to Spain because the island had many natural resources, such as, sugar, tobacco, and other raw materials. It also became a national pride to Spain, because Spain had already lost colonies, such as, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and other countries declaring their independence To ensure possession of Cuba, large Spanish armies occupied it and kept the island under strict control. These armies brutalized the Cuban peasants to such a degree that Cuba rebelled against Spanish control in 1868. Called the Ten Years Revolt, this uprising led to much bloodshed on both sides. In 1895, Cuba again staged a major revolt against Spain. Conditions had not improved at all for these peasants. Many were starving, yet the Spanish authorities continued to increase their taxes to be paid to the Spanish government in Madrid (Bachrach 17).
One Cuban nationalist, Rafael de Eslava, described Cuba at the time of the rebellion in 1895: It seems to be self-evident that a curse is pressing upon Cuba, condemning her to witness her own disintegration and converting her into a prey for the operation of those swarms of vampires that are so cruelly devouring us, deaf to the voice of conscience, if they have any; it will not be rash to venture the assertion that Cuba is undone; there is The Spanish eventually sent more than 200,00 soldiers to Cuba to put down the 1895 rebellion and retain control of the island. At first, the soldiers were led by General Arsenio Martinez de Campos. When he failed to crush the rebellion, the Spanish government replaced him with Valeriano Weyler, a general with a reputation for using harsh methods. Weyler decided that he could contain the rebellion only by rounding up civilians and putting them in small areas that were guarded by Spanish soldiers. As the revolt dragged on, the United States government tried to mediate between the Spanish and the Cubans. In 1895, for example, President Grover Cleveland attempted to negotiate a settlement. He also tried to involve the other European powers in the process. But these attempts came to nothing, and the Spanish army tightened its hold on the Cuban civilian population (Bachrach, 19).
In 1897, the conflict continued. President William McKinley, Cleveland?s successor, sent his friend William J. Calhoun to Cuba to see if events were as bad as they had been presented in the American press. McKinley knew the American public was favoring a war with Spain over Cuba, and he wanted to know what was really happening. Calhoun reported to the president that he had found Cuba ?wrapped in the stillness of death and the silence of desolation.? Calhoun reported that the great loss of life and property had not been exaggerated and that Cuba was slowly dying. McKinley also tried to negotiate peace. In 1897, he made an offer to purchase Cuba from Spain. The government in Madrid, led by its prime minister, Praxedes M. Sagasta, refused the offer outright. In a sow of bravado, Sagasta told a Spanish newspaper reported that his government would never ?assent to foreign interference in our domestic affairs or with our colonies.? Spain would rather fight than relinquish its hold on Cuba. By 1897, the United States and Spain appeared to be at an impasse. Spaniards were incensed at U.S. attempts to involve itself in foreign affairs of Cuba, which the Spaniards believed to be part of Spain.
Americans were furious that the Spanish soldiers were locking people in concentration camps and sacrificing American lives and property in Cuba (Bachrach, 19) The United States had to gain control of the waters surrounding Cuba, so the American army could land safely and fight the Spanish. To accomplish this, the United States had to do two things. First, it had to blockade Cuba and prevent supplies from coming to the aid of the Spanish army. The United States government declared a naval blockade of Cuba on April 21, 1898, and sent ships to patrol the waters surrounding the island. Second, the U.S. Navy had to find and destroy the large Spanish fleet of Admiral Cervera. Once Cervera?s fleet was no longer an obstacle, the American army mobilizing in Tampa could board ships, sail to Cuba, and begin the land war against the Spanish army (Bachrach, 71).
The execution of these operations was put under the direction of Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, commander of the North Atlantic fleet, placing a small group of fast ships in the command of Commodore Winfield Scott Schley. Schley?s group of ships was called the Flying Squadron. Its task was to seek out the Spanish ships and report their location to Sampson. Schely also patrolled the waters west of Cuba. Most of the rest of Smapson?s fleet kept up a blockade of Cuban ports while keeping a watch for Cervera?s fleet. Sampson himself patrolled the waters east of Cuba and explored Caribbean ports. The navy desperately needed to locate and destroy the Spanish fleet because it posed a threat to American ports and ships. It also made it impossible to land an American army safely in Cuba. The Americans knew that Cervera?s fleet lad left the Spanish port of Saint Vincent on April 19. But then it had disappeared from the view. For two critical weeks in May, Sampson and Schley frantically searched for the fleet in the Caribbean Islands and the sea lane approaches to Cuba. Although the American navy did not know it, Cervera himself was in a terrible situation. Cervera had successfully left Spain to cross the Atlantic, but he lacked adequate coal and food supplies. He could not locate the supply ship that had been sent ahead to meet him half way. So he was forced to make several landings on the Caribbean islands in search of desperately needed coal and fresh food and water. These landings made it difficult for the American navy to discover his whereabouts (Bachrach, 73).
