The Causes And Effects Of The Spanish American War

1128 words - 5 pages

The Spanish-American war was fought in the year 1898, 33 years after the end of the Civil War in 1865. The threat of Spain upon Cuba blazed the patriotic hearts of the Americans as what appeared to be Spain torturing its territories. There are many causes that can be credited to the condition of these territories and surprisingly, but not too ironically, it can be clearly traced to that of the American people.
The Cubans had been oppressed and under rule by the Spanish for hundreds of years, and had not had their freedom for generations. In the year of 1895, the Cubans were terribly misgoverned, and demanded independence. However, their cry for freedom was also attributed to the Wilson Gorman Act. This act restricted sugar imports to America and greatly endangered the lives of Cuban citizens, whose economy revolved around sugar. This devastating act forced the Cuban people to suffer extreme poverty, or to die as patriots for the chance of freedom.
The idea that the American people felt empathetic to the Cubans to me was crafted by the government and the press to be a cover-up by having the people on their side. I feel that this idea is very ignorant and prideful, considering the acts of Americans in almost their whole existence of being a country. The act of slavery was a very secure sense of confinement with next to no chance of escape or free agency. Also, the persecution of the Native Americans from their homes and families were despicable crimes against humanity.
The effects of Yellow Journalism on the country were phenomenal. Led by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, their vivid pictures painted in black and white exaggerated the tales of foreign intervention. Stories of women being raped, with streets full of blood caused the Americans to support the Cuban cause for patriotism. The most influential stories pertaining to the war were those of General “Butcher” Weyler, who placed citizens into barb-wired reconstruction camps, to cut off supplies to the Insurrectos.
The insurrectos were responsible for the uprising in Cuba. They figured that if they inflicted enough damage upon foreign investments, then Spain would either leave while granting them independence. Or the possibility that the American eagle would swoop down and deliver them from captivity, and release them with the victory of their patriotic cause.
The paintings by Frederic Remington also played a major role in the advancement of yellow journalism. Despite the fact that action was minimal, William Hearst allegedly gave Remington his famous phrase, “You furnish the pictures, I’ll furnish the war.
Business and military Interests apply directly to the cause of America’s intervention into Cuba’s and Spain’s affairs. Geographically, Cuba is located ninety miles south of the coast of Florida, and offers a sort of trading port from that could connect the United States much more easily than its current circumstances. The realization for...

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