Splendid Little War John Hay -- \"A

Splendid Little War

John Hay -- "A Splendid War"

Secretary of State John Hay once wrote to Theodore Roosevelt that the Spanish-American War had been "a splendid little war" (Fried, 1998). It was an opinion shared by many Americans at the time. The three-month war -- declared in April 1898 and over by August -- had few American casualties and helped open up many foreign territories for the United States.

The war began with the Cuban Revolution. Spanish rule in Cuba was fiercely opposed by Cuban rebels who were routinely dehumanized, degraded and mistreated in the country throughout the late 19th Century (Lovett, 1997). Spanish general Valeriano Weyler instituted many concentration camps to contain insurgents and suppress the threat of rebel uprisings. The camps were scenes of indecency and deplorable living conditions where death, starvation and malaria and typhoid epidemics were rampant. The suffering of Cubans was deemed a social injustice. It eventually led to a global outcry against the Spanish and call for intervention.

U.S. interest in the Cuban revolution was not altruistic, however. At the time, the country had great interest in expanding overseas to develop new market opportunities and secure better sourcing for raw materials to support the emerging industrial era in America (Lovett, 1997). Latin America and Asia seemed to be ideal prospects, but an increased American presence in such parts of the world would call for strong military forces to protect itself against conflicts. America would need allies -- and an excuse (Haskell, 1998). The situation in Cuba seemed ideal.

The United States once attempted to purchase Cuba from Spain after the Mexican-American War. When that failed, business opportunities and international sugar trade gave the U.S. The necessary "in" to leverage any economic benefits Cuba had to offer. However, by 1895 Spanish treatment of Cuban rebels had led to a revolutionary war that was also creating negative repercussions for American business and resulting in damages to U.S. properties.

In addition, the American people were heavily influenced by the journalistic coverage of the plight of the Cuban people as presented in popular newspapers such as the New York World and New York Journal (Lovett, 1997). This was the beginning of "yellow journalism" -- sensational headlines, rape and torture stories and slanted reporting created passionate responses for most Americans (Smith, 1995). Cubans were viewed as heroes; Spanish rulers were seen as corrupt, monstrous villains.

In 1898, President McKinley ordered the battleship USS Maine to Havana Harbor in support of the Cubans (Lovett, 1997). Months later, the ship unexpectedly and unexplainably exploded and 250 American soldiers were killed. American journalism contributed to growing anti-Spanish sentiment in America by insinuating that Spain purposefully caused the tragic accident. The Spanish-American War was born.