Sampson and the American government assumed that Cervera?s fleet would most likely land in the Cuban port of Havana. Most of the Spanish army was concentrated near Havana, and these soldiers urgently needed the weapons, ammunition, and other military supplies that Cervera carried in the holds of his ships. So the Americans kept a close watch in the waters off Havana. But Admiral Cervera eluded the American ships patrolling the Cuban waters. After making several coaling stops, the Spanish admiral arrived safely at the port of Santiago de Cuba, on the southern coast of the islands, on May 19, 1898. It was some time before the American fleet located Admiral Cervera. Schley had been ordered to verify rumors that Cervera had arrived safely in Santiago. he arrived at the mouth of the harbor, but the approach to the inner harbor curved and Schley could not see the Spanish fleet. Finally, it was a relatively new invention that helped the Americans locate the Spanish fleet. At the beginning of the war, President McKinley gave instructions that the telegraph company in Cuba should assist the American war effort. As a result of these instructions, an American secret agent was placed in the telegraph office in Havana On May 26, 1898, McKinley?s foresight paid off.
On that day, the secret agent spotted the Spanish fleet and sent an alarm to Washington and to Sampson?s fleet that Admiral Cervera was in the Santiago harbor. Admiral Sampson?s fleet immediately began to converge at the mouth of the harbor. Admiral Cervera knew that his fleet was smaller and weaker than the Americans fleet. Ship bottoms were fouled form lack of proper maintenance, and most of his fleet could not outshoot or outrun the fastest of the American ships. Nonetheless, Admiral Cervera knew that his duty required sacrificing his fleet to On July 3, 1898, Admiral Cervera ordered all the sailor who had been serving as soldiers in the Santiago to board ship. With these reinforcements, Cervera led his flagship, the Maria Teresa, out of the harbor. He was followed by the Viscaya, Cristobal, Colon, Almirante Oquendo, Pluton, and Furor. The Spanish fleet did not want to fight. It wanted to escape. It turned west while hugging the shore. If all failed, Cervera planned to drive the ships ashore and save as many Spanish lives as possible. As the doomed fleet emerged from the harbor, it confronted the American fleet arranged in an arc around the entrance. From east to west lay the Vixon, Brooklyn, Texas, Iowa, Oregon, Gloucester, Indiana, Erickson, and New York.
The American ships raked the Spanish fleet with the volleys of cannon fire. The first ship the Spanish fleet encountered at the mouth of the harbor was the Brooklyn. So the Spanish fleet concentrated on attacking that ship. The Brooklyn circled to the east, almost colliding with the Texas, forcing the Texas to swerve. It was a critical moment for both American ships, as they could have been severely damaged. Then the ships righted themselves and continued their attack on the Spanish fleet. In spite of the extreme confusion of the American naval forces, the Spanish fleet was doomed. The wooden deck of the ships caught fire easily, and became burning infernos from which the sailors desperately tried to escape. A Spanish officer later wrote: The fire was terrific; shells were continually striking new fire wherever they struck. Our men were driven from the guns by the rain of secondary battery projectiles, and by the flame and smoke of burning wood in our ships. The decks and the joiner work in the officers? quarters and all along the berthdeck took fire (Bachrach, 77).
That battle was a very costly affair for the Spanish. The Spanish had more than four hundred dead and wounded, and eighteen hundred Spanish sailors were captured during the naval action. The Spanish fleet was completely destroyed. The American losses were slight. Only one American sailor lost his life during this battle. It was an overwhelming American victory and the last major naval action of the In conclusion, the United States was pushed into to the Spanish-American war by means of yellow journalism, wanting control of the seas, and wanting control of Cuba. The United States emerged from the Spanish-American War with a great deal more than American leaders expected. At war?s end, the United States controlled Puerto Rico and Cuba in the Caribbean Sea and Guam and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific Ocean. (Bachrach 90).
