Use Sophia to knock out your gen-ed requirements quickly and affordably. Learn more
×

The Creation of an American Empire

Author: Sophia

what's covered
The War of 1898 (also known as the Spanish–American War) was the most critical milestone in the creation of an American empire. It was the first significant international military conflict for the United States since the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848. It is noteworthy not only because the United States acquired territory from another empire (Spain) but also because it caused the global community to recognize that the United States was a formidable military power. In what Secretary of State John Hay called “a splendid little war,” the United States gained significant control in Latin America and the Pacific and shifted the balance of world power.

This tutorial examines the War of 1898, and the creation of an American empire, in four parts:

Table of Contents

1. The Origins of War

Although commonly referred to as the Spanish–American War, the War of 1898 had less to do with relations between Spain and the United States than with Spain’s control of Cuba in the Caribbean and its possessions in the Pacific (most notably, the Philippines).

Spanish imperial power had dominated Central and South America since the late 15th century. However, by 1890, Cuba and Puerto Rico were the only Spanish colonies that had not acquired their independence. On several occasions prior to 1898, Cuban independence fighters in the Cuba Libre movement attempted unsuccessfully to end Spanish control of the island.

term to know
Cuba Libre
The Cuban independence movement that sought liberation from Spain.

In 1895, violence spread across the island as Cubans once again revolted for independence. Spanish forces under the command of General Valeriano Weyler attempted to suppress the uprising by implementing a “reconcentration” policy, in which Spanish troops forced Cubans from the countryside to relocate to militarily controlled camps in urban areas.

did you know
It is estimated that as many as 95,000 people died as a result of Spain’s reconcentration policy in Cuba.

Many Americans were sympathetic toward the cause of Cuba Libre. The movement established offices in Florida and New York to cultivate support, often by using the rhetoric that Americans had used during the American Revolution.

The Cuban independence movement also captured the attention of American businessmen. A number of Americans owned or invested in sugar plantations on the island. American shippers worried that an outbreak of violence would affect sugar exports. In 1897, the United States was the destination for 87% of Cuba’s exports.

A number of young men in the United States viewed the violence in Cuba as an opportunity for the nation to use its growing military strength and international influence. By 1896, a group of American politicians and military leaders—many of whom were too young to have participated in the Civil War—assumed key positions in the government and military.

EXAMPLE

After campaigning on behalf of William McKinley during the election of 1896, Theodore Roosevelt of New York secured an appointment as assistant secretary of the Navy. He used his position to advocate the expansion of the U.S. Navy and its use to assert American interests abroad.

Roosevelt and other American men were eager to prove their patriotism and masculinity in battle and saw the conflict in Cuba as an opportunity for the United States to exhibit its might on a global stage.

did you know
Patriotic rituals such as the Pledge of Allegiance and standing for the playing of the national anthem first became common during the 1890s.

The press, particularly publications that engaged in yellow journalism, played a key role in inflaming American nationalism and sensationalizing the violence that was occurring in Cuba.

term to know
Yellow Journalism
Sensationalist newspapers that manufactured news in order to sell papers.

In the late 1890s, newspapers like the New York Journal, owned by William Randolph Hearst, and the New York World, published by Joseph Pulitzer, competed for readers using sensationalized headlines, images, and stories for dramatic effect.

people to know
William Randolph Hearst
American newspaper publisher and owner of the New York Journal, whose yellow journalism published a sensationalized account of the conflict in Cuba and helped generate public support for the War of 1898.
Joseph Pulitzer
American newspaper editor and publisher who owned the New York World. Competition with William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal for readership helped popularize yellow journalism, which used sensationalized headlines, images, and stories to sell newspapers at the turn of the 20th century.

Spanish officials strip-searching an American woman suspected of smuggling messages from Cuban insurgents. Drawn by Frederic Remington and published by the New York Journal before the War of 1898.

think about it
How were American audiences expected to react to images like the one above?

By providing readers with exaggerated stories and images, yellow journalists exploited the violence in Cuba to gain readers and increase sales. They took advantage of an atmosphere in which reformers (who sympathized with the Cuba Libre movement), businessmen concerned with their Cuban investments, and young men (like Theodore Roosevelt) eager to display their masculinity pressured the government to intervene on Cuba’s behalf.

make the connection
Many historians blame the yellow press for distorting facts and urging Americans to support a war against Spain. Can you think of other instances in American history when tabloid newspapers or other media sources have exaggerated foreign events and misled Americans?


2. The Challenge of Declaring War

Photograph of the wreckage of the U.S.S. Maine in Havana’s harbor.
As sensationalist news stories, the concerns of businessmen, and other factors contributed to growing public support for intervention, President William McKinley (following his victory in the 1896 election) considered what to do.

people to know
William McKinley
President from 1897 until his assassination in 1901; prosecuted the War of 1898 and oversaw the establishment of an American overseas empire.

McKinley commanded a new and growing—but untested—navy. He was not interested in Cuban independence but was concerned with protecting American commercial interests on the island and in the region. For a time, McKinley publicly admonished Spain for its actions in Cuba and searched for diplomatic solutions that would end the violence and stabilize the island.

