Was the Spanish American War really necessary....?

Question

If you could list the alternatives to war avaiable to President McKinley in 1898......why did he reject them in favor of war policy....?

Answer 1

Have you got a problem with the Spanish American war? Through it we gained Puerto Rico, freed the people of Cuba and the Philippians, turned America into a great Naval power, and created the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. It removed Spain as a colonial power for the western hemisphere. In short this was one of the most successful wars ever fought by America.

Answer 2

Ironic is the fact that while Hispanics bear the brunt of Immigrant Bashing circa 2007 the two 'most unjust' wars in American History (Jury is still out on Iraq) were attacks directed against Mexico in 1846 and Spain in 1898.

WIth hindsight one can find many alternatives to the Spanish-American War but at the time there were only two options, A) Continue to Tolerate Spanish 'atrocities in Cuba, or B) Go to War over an 'issue,' the destruction of the Maine provided the main chance to launch a war.

But as for alternatives - - - - America could have openly supported the Cuban Rebels - - - in fact one suspects that if a
Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House he would have both supported the Rebels and Demanded that Spain open negociations for freeing Cuba.
(unfortunately no one gave a thought to the Philipines, there too aid for the Rebels would be appreciated; also Guam and Puerto Rico)...

Actually for Decades many Americans pushed to 'take' Cuba either by force or by forcing a sale. Southerners salivated over the thought of transforming Cuba into a vast Slave Plantation and some historians argue that if John Quincy Adams had purchased Cuba when he had a chance, while negociating the treaty that bears his name he would have gained fame by 'preventing' the Civil War becuase Cuba could easilly have been broken up into four maybe six states and that would have satisfied proponents of a balance of power....

A long shot would have been to encourage a South American Country to aid the Rebels more than they did...

Final notel you asked a question about the League of Nations. Henry Cabot Lodge was among those who toyed with the notion of 'buying' Cuba, more for its strategic value as a naval port, which was why he threw support to the seizure of the Phillipines though all he wanted was Manilla.

Peace.....

Answer 3

To his credit McKinley honestly attempted to avoid this nefarious war. But Hearst and Pulitzer trumped the presidency on the issue. Overseas imperialism was the order of the day, and all the poor US was getting was a chain of pineapple islands and a leper colony. Popular opinion, formed by the press, was overwhelming.

Spain did everything it honorably could to avoid hostilities it knew it could not win. Perhaps it might have accepted the granting to Cuba of something like commonwealth status -- the Cuba rebels, after all, were already in a winning position -- but the offer was never made. Perhaps there might have been an offer of mediation between the Cuban rebels and Spain, phrased in a manner that the Spanish need not take as an insult.

Answer 4

Probably not.

America did not, and does not, have a mandate to go around the globe using military force to overthrow colonial or otherwise repressive regimes. Yes, the U.S. picked up some territory from this conflict and got some valuable overseas bases, but Puerto Rico has hardly become the mainstay of the national economy, Cuba obviously has not stayed in the American orbit, and the American legacy in the Philippines is not unmixed, although they remain our allies (even though they asked us to abandon our last military bases about 15 years ago...I don't know if we have any left there...and I think one of them--Clark?--got eaten by a volcano). So the U.S. picked a fight with a feeble power completely unable to defend itself and then imposed its own rule upon the "liberated" lands, and in the early years, what with the constant counter-insurgency campaigns and significant death tolls, this was hardly better than what the Spanish had offered.

Answer 5

During the turn of the centuries (19th to 20th) the USA emerged as a world power, meaning they wanted to show the world that they rule. So what would you do if you had the chance to kick somebody's butt, would you rather negotiate? Remember, the USA wanted to dominate the world and that usually was not done back then by sitting at a table and talking. So to answer your questions, there were no alternatives for McKinley.

Answer 6

It was essential if W. R. Hearst was to win his bet - and he wasn't going to stop agitating in the press until he did win it!

Answer 7

It was so we could accomplish all the things willie stated.

Answer 8

Is ANY war really necessary???????????