To what extent was the Spanish American War of 1898 a turning point in the emergence of the United States as a world power?
To what extent was the Spanish American War of 1898 a turning point in the emergence of the United States as a world power?
Until the 1890s the USA had a foreign policy of non-involvement, but the Spanish-American War of 1898 was the turning point of America’s inward-looking attitudes and marked its emergence as world power, that would come to control and influence an empire stretching from the Caribbean Sea to the Far East.
Due to industrialization, America had sufficient raw materials available and did not need imports. The Pacific and the Atlantic oceans were also immense natural barriers and, if war occurred in Europe, the strength of the British navy provided a barrier for the USA against dangers. Also, the USA had secure boundaries as a result of two agreements: the 1818 British-American Convention (fixed the Canadian border) and the 1819 Transcontinental Treaty (confirmed Florida as American territory). In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine was announced and it stated that the US policy was to avoid becoming involved in European wars unless American interests were involved, that European powers were not to colonize or interfere with the American Continents and that any attempt by a European nation to interfere/colonize in the Western Hemisphere would be regarded as an act of aggression and the United States would take action.
The conflict between the USA and Spain began with the issues in Cuba. According to the Monroe Doctrine, Cuba was in the USA’s sphere of interest, but it was controlled by a foreign power – Spain. Also, Cuban revolutionaries were demanding independence from the Spanish and by 1896 there demands by the American public and Congress for intervention in the war between Spain and Cuba, but President Cleveland and his successor, William McKinley opposed taking part. However, in early February 1898, a letter was captured in which the Spanish minister to Washington, Dupuy de Lôme, called McKinley “weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd”, which increased Spanish-American tensions. Six days later, the battleship Maine, sent from the USA to Cuba to protect America’s interest, was destroyed by a huge explosion. Immediately the American press blamed the Spanish for sabotaging the ship. President McKinley tried to avoid a war – he sent a series of demands to the Spanish, including that these would have to pay indemnity for the Maine and that negotiations for Cuban independence through US mediation would be held. However, his efforts failed and the Spanish refused Cuban independence. So, on April 11, McKinley sent his message to the Congress asking for war, on the ground that struggles on the island threatened Cuban lives, US property and tranquility in the USA. The Congress passed resolutions calling war, in which was included the Teller Amendment, declaring that the US had no intention of exercising sovereignty over Cuba. When these resolutions were passed, war was declared.