McKinley’s reluctance to involve the United States in a military conflict with Spain vanished in February 1898. He had ordered one of the Navy’s newest battleships, the U.S.S. Maine, to drop anchor off the coast of Havana, Cuba. The mission of the Maine was to observe the conflict and, if necessary, evacuate American citizens. Just days after it arrived, an explosion destroyed the Maine on February 15, killing over 250 American sailors.

Image of the New York Journal coverage of the sinking of the Maine. Immediately after the disaster, yellow journalists reported that the explosion was the result of a Spanish attack and urged all Americans to support retaliation. The front page of the New York Journal (pictured left) proclaimed that the “Destruction of the War Ship Maine was the Work of an Enemy” and offered a $50,000 reward to whoever found the perpetrator of the “Maine Outrage.”

Although there was no evidence to support these claims, the phrase “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain” swept across the presses, and the American public joined businessmen in calling on the president and Congress to declare war.

think about it
In what ways did this page from the New York Journal exaggerate or mislead readers about the destruction of the U.S.S. Maine?

Recent examinations of the evidence have led many historians to conclude that the explosion that destroyed the Maine was probably an accident: the result of storing gunpowder too close to the ship’s boilers.

In late March, in a final attempt to avoid war, McKinley called on Spain to end its reconcentration policy and to formally recognize Cuban independence. Spain refused. As a result, McKinley requested a declaration of war from Congress. On April 19, 1898, Congress officially recognized Cuban independence and authorized McKinley to use military force to remove the Spanish presence from the island.


3. A War for Empire

To the surprise of the Spanish, who viewed the war as a conflict over Cuba, American military strategists prepared to fight a war for the empire. President McKinley and his advisers used the War of 1898 to further U.S. power and influence in the Pacific as well as in the Caribbean.

Before leaving his post to volunteer as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Cavalry, Assistant Secretary Theodore Roosevelt (with the president’s approval) ordered the Navy to attack the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, which was under Spanish control. On May 1, 1898, Admiral George Dewey led the U.S. fleet in a decisive victory over the Spanish in Manila Bay, sinking all of the Spanish ships while taking almost no American losses. Within a month, the U.S. Army landed troops in the Philippines and, in August, they captured Manila.

people to know
Theodore Roosevelt
Assistant secretary of the Navy under William McKinley, who resigned his position to command the all-volunteer cavalry unit known as the Rough Riders in Cuba during the War of 1898; later became vice president during McKinley’s second term and president from 1901 to 1909.
George Dewey
Admiral who led the U.S. fleet in a decisive victory against the Spanish in the Philippines in 1898.

A map of the major theaters of the War of 1898.

American victory in Cuba did not come as easily. In June 1898, 17,000 American troops landed in Cuba. In early July, fierce battles ensued near the Spanish stronghold of Santiago. It was at this point that Theodore Roosevelt led his Rough Riders, an all-volunteer cavalry unit made up of Ivy League college graduates, Western cowboys, and other adventure seekers, in a charge up Kettle Hill (next to San Juan Hill), which enabled American forces to surround Santiago.

term to know
Rough Riders
Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer cavalry unit, which fought in Cuba during the War of 1898.

Although the charge by the Rough Riders is among the best-known episodes of the War of 1898, the actions of approximately 2,500 African American soldiers, who fought in segregated units, played a key role in the American victory at Santiago. The Rough Riders charged up Kettle Hill thinking it was San Juan Hill. By the time they realized their mistake, they discovered that the all-Black regiments had beaten them to the top of San Juan Hill.

As U.S. forces took control of the hills surrounding Santiago, the Spanish fleet tried to escape but ran into an American blockade that resulted in its total destruction: Every Spanish vessel was sunk. Without naval support, Spain was unable to prevent the United States from taking the nearby island of Puerto Rico.

The fighting between Spain and the United States ended by the end of July. In December, both nations signed a treaty that recognized the territorial gains that the U.S. forces made during the conflict. As the map below shows, American victory in the War of 1898 marked the culmination of the efforts on behalf of American imperialism that were begun by Secretary of State Seward in the 1860s.

American imperial acquisitions at the end of the War of 1898. Note that the spread of island acquisitions across the Pacific Ocean answers Alfred Thayer Mahan’s call for more bases to support a larger and more effective U.S. Navy.

did you know
During the War of 1898, the United States annexed Hawaii, acquired Guam from Spain, occupied Wake Island, and claimed some of the Samoan Islands. Fewer than 350 American soldiers died in combat during the War of 1898. However, between 3,000 and 5,000 soldiers died from disease, particularly yellow fever, during the conflict.


4. The Debate Over Empire

The press glorified the American victory in the War of 1898.

The American empire. The cartoon on the right, from the Philadelphia Press, celebrated the reach of the new American empire, which stretched from Puerto Rico to the Philippines. Only a century earlier, the nation’s boundaries spanned only from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.

