Spanish and American War - Research Paper Example

Spanish and American War The Spanish-American war occurred in 1898 as a result of American interference in the unending Cuban War of Independence. Cuba was involved in conflicts and was ruled by the Spanish for decades, which was closely observed by the US. It was the explosion of USS Marine in the Havana Harbor that provoked the Americans against the Spanish. President McKinley’s administration was under pressure to declare war, which he eventually did in spite of his reluctance. When any kind of compromise seemed futile and Spain refused to give up control over Cuba, the war became inevitable. McKinley and the Spanish-American War This article analyzes the role of President William McKinley in the Spanish-American War and his foreign and domestic policies that led to the war in April 1898. Cuba was in war with Spain for ten years that lasted till 1878. In that year, Spain assured the Cubans of colonial reforms, many of which never happened. Then in 1895, war broke out again and the three year of the war completely devastated the island. The idea of the Cuban insurgents was to make Cuba so unproductive that the Spanish would leave the island on their own accord. On the other side, Spain’s strategy was to get a quick victory by defeating the Cuban rebels, who were poorly armed and fought in groups. When this strategy failed, Spain separated the peasant population from the rebels. The Spanish army destroyed cattle and crops in the villages in order to sever the food supply of the Cuban rebels. Thus, during the war both Cubans and Spanish were responsible for the devastation of the island (Offner 50-51). After the Spanish-Cuban war, trade relations between US and Cuba deteriorated. The import-export firms and shipping lines began to pressure the government to negotiate with the Spanish for peace in Cuba. However, there was another group who invested heavily Cuban industries and sugarcane mills; they wanted alliance with the Spanish to end the war. When McKinley became president in 1897, the US was recovering from economic depressions, and the businessmen felt that economic stability would be hampered by wars. Till the last moment of McKinley’s declaration of war, the government was cautioned against entering into a costly war. Then there was the general public of America who were instilled with an adverse opinion of Spain. They considered the Spanish as tyrannical rulers and hence supported the Cuban’s rebellion against the Spanish. The administration of Grover Cleveland believed that the Cuban insurgents would not stop their violence. He initially was in diplomatic favour of the Cubans but changed his attitude once the latter started destroying American property. He turned in favor of the war ending and Spanish control of the island. On the other hand, the Republican Party favored Cuban independence, and so when McKinley became the president, he was expected to work towards liberating Cuba from Spain. McKinley, however, was not in favor of taking any decision that would endanger the country’s economy. During that time, he became aware of Cuba’s depressing situation. The island’s agricultural economy was devastated. The Cuban civilians, including women and children, were in near death conditions. Cuba was in dilemma about evicting Spanish rule since the Cubans were not confident about self-governance. During this moment, McKinley decided that non-interference would not solve the problem (Offner 52-54). McKinley was in favor of sending shipments of arms to the Cuban insurgents at the risk of deteriorating relations with Spain. To avoid a war with Spain, McKinley then took a diplomatic step by warning the Spanish to end their tyrannical rule over Cuba. He gave them three months’ time, although he did not expect the Spanish to agree. Eventually, McKinley was almost prepared for a potential war. During this time, Praxedes Sagasta became the prime minister of Spain. He strongly criticized the military aggression in Cuba and instead favored economic control over the island. This gesture was supported by McKinley as he believed it to be the first step towards Cuban independence. On one hand, he was suspicious of Spain’s intentions, and on the other hand, he was under pressure to end the Cuban war so that the Democrats could not make it an issue to win votes. In 1898, Sagasta’s reform policies were attacked by the country’s military. When a letter by a Spanish minister was published criticizing McKinley’s diplomacy, America became suspicious that Spain was gaining time for achieving military victory in Cuba. McKinley then made public the deplorable conditions of Cuba, hoping that it would justify America’s military intervention in Cuban matter. At that time, USS Marine that was placed in Havana harbor exploded which angered the Americans. However, McKinley still wanted to avoid war hoping that the explosion might be accidental. As investigation was ongoing, the US navy increased its ammunitions, believing that increased strength of the US navy would lead to a peaceful settlement by the Spanish in Cuba. It was during this time that Senator Redfield Proctor returned from a Cuban trip and in a speech to the American public described the horrendous conditions of Cuba. This speech gained sympathy from both the conservative business circles and religious circles. Thus McKinley found humanity as another cause for military intervention. The result of Maine investigation proved that it sank due to external explosion although the perpetrators were not found. As McKinley began consultations with both political parties, his goal was to delay the way, but the legislators were inflamed both by Proctor’s speech and Maine’s explosion. Even then, McKinley continued his diplomatic efforts for peace. As final attempt of peace, the Pope intervened but failed. The European ambassadors then sent a peace appeal to McKinley, which he rejected on the ground that his government had no further role in maintaining peace. Then they convinced Spain to end the war in Cuba. Although