Representatives from both of the United States and Spain went to Paris to discuss terms of peace. There in Paris, the United States demanded the complete independence of Cuba from Spain. The United States also want to gain control of all the islands they defeated during the war. Spain didn?t really have any choice, but to agree to these terms. The Americans requested to incorporate the Treaty of Paris. On December 10, 1898, both the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris that marked the end of Spanish control of once a great empire. It concurrently marked the emergence of the United States as an imperial power, a country that controls the domestic and foreign As a result of the war, the United States took on an important role in managing the affairs of the western hemisphere. One of their main goals that they concentrated on was to keep the influence of European powers out of the region. During the nineteenth century, the United States formed the Monroe Doctrine, but did no have enough power to enforce it. In the aftermath of the Spanish-American War, the Monroe Doctrine became the guiding principle of the United States? foreign policy. (Bachrach 90) The war also helped pushed the United States? ideas to build a canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans across the country of Panama.
One event during the Spanish-American War, the spectacular voyage of the Oregon, had indicated the need for such a canal. They believed the canal would be a useful route during times of war and also important trade during peacetime. The leader among these supporters was Theodore Roosevelt, who became president of the United States in 1901. As president, he campaigned to the people the importance to the canal for military security. Roosevelt assisted Panama, then a possession of Colombia, in gaining independence in 1901. He then received permission to begin construction of the canal across the Isthmus of Panama, which connected North and South America. The construction of the Panama Canal was one of the many changes that resulted in a more powerful United States, but also another one of these changes was the establishment of a general military staff. American leaders realized that the country had won its first conflict with a European power, only because the enemies had so many weaknesses. The leaders knew if the United States were to become engaged in another war with a major country, it would result in defeat. Thus, new organization had taken place, such as, the formation of a general staff.
A general staff acts as the brain of an army by directing, planning and organizing all of the army activities. Also, in the minds of many American, the Civil War did not really end until the Spanish-American War ended. This was because until the 1890?s, many people, particularly in the South, were still divided by Civil War memories. The Spanish- American War gave Northerners and the Southerners a common enemy to hate, thus, they stopping them to hate each other and uniting to fight against the Spanish. President McKinley contributed greatly to this spiritual union of the nation. He selected generals from both Civil War armies to lead the units in Cuba. Northerners and Southerners served with great pride during the Spanish-American War. The Spanish-American War not only helped to overcome regional differences but also influenced relations between blacks and whites. The Civil War had freed the slaves, but it did not free people?s minds of prejudice. The Spanish-American War was an opportunity for the country to move towards this As a result of the Spanish-American War, America gained many more advantages politically, Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Wars, 1991.
Conway, Christopher, The Birth of U.S. Imperialism : An Introduction to the Spanish-American War, http://www.geocities.com/athens/ithaca/9852/usimp.html Cushing, Lincoln, 1898-1998 Centennial of the Spanish-American War, Lawson, Don, The United States in The Spanish-American War. New York : Abelard-Schuman, 1976. O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. The United States Army Yellow Fever Commission and the Spanish-American War: Science and Politics http://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/yelfev/tabcon.html Reporter?s article from the Journal: O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Sigmund Rothschild, a passenger abroad the City of Washington : O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. Telegram sent to Dewey in Hong Kong : Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: One Cuban nationalist, Rafael de Eslava, described Cuba at the time of the rebellion in 1895: Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Spanish officier upon Cervera?s ship : Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego:
Bibliography:
Bibliography Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Wars, 1991. Conway, Christopher, The Birth of U.S. Imperialism : An Introduction to the Spanish-American War, http://www.geocities.com/athens/ithaca/9852/usimp.html Cushing, Lincoln, 1898-1998 Centennial of the Spanish-American War, http://www.zpub.com/cpp/saw.html Lawson, Don, The United States in The Spanish-American War. New York : Abelard-Schuman, 1976. O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. The United States Army Yellow Fever Commission and the Spanish-American War: Science and Politics in Latin America, 1898-1904, http://www.med.virginia.edu/hs-library/historical/yelfev/tabcon.html Primary Sources Reporter?s article from the Journal: O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. Sigmund Rothschild, a passenger abroad the City of Washington : O?Toole, G. J. A., The Spanish War. New York/London : W.W. Norton & Company, 1984. Telegram sent to Dewey in Hong Kong : Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Wars, 1991. One Cuban nationalist, Rafael de Eslava, described Cuba at the time of the rebellion in 1895: Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Wars, 1991. Spanish officier upon Cervera?s ship : Bachrach, Deborah, The Spanish-American War. San Diego: America?s Wars, 1991.
