FREE ESSAY ON SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR

THESIS : " The United States didn't want to get involved in the Spanish-American War, but
was dragged
into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and wanted complete
control over Cuba."
The Spanish-American War -
"The Splendid Little War" 
Pia DeAngelis
Mr. Fishman
Period 7
For 113 days during the summer of 1898, the United States was at war with Spain. Neither
the
president of the United States, nor his cabinet, nor the the queen of Spain, nor her
ministers wanted the
war wanted the war. It happened eventhough they made their best efforts to prevent it. It
happened
because of ambition, miscalculation, and stupidity; and it happened because of kindness,
wit, and
resourcefulness. It also happened because some were indifferent to the suffering of the
world's wretched
and others were not (O'Toole 17).
By winning the war the United States proved the the rest of the world and to itself that
it could
and would fight against foreign nations. For many years, world power had been
concentrated in the
countries in Europe. Nations such as Great Britain, France, Germany, and Spain had the
most influence
in global affairs. But a shift in power was gradually taking place as the United States
matured. The
young nation gained wealth and strength. Its population grew immensely, and many people
believed it
would become a major world power (Bachrach, 11)
Spain was one of the many European countries that had territory in the United States.
Spain
controlled mostly some islands off the coast of Central America. The most important of
these were Cuba
and Puerto Rico. The United States was led to believe that the Spanish mosgoverned and
abused the
people of these islands. In fact, Spain did overtax and mistreat the Cubans, who rebelled
in 1868 and
again in 1895. Thus, the American people felt sympathetic toward the Cuban independence
movement.
In addition, Spain had frequently interfered with trade between its colonies and the
United States. 
Even though the United States had been a trading partner with Cuba since the seventeenth
century, Spain
sometimes tried to completely stop their trade with Cuba. In Spain doing so, this
sometimes caused
damage to U.S. commercial interests. The United States highly disagreed with Spain's
right to interfere
with this trade relationship. (Bachrach, 12)
The United States was also concerned that other trading and commercial interests were
threatened by the number of ships and soldiers Spain kept in the area. If the United
States had to fight a
war with Canada or Mexico, these Spanish forces could quickly mobilize against the United
States. U.S.
officials especially wanted Spanish troops out of Cuba because it lies only ninety miles
of the coast of
Florida.
Over the years, then, the United States built up a great deal of resentment toward Spain,
although
it was unable to oppose such a powerful nation. At the same time, Spain's power was
gradually
weakening. Its economy had declined, and its military ships and weaponary were antiquated
and in
disrepair. Rapid political change toward the end of the noneteenth century further
weakening Spain's
power. Because political parties were attempting to overthrow its monarchy, the Spanish
government was
forced to devote many of its soldiers to defending the monarchy. As a result, there were
fewer resources
available for defending its distant colonies around the world. The stage was set for the
United States to
take stand against Spain. The United States didn't want to get involved in the
Spanish-American War,
but was dragged into it due to yellow journalism, they wanted to control the seas, and
wanted complete
control over Cuba (Bachrach, 13). 
The American press played a major role in leading the United States into a war against
Spain in
1898. The press aroused a nationalist sentiment to such a fever pitch that President
McKinley came to
believe that if he did not fight the Spanish, he and his political party would suffer.
This uproar was
stimulated by two giants of the American press world. During the entire course of the
Cuban rebellion,
from 1895 to 1898, two rival newspapers foight their own war in the United States to gain
supremacy in
the American newspaper market. Both were published in New York City, and both had
enormous
national circulation and influence. These newspapers used the events in Cuba as a
backdrop of their own
journalistic rivalry. By reporting events in Cuba in a biased, inaccurate, and
inflammatory way, these
newspapers led the American public to demand that the quarrel with Spain be settled
through war
(Bachrach 30).
The moment was ripe for a military spirit to seize the American people. It had been more
than
thirty years, a full generation since the Civil War, which ended in 1865. As historian
Gregory Mason
points out, people had forgotten the horrors of that bloody conflict, and many yound men
were eager to
fight a war against Spain. There was yet another reason why the journalists of the period
were so
influential. In the days before the radio and television, newspaper were the major source
of news.
Publishers exercises a tremendous amount of political influence. But newspapers did not
attempt to
adhere to a policy of objective presentation of facts. In the 1890's, it was common for a
newspaper to
report the editor's interpretation of the news. If the information was inaccurate or even
false, it was rarely
challenged by the public, who had little or no means to verify it (Bachrach, 30).
Before the Spanish-American War, the press began to print any story it could find about
the
events in Cuba. Whether or not the news was verified, it was presented as though it were
completely true. 
Step by step, the press heightened the American sense of outrage at reputed Spanish
brutality toward the
Cuban rebels.
The two men who were primarily involved in thepress were William Randolph Hearst and
Joseph
Pulitzer. These men, especially Hearst, Became associated with the new, colorful but
irresponsible
approach to journalism known as yellow journalism. Willian Randolph Hearst was born into
a wealthy
Californian Family. He went to New York City and bought the New York Journal in 1896.
When Hearst
purchased it, the Journal operated as newspapers do today. It reported stories only after
their accuracy
had been checked and prided itself on a fair, objective approach to news. It also was a
failing financially. 
Hearst wanted to revive the Journal's circulation and make his newspaper the most
powerful in the
American politics. Another man, however, stood in the way of his goal. This man was
Joseph Pulitzer,
the owner of the New York World. The World was easily the dominant newspaper in the
United States
when Hearst arrived in New York City. It had the largest circulation of any newspaper in
the country. It
cost two cents a copy, and more than half a million copies a day were sold. This was an
enormously large
readership for the 1890's. The World was so tremenously successful because of Pulitzer's
journalistic
methoda. Pulitzer ordered his reporters to stretch and distort the news. His paper
reported on the most
sordid murders and elaborated upon details if they were paticularly bloody and horrible.
These stories
kept circulation up. By using these tactics, Pulitzer proved that the public had an
incredible and
continuous interest in such matters. Hearst decided to outdo Pulitzer. He was convinced
he could make
the Journal more popular than the World, and he used his family's fortune to do it
(Bachrach, 35).
All of Hearst's information in 1896 was obtained from Cuban exiles living on the Lower
East
side of New York City. These men had no firsthand information about Cuban events.
Nevertheless, they
became "reporters" for the Journal. Based on their "accounts," the Journal told the world
that the
Spanish had "roasted twenty-five Catholic priests alive" and had "resumed inhuman
practice of beating
Cuban prisoners to death." Hearst saw that his sensationalism attracted readership
because the circulation
of the Journal began to increase. So he decided to control all news relating to the
events in Cuba
personally. Each story written by a reporter was edited by Hearst. Since Hearst wanted
the United States
to go to war with Spain, he always edited the stories to place the Spanish in the worst
possible light. The
Spanish government soon refused all reporters permission to leave Havana to witness
events firsthand. So
the reporters made up stories, artists depicted them, and Hearst edited and published
them in his
newspaper. It was Hearst who dubbed the Spanish general in Cuba "butcher Weyler" for the
atrocities he
was reported to have committed against Cuban rebels. The Journal called Weyler a "human
hyena"
and a "mad dog." Its description of the general was extreme:
Weyler, the brute, the devastator of haciendas, the destroyer of families
and the outrager of women....pitiless