The United States made its first step toward imperialism
with its role in the Spanish-American War, a conflict that lasted less than
four months.
The Spanish-American War had its origins in the Cuban Revolution of 1895.
The U.S. government was initially neutral, but became concerned when the
Spanish Governor began forcing thousands of citizens into concentration
camps while his forces destroyed the countryside. Because of American business
interests on the island and sympathy for the Cuban insurrectos, relations
between the U.S. and Spain deteriorated. Sensationalist U.S. newspapers,
in the first major example of "yellow journalism," exaggerated
the atrocities committed against the Cubans, and public opinion called for
the U.S. to pressure Spain into granting Cuba its independence.
At approximately 9:40 p.m. on the evening of February
15, 1898, the battleship USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. The U.S. Navy
and Marine Corps suffered 267 casualties. Although the true cause of the
explosion has never been determined, the Spanish government was held responsible.
After unsuccessful negotiations lasting almost four months, President McKinley
asked Congress for a declaration of war on April 11, 1898. Two weeks later,
war between the United States and Spain was officially declared.
The major battles of the war took place in the Spanish colonies of the Philippine
Islands, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. In the Philippines, the Spanish were easily
defeated in the naval Battle of Manila Bay on May 1. A short time later
the U.S. Army landed on the island, bringing it under American control.
The campaign in the Caribbean was initially unsuccessful, as troops were
ill-equipped and poorly supplied. The Marines came ashore at Guantanamo,
Cuba, on June 10, but it took another 12 days for the Army to land an expeditionary
force. Nevertheless, by July 17, the Spanish had surrendered.
A week later, a United States expedition landed in Puerto Rico. Within three
days, most of the island was under American control. On August 1, a cease
fire was declared. On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain signed
the Treaty of Paris, officially ending the war, which had lasted less than
100 days.
As a result of what Secretary of State John Hay called "a splendid little
war," the United States emerged from the conflict as a world power. Cuba
became an American possession until 1903 and Guantanamo remains a U.S. Navy
base. The U.S. also gained control of Puerto Rico and Guam, and both remain
affiliated today. The Philippines were purchased from Spain for twenty million
dollars. As a direct result of the war, the United States also annexed Hawaii,
Wake Island and several of the Samoan Islands. Spain's colonial empire was
no more, and the U.S. had become a major military power with a two-ocean
navy.
For the U.S., the acquisition of a large colonial empire did not come without
additional costs. Filipinos, tired of their colonial rule by Spain and hoping
for independence, resented U.S. control. An insurrection broke out in the
Philippines, and on February 4, 1899, the U.S. undertook a campaign to suppress
the revolt. Casualties in this guerilla war mounted to over four times that
of the Spanish-American War. The Philippine Insurrection lasted until July
4, 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Philippines pacified.
Like Vietnam, American citizens were ambivalent about this undeclared war
and no parades were held for the returning troops. The Philippines eventually
achieved independence shortly after World War II.