Sagasta was convinced that Cubans would not end their fights, he nevertheless suspended hostilities. As expected, this was rejected by Cuban military in spite of the US pressure. Thus, finally the Spanish-American war began, although McKinley was consistently against it (Offner 54-59). The Splendid Little Forgotten War The USS Marine was anchored in the Havana Habor for protection of American property from the Spanish rioters in Havana. The US was in a position to enter the international politics. As the European nations spread their power over the Asians and Africans, the US had its eye on Latin America. For this purpose, it was important to gain control over the Caribbeans for which control over Cuba was the first step. The US government was also under pressure to act in Asia, as internal economy wanted to capture the market in China and Japan (Bailey 189). The newspaper reports of the Cuban revolution portrayed such horrendous picture of the island’s condition that it gained immense sympathy from the general Americans. When USS Marine was exploded, the public sentiment was kept at bay till final investigation reports, since the perpetrators were not known. However, this incident inflamed the Americans. The Spanish-American war was of small scale that lasted for only 113 days. A total of 306,760 men joined the American military, of whom only 35,000 left the US. The official report said that there were only 385 casualties during the entire war. The war, however, was tremendously successful. America’s Manifest Destiny was accomplished to a large extent with the capture of Guam, Philippines and Puerto Rico. America could extend its industrial and agricultural interests in the Far East. For American investors, Cuba became an open market (Bailey 190). South Carolina’s role in the war was self contradictory. Although South Carolina patriots were eager to join the war, the real scenario was different. About 2,439 of the total volunteers of 3,384 remained in America. The most that the First South Carolina Regiment stationed was in Panama Park, Florida. The headquarters for the South Carolina Heavy Battery was in the Charleston area. Thus, 254 Black Americans from South Carolina were part of the Tenth United States Volunteer Infantry. Along with them, 21 South Carolinians in the Third United States Volunteer Engineers were stationed in Georgia. The only volunteers from South Carolina who were part of the actual action were those aboard the USS Celtic. They were part of the mission to destroy Spanish fleet in Santiago Harbor (Bailey 191). The South Carolina militia during 1898 was weakly organized and was equipped with outdated weapons like guns which were single-shot breech loaders. The government allocated funds for the maintenance of the militia. The most prominent disability of the militia was lack of encampment since there was no land in the state. Encampments were necessary for militia to receive theoretical instructions and field exercise. After the explosion of Maine, volunteers began to apply for military participation. With this flurry of volunteerism, the governor Ellerbe ordered Captains to fill their regiments with required number of volunteers. When McKinley finally decided to declare war on Spain, he asked for volunteers from every state. The number of volunteers allowed depended on the population of each state. South Carolina was asked to provide one regiment of infantry, one battalion of infantry, and one heavy battery of artillery. Ellerbe was disappointed with the allotted quota as he feared the state’s battalion would lose its identity once combined with battalions of other states. South Carolina volunteers did not display much eagerness to join the war as some communities and Black Americans doubted the benefits of the war on the state. Then there were also health issues like outbreak of smallpox that deterred volunteers from making applications (Bailey 191-197). The black population of South Carolina showed greatest excitement after the Maine explosion because they expected settlement lands in Cuba. They also fought for their racial independence. When Ellerbe refused to use troops from the National Guard, the blacks felt left out from the war. Colored troops began to be formed from July, 3. The white volunteers of South Carolina, to get themselves enrolled, found ingenious ways to pass the medical examination and disobey the age limitation, which was ranged from eighteen to forty-five. Because of the rigid medical examination processes in South Carolina, many of the volunteers got themselves enrolled in the Georgia regimen. There was unrest in the camps, which was ceased when Ellerbe received a letter to form an Independent Battalion. Mobilization process was prolonged because white volunteers were not prepared as they were rejected during medical examinations, and also they were having shortages of sleeping materials like cots and blankets aw well as eating utensils. The Spanish-American war proved to be an embarrassment for the South Carolina militia because of high rate of rejections and prolonged mobilizations (Bailey 197-208). Conclusion The Spanish-American war was a glorious event in American history because of its tremendous success. Despite innumerous attempts by the then President McKinley to avert the war, it became inevitable because of a deadlock situation between Cuba and Spain. The Americans fully supported the war as they sympathized with Cuba under the tyrannical rule of Spain. Volunteers from every state showed eagerness to join the war, but South Carolina volunteers were mostly left out because of rejections and prolonged mobilizations. Lack of equipments and training along with health issues contributed towards their disappointment. References Bailey, Harry Moore. “The Splendid Little Forgotten war: The Mobilization of South Carolina for the war with Spain”, The South Carolina Historical Magazine, 92.3 (July, 1991), 189-214. Offner, John L. “McKinley and the Spanish-American War”, Presidential Studies Quarterly, 34.1 (March, 2004), 50-61. Read More