US Intervention in Cuba, 1898
Cuban-Spanish-American War
The effort to throw the Spanish out was a long struggle. There were
constant conspiracies on the part of Cubans to free themselves of Spain. The effort called
the Ten Years' War (1868-78) had failed but a new war for independence began in 1895. From
New York, Tomás Estrada Palma, José Marti (who would be martyred), and others landed in
Cuba to join compatriots who had already begun to fight the Spanish. By necessity, the
insurrectionists had to use guerrilla tactics, for the Spanish army, reinforced from the
mother country, was too strong. Through hit-and-run tactics, sabotage, selective murders,
and persistence, they hoped to wear the Spanish down and cause them to give up. the
Spanish, under the leadership of General Valierano Weyler fought the guerrillas by trying
to isolate them and cut off their support. Using a tactic which would used by the United
States in the Vietnam War, he tried to pacify the countryside by moving populations out of
a sector so that only guerrillas and their supporters would be left and then the army
could defeat them. The populations were reconcentrated into camps. US citizens had
little interest in Cuba until the Cuban Civil War began in 1895. The Spanish concentration
camps aroused attention. In them, disease was rampant and many died. The US tends to have
sympathy for the underdog. Moreover, it had traditional anti-Spanish views inherited from
the English. The "Yellow Journalists" (the sensationalist press led by Hearst
and Pulitzer) fed the anti-Spanish, pro-interventionist sentiment.
Background
When revolt began in 1895, President Grover Cleveland declared US neutrality but
he faced a clique of Henry Cabot Lodge, Theodore Roosevelt, Whitelaw Reid of the New
York Tribune and Albert Shaw of the Review of Reviews who wanted to
intervene Cuba and annex Hawaii. In 1896, Congress passed a resolution recognizing
belligerency. Richard Olney, Secretary of State, made it clear to Spain that the US
considered its interests in Cuba jeopardized by continuance of war. There were also
economic and strategic groups in the US who had an interest in Cuba. Besides, the Navy was
getting to the point of being able to fight the Spanish. The naval appropriations bills in
1870s and 1880s showed the buildup in strength.
US economic interests were not much even by the standards of the
day. In 1895, US-Cuban trade was about $100 million a year. US investment in Cuba
was about $50 million, mostly in sugar and iron but some in mining and tobacco. Some
thought only $30 million. Neither was high enough to justify intervention (except,
of course, if it were your money). The US business community was generally opposed the
intervention. But Pulitzer's World and Hearst's Journal pounded away at
the US citizenry until the latter began demanding that the US intervene to save the Cubans
from the dirty, nasty Spaniards, ignoring the fact that the Cubans were committing at
least as many atrocities.
The Spanish ambassador to the United States, de Lome, sent a private
letter to his friend, the editor of the Madrid Herald, who was visiting Cuba, in
which he wrote "McKinley [is] weak and a bidder for the admiration of the
crowd." He made other derogatory comments, most of which McKinley's opposition would
have agreed with. The letter was stolen by a clerk in the Havana post office and
sent to rebels who then sent it to the Journal. The newspaper published it
in February, 1898, not pointing out that the letter was private and stolen and not Spanish
policy. Instead, the Journal was trying to inflame passions, which it did. De
Lome resigned before publication but that did not stop the newspaper. His resignation
removed from the scene the patient, skilful, and tireless de Lome.
On February 15, 1898, the USS Maine blew up Havana harbor. It had
been there for 3 weeks, having been sent in case US citizens had to be rescued and as an
act of intimidation towards the Spanish government. Unfortunately, 266 died in the
explosion. The Spanish government expressed regret at the accident. Investigations
indicated that the Spanish government was not responsible and common sense said that it
would not be so stupid as to have done it. The rebels gained from the explosion but the
best evidence suggests that it was an accident caused by one or more US sailors. The
US press, however, said it was an act of treachery on the part of Spain.
The governments of Spain and the United States were not so easily
swayed and had continued to seek a diplomatic solution. By March 27th, one day before the
report on the Maine explosion was made public, the US minister to Spain was asked to find
out (1) if Spain would grant a six months armistice to the rebels, (2) whether Spain would
revoke the reconcentration order at once, allow Cubans to go home, and work with the US to
supply them until they could get back on their feet, and (3) whether Spain would
allow the US to be the final arbiter if peace were not achieved by October 1st. Spain
agreed to revoke the reconcentration order and, on April 9th, agreed to suspend
hostilities. In essence, the US demands had been met. That should have ended the
matter.
Congress, however, wanted war, and, on April 11, 1898, McKinley accommodated. On
April 19, Congress declared Cuba independent, demanded that Spain withdraw, and and
directed and empowered the US president to fight a war if Spain refused to fold. The
declaration of war was softened by the Teller Amendment which promised that the US would
not annex any territory gained from the war. By April 25th, Congress declared that a state
of war existed.
The war did not last the year. The US attacked the Spanish
Philippines and then Cuba. The Spanish fleet was defeated and Spanish ground troops on the
island had to give up. Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico became US protectorates. The
Cuban generals who had been fighting the war for independence were shoved aside.
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