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Swampyville's Ask the Politically Correct!

Question:

What was the Spanish/American War?

Politically Correct Resolution:

At the ending of the nineteenth century the United State's was a

sovereign nation that wanted to maintain this status.  It was

the internationalists that called it an "Isolationist" nation,

because it didn't want to get involved in overseas conflicts.

The Spanish/American War.

(Global Building)

(Wikipedia used for most of this article)

The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the

United States. Revolts against Spanish rule had been endemic for

decades in Cuba and were closely watched by Americans; there had

been war scares before.  By 1897–98 American public opinion grew angrier

at reports of Spanish atrocities, magnified by "yellow journalism". After

the mysterious sinking of the American battleship Maine (the Catalyst) in

Havana harbor, political pressures from the Democratic Party pushed the

government headed by President William McKinley, a Republican, into a

war McKinley had wished to avoid. Compromise proved impossible, resulting

in an ultimatum sent to Madrid, which was not accepted. First Madrid,

then Washington, formally declared war.

Although the main issue was Cuban independence, the ten-week war was

fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific. A series of one-sided

American naval and military victories followed on all fronts, owing

to their numerical superiority in most of the battles and despite the

good performance of some of the Spanish infantry units. The outcome

was the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which was favorable to the U.S. followed

by temporary American control of Cuba and indefinite colonial authority

over Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines. The defeat and subsequent

end of the Spanish Empire was a profound shock for Spain's national

psyche. The victor gained several island possessions spanning the

globe and a rancorous new debate over the wisdom of imperialism.

Thus, (the United States gained there much wanted warm water ports

to extend their World Wide influences).

American interest in Caribbean

In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine stated that further efforts by

European governments to colonize land or interfere with states

in the Americas would not be accepted by the U.S., but Spain's

colony in Cuba was exempted. In 1890 Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan

wrote The Influence of Sea Power upon History, which credits the

rise of Britain to world power to the Royal Navy. Mahan’s ideas

on projecting strength through a strong navy had a powerful

worldwide influence, especially Japan. Theodore Roosevelt, later

Assistant Secretary of the Navy under President McKinley and an

aggressive supporter of a war with Spain over Cuba, was also strongly

influenced by Mahan’s conclusions. Americans had long been interested

in Cuba (and Hawaii), since several U.S. presidents offered to purchase

it from Spain (James Polk, Franklin Pierce and Ulysses S. Grant),

and others expressed their hopes of future annexation. 

Historians debate how much Americans were interested in obtaining

an empire, while noting that the European powers had in recent

decades dramatically expanded their empires, especially in Africa

and Asia. The United States seized this opportunity to become

an international empire themselves.

Thus, began the "gradual transformation" of the United States from

one of isolationism to one of internationalism.

"UT HISPANICUS CADIT, SIC OMNIS TERRA"

(As Spain falls, so falls the whole world)