A Review of American History

The Spanish-American fight started with the declaration of war on April 25, 1898 by the United States on Spain following several incidents.These two incidents that prompted US President Mckinley to ask Congress for a declaration of war was the sinking of the American Battleship Maine in capital of Cuba harbor with 260 people and the interception of a private letter written by Spanish Minister Dupuy De Lome in Washington describing Mckinley as a weak man and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd (Brinkley, 320).This stirred and ictericish brown the American publics uproar against the Spanish brutal strain of Cuba and numerous Americans initially supported the war initiative.Meanwhile, during this time in history, a lot of worldwide stirrings were already prompting the separate superpowers to slice the global cake with vulnerable continents and countries like Africa and the weak Chinese Empire. The US government has had its taste of conquering so called dependent people the American Indians. This come and the expansionist moves of the other superpowers started the US expansionism tendencies which were further stoked by the so called yellow press or sensationalist journalism.Meanwhile, huge American businesses have in any case been expanding overseas beyond American boundaries in search of sources of raw materials, specious labor and market for its own products.Thus, when the two incidents (Maine and Dupuys letter) occurred almost simultaneously, the prospect to intervene in Cuban affairs presented itself with the overwhelming support of the American public and added pressure from the American business community who has huge investments in Cuba. Soon, the war against Spain reached not only the shores of Cuba only if also Puerto Rico, the Filipino Islands, Guam, and other islands like Hawaii and Alaska.While the sensationalism of the news from Cuba stirred the American normals support, it was in the same manner through the news cable that Ameri can public learned about the brutal annexation of the Philippine islands and the subjugation of its rebellion for freedom initially fought against its Spanish rulers, because later onward on, with its new colonizers the US government.No less than the famous American author do Twain objected to the colonization of the Philippines knowing that like the Cuban rebels, there was an unionised Filipino rebellion against Spain prior to the intrusion of the US government into the Philippine islands. Mark twain openly pointed out the enormous contradictions between the US claim of benevolent foreign policy and its brutal occupation of the islands.When US involvement became progressively more difficult to justify, and eventually came to be defend on the grounds that the U.S. could not retire from it without suffering dishonor according to then President McKinley, Twain advocated the position that An inglorious peace is better than a dishonorable war (Cushing, 1998).Meanwhile, the war in Cuba was referred to as a minute little war by Secretary of State John hay (Brinkley, 320). The war was over in as little as quad months. The actual battlefield casualties on the Americans side were 460 but about 5,200 died of diseases (Brinkley, 320). The joint forces of the Cuban rebels and the American Naval blockade already toppled whatever little resistance the Spanish forces mustered to put up.According to Brinkleys chronology of events (321), the U.S. forces won four decisive battles within a week. The war cease with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. What begun as a war to help the Cubans free themselves from Spains brutal government ended up as the US government practically wrangling statement over Spains former colonies Cuba, the Philippine Islands and Puerto Rico in 1917.At this time, many Americans who first supported the efforts against Spain now swayed public opinion against the continuing US expansionism and brutal annexation of other coun tries. The true colors and objectives of the US tone ending to war to help the Cuban rebels swiftly shifted not long after the war was declared.