Although the United States was not unified in its support of the American empire, its proponents relied on the ideology and rhetoric of “the White man’s burden” to justify the acquisition of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the other new territories.

term to know
The White Man’s Burden
The idea that Anglo-Saxons owed other populations their stewardship and social uplift because of their race.

EXAMPLE

President McKinley and his advisers relied on cultural stereotypes and racism to argue against granting independence to the Philippines. William Howard Taft, the first American governor-general of the Philippines, referred to Filipinos as “our little brown brothers.”

EXAMPLE

The Foraker Act of 1900 established Puerto Rico as an American territory with its own civil government, but Puerto Ricans did not receive American citizenship until 1917.

make the connection
Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, which means Puerto Ricans are American citizens and can migrate freely to the American mainland. The island also elects its own government, but it is represented by a single, nonvoting delegate in the U.S. Congress. Many of its affairs, such as defense and the budget, are subject to U.S. oversight.

Cubans also found that their independence was not complete after the war.

During the debate over whether to declare war on Spain, Congress passed the Teller Amendment.

term to know
Teller Amendment
Named for Senator Henry Teller of Colorado; stated that the United States would not acquire Cuba following the War of 1898.

While the Teller Amendment prohibited the United States from acquiring Cuba, a subsequent amendment—the Platt Amendment—gave the U.S. government significant oversight of Cuban affairs.

term to know
Platt Amendment
Named for Senator Orville Platt of Connecticut; secured the right of the United States to intervene in Cuban affairs when threats to the stability of its government emerged.

The Platt Amendment empowered the United States to build a naval base at Guantanamo Bay (on the southern tip of the island) and prohibited Cuba from making treaties with other countries that might threaten its independence. Even though Cuba had won independence on paper, the United States controlled its foreign policy and economic agreements.

As control of the empire was being secured, a number of Americans expressed their opposition and, in 1898, formed the Anti-Imperialist League.

term to know
Anti-Imperialist League
A diverse group of prominent Americans who banded together in 1898 to protest the building of an American empire.

did you know
Prominent members of the Anti-Imperialist League included Jane Addams, former President Grover Cleveland, Andrew Carnegie, Mark Twain, and Samuel Gompers.

The League opposed American imperialism for many reasons, including the following:

  • Some members believed that imperialism went against the principles of democracy and freedom upon which the United States was founded.
  • Others worried that imperialism would increase and enhance competition from foreign workers.
  • Some believed that the governance or assimilation of other races would hurt the United States.
Although members of the Anti-Imperialist League had a variety of reasons for opposing imperialism, their concerns were overruled by the majority of the American public—as well as by the U.S. government—which viewed territorial acquisitions and influence overseas as important displays of American power, prosperity, and progress.

summary
In defeating Spanish imperial rule in Cuba during the 1890s, the United States realized its vision of controlling valuable territory in Latin America and the Pacific. Although military action was ultimately required to accomplish this, the United States willingly engaged in the War of 1898. With the defeat of Spain, the United States sent a message to other powers that it was a dominant player on the global stage. Victory in the War of 1898 enabled the United States to become the predominant power in the Caribbean and the South Pacific. At the same time, the United States deprived Cuba, the Philippines, and Spain’s other colonies of their independence.

Source: This tutorial curated and/or authored by Matthew Pearce, Ph.D with content adapted from Openstax “U.S. History”. access for free at openstax.org/details/books/us-history LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL

Attributions
Terms to Know
Anti-Imperialist League

A diverse group of prominent Americans who banded together in 1898 to protest the building of an American empire.

Cuba Libre

The Cuban independence movement that sought liberation from Spain.

Platt Amendment

Named for Senator Orville Platt of Connecticut; secured the right of the United States to intervene in Cuban affairs when threats to the stability of its government emerged.

Rough Riders

Theodore Roosevelt’s volunteer cavalry unit, which fought in Cuba during the War of 1898.

Teller Amendment

Named for Senator Henry Teller of Colorado; stated that the United States would not acquire Cuba following the War of 1898.

The White Man’s Burden

The idea that Anglo-Saxons owed other populations their stewardship and social uplift because of their race.

Yellow Journalism

Sensationalist newspapers who sought to manufacture news stories in order to sell more papers.

People to Know
George Dewey

Admiral who led the U.S. fleet in a decisive victory against the Spanish in the Philippines in 1898.

Joseph Pulitzer

American newspaper editor and publisher who owned the New York World. Competition with William Randolph Hearst’s New York Journal for readership helped popularize yellow journalism, which used sensationalized headlines, images, and stories to sell newspapers at the turn of the 20th century.

Theodore Roosevelt

Assistant secretary of the Navy under William McKinley, who resigned his position to command the all-volunteer cavalry unit known as the Rough Riders in Cuba during the War of 1898; later became vice president during McKinley’s second term and president from 1901 to 1909.

William McKinley

President from 1897 until his assassination in 1901; prosecuted the War of 1898 and oversaw the establishment of an American overseas empire.

William Randolph Hearst

American newspaper publisher and owner of the New York Journal, whose yellow journalism published a sensationalized account of the conflict in Cuba and helped generate public support for the War of 1898.