Gram Stain

What led to the United States Imperialism in Cuba?

1.) Introduction

Currently there are many hypothesis which establish the reason for the Spanish American war which ultimately led to the imperialism in Cuba by the United States of America. The Scholar John Offner, states that the Spanish-American war was inevitable. Cuban nationalism and Spanish colonialism where irreconcilable forces allowing for no compromise. The United states and spain tried to find a peaceful resolution to the stalemated Cuban-Spanish war, but Cuban nationalist were unyielding, and powerful domestic forces propelled Washington and Madrid into a conflict. (1) Another hypothesis by the scholar of the Spanish American War was that the sympathy with Cuban independence, As Americans looked with horror on the numerous deaths in Cuban reconcentration camps and the never ending battle for Cuban independence led to the intervention of American forces. (2) The final hypothesis believe that US expansion was to blame. According to Howard Jones Author of Crucible of Power: A History of American Foreign Relations From 1897, “The expansionist drive of the 1840’s had spent itself within the continental United States, the great industrial, technological, and commercial advances of the post Civil War era turned U.S. interest toward distant Shores.” The author states “ Expansion was inevitable and relentless.” (3) This was due to the fact that By the 1890s any U.S. interest in the actual annexation of territory had given way to an informal empire, that led to economic dominance without direct political controls or to the acquisition of colonies having no prospect of statehood. (4) The purpose of this essay is to consider all of the above hypothesis, but understand the dramatic events which led to the imperialism of cuba by the United States.

Cuba Struggles for their independence

The year was 1892 three years before the imperialist age, a Cuban exile in the United States had established the Cuban Revolutionary Party. The parties main goal was to overthrow Spanish rule on the island of Cuba. (5) By this time, the United States concern over Cuba had declined due to the fact that Spain had abolished slavery and promised other reforms after the Ten Years’ War, which ended in 1878. Jones, who explains the historical events of the rebellion, states:

“[T]he Cuban rebels led by General MÐ"ÐŽximo GÐ"Ñ-mez proclaimed a republic on the eastern end of the island and proceeded to extend control over most of the surrounding region. The war was actually a resumption of the Ten Years’ War, because the Spanish peace had promised much and delivered little. The Cubans had supposedly won amnesty and certain governmental rights, but the changes proved to be only faÐ"§ade on the problems that have caused a long conflict persisted. Spain had not fulfilled its assurances of relief, and the bulk of the islands revenues went either toward paying Cuba’s debt or directly into Spain’s coffers. Cuba’s complaints when unheeded by Spanish officials on the island, and Gomez, a harden veteran of the Ten Years War, retaliated with a “ scorched-earth” policy, which entailed dynamiting passenger trains and burning the Spanish loyalists’ Property and sugar plantationsвЂ"including may owned by Americans. GÐ"Ñ-mez intended to make the island a liability for the Spanish and forced its independence or to bring about U.S. intervention in its behalf. (6)

In the Febuary 1896, when the Spanish General Valeriano Weyler took to power, he sought to destroy the rebls rural quarters by dividing the island into districts and extablishing reconcentration centers. According to Jones, His directives herded all inhabitants of central and western Cuba into the towns, which Weyler barricaded with trenches reimmed by barbed wire and reinforced with soldiers in guardhouses overlooking the encampments. (7) Half of a million Cubans young and old, male and female would be left to face unsanitary, and sparsely provisioned barbed wire enclosures due to these treacherous encampments. Those who resisted or refused to go along with the situation were executed. The emcapments led to the spread of hunger and disease that took the lives of thousands of the captives, amoung these, mostly women and children.

According to the Author, the realities of the reconcentration camps were harsh enough, but the sordid episode soon fell prey to a major development in the U.S. news reporting known as “ yellow journalism.”(8)

American Agitation from the public and Newspapers

William Rondolph Hearst, an entrepreneur, who had bought the struggling New York Journal In the late 1895 had challenged other major News papers such as the New York world for top circulation in the country. Around the time of the war this was consider a major opportune time for the advancement of one News Paper over the other. Dramatic headlines which had very lurid and exaggerated stories graced the front cover of newspapers. The articles which were followed by the headlines would contain creative writings with graphical details with stories such as sexual misconduct by Spanish officials, according to Jones all of the ploys became an exceptable means for selling newspapers. (9) Many of the Journalist and, intellectuals and U.S. government officials would accused Spain of suppressing the freedom and self-government of the Cuban people. Some of the stories covered would describe how Spanish troops treated the general population and the captured Cuban insurgents with great cruelty while being responsible for widespread hunger and suffering. (10) The U.S press was a major culprit in leading the public to interpret Spanish conduct in Cuba as a farse, especially to the values and ideals and expectations which the American people stood for. Schoonover Author of Uncle Sams war states:

Day after day the Journal and world competed with each other for the most Spectacular coverage. Hearst’s Paper set the tone by describing “ Weyler the soldier[,]…..Weyler the brute, the devastator of haciendas, the destroyer of families, and the outrager of women…. Pitiless, cold, and exterminator of men.” The Journal saw no way “ to prevent his carnal, animal brain from running riot with itself in inventing tortures and infamies of bloody debauchery.” Pulitzer’s World retaliated in Kind, writing of “ blood on the roadsides, blood in the fields, blood on the doorsteps, blood, blood, blood! The

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