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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...
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…
Reference
Fried, R.M. (1998). Spain Examines the 'Splendid Little War.'. Chronicle of Higher Education, 45(7), B9.
Haskell, B. (1998). The 'splendid little war'. Soldiers, 53(7), 20.
Lovett, C.C. (1997). A Splendid Little Centennial: Remembering the Spanish-American War. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 22(1), 37-39.
Smith, J. (1995). The 'Splendid Little War' of 1898: A reappraisal. History, 80(258), 22.
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