20fighting

=Study Guide: Why Did the United States Fight Spain in 1898?= John Offner, Professor Emeritus of Shippensburg State University, author of //Unwanted War: The Diplomacy of hte US and Spain over Cuba, 1895-1898//.

Key Terms Definitions
USS Maine - US Naval ship protecting American business interests spontaneously combusts; reason for US involvement. Cuba - war hawk - McKinley was not, TR was. General Maximo Gomez - Spanish leader, we no likey imperialism - reconcentrados - the insurgents in Cuba, fighting Spain diplomacy - what's that?

Key Arguments (1895-1898)
McKinley wanted to allot time for negotiations, but some influential Republican congressmen forced him into turning the problem over. He aked for authority to intervene to end Cuban suffering to protect US life and property, restore commerce, and end constant threat to peace that agitated the US

McKinley objected to recognizing Republic of Cuba because 1. he didn’t want to US army to come under Cuban sovereignty 2. he thought recognition would hurt US claims against Cuba for property insurgents had destroyed 3. he lacked confidence in Cuban leaders’ ability to restore/maintain peace however, he promised Cuba independence

irreconcilable differences between Cuban nationalists and Spanish colonists 3 year war caused US economic losses and death and suffering of thousands of Cubans

=US Intervention in Cuba, 1898: Interpreting the Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War=

Thomas G. Paterson, Professor of History at the University of Connecticut

The International Context
Spanish are losing money as more Cuban rebels begin destroying crops which serve as a source of revenue for the Spanish Government, the United States feels the need to assist Cuba and attempt to buy Cuba from Spain. Spain is not willing to sell. The US then tries to involve Spain in a cease fire agreement which also fails, the war ready public then pushes the US government to war thinking they have exhausted all other options.

US begins to have impressive industrial growth which allows it to expand abroad and support foreign interests

National Context
national uproar over the sinking of the USS Maine - was not proven to be caused by spanish mines but much of the publich attributed the disaster to the spanish and used it as and excuse to advocate declaring war on Spain ( war hawks )

Individual Context
Grover Cleveland - first to acknowledge the war, did not support insurgents or spanish-american war William McKinley - initially wanted peace with Spain

__ Contrasting views __
 * Irrational impulses
 * Nation’s domestic problems-urban chaos, labor violence, agrarian protest
 * Problems relieved anxieties
 * William Randolph Hearst cooked up exaggerated stories
 * U.S.S Maine sinking
 * Social Darwinism-survival of the fittest
 * New frontier abroad
 * U.S leaders words-“manly”, “manliness”, ”weakling”
 * Other nations unlike macho uncle Sam
 * Flourishing racism in U.S
 * Those who presume to be superior do not negotiate; diplomacy is thus downgraded, and war is elevated as an instrument of policy
 * Superiors suspect to win wars against inferiors; so war becomes an attractive method to gain foreign policy objectives and to civilize a retrograde world

__ Individual context __ · President McKinley and imperialists · Lack political expertise · McKinley-first modern pres · Dominated foreign policy · Wanted to avoid war · Did not endorse outright independence of Cuba · Needed to improve American economy-listened to business community · Wanted to free Cubans from cruel imperial master?

__ Had war between Spain and Cuba reached a stalemate by 1898? __
 * McKinley would need to intervene for U.S
 * Either side winning would have hurt U.S
 * Demonstrated men’s power in U.S