Spanish-American War 1898 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Spanish-American War 1898 - Essay ExamplePresident McKinley finally had no choices in the matter as a result of the sinking of the USS Maine. Foreign policy motleyd dramatically as a result of the consequences of this very short, very significant warfare that is often forgotten in view of the Civil War. The Spanish-American War, one where Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders earned their place in history, brought about a great deal of change to the perception of the coupled States by others in the world. This war would cause major changes in the realm of American foreign policy in its wake.The war was brought on by these many factors and soon after the declaration for war was made, soldiers were headed for Havana and Santiago. The Yellow Journalism that began with Hearst and Pulitzer caused a great deal of grief as is relayed in several pieces. One very significant accounting would be an eyewitness description by H. H. Kolsaat as he held in his hand a wire from the forces in Man ila Bay when the USS Maine had been lost. Eyewitness to Historys website states that H. H. Kolsaats recollection of the meeting with President McKinley included a conversation that ended with McKinley in tears saying, Congress is exhausting to drive us into war with Spain. The Spanish fleet is in Cuban waters, and we havent enough ammunition on the Atlantic seacoast to fire a salute. (1) H. H. Kolsaat continues on to say that he spent nearly half the night speaking with the President after the evenings activities. Only the first of many agonizing conversations that the President suffered finished in the declaration of war, one he was quite reluctant to consider until there appeared to be no choices in the matter. The deciding factor for President McKinley came in a private letter written by Enrique Dupuy de Lme, the Spanish Minister in Washington, to a Spanish editor then traveling in the United States. It was this letter, described as part of the text from American Military Histo ry Army Historical Series Chapter 15 Emergence to World Power 1898-1902 and stating the undermentioned as the letter expressed de Lmes adverse personal reaction to McKinleys message to Congress in December 1897. The President was, he thought, weak and a bidder for hold of the crowd . . . a would-be politician who tries to leave a door open behind himself while keeping on good terms with the jingoes in his party. (2) This outraged most Americans when it was published after a man stole it from the office where it had been sent. The outraged outcry from the United States caused what President McKinley considered to be the hardest last of his career. This decision was to go to war with inadequate forces, inadequate supplies and terrible conditions to work within. All of this had been sparked in the fervor of what has been termed Yellow Journalism, created by Joseph Pulitzer and John Hearst in their work to pee the country to war using public opinion as the impetus of the action. The ir tactics, no matter how underhanded, managed the objective. The results were felt worldwide. The Spanish-American War of 1898 was one of the shortest wars America ever fought. quartette months into the war, it was over. But, the consequences of that war were broad spectrum and felt worldwide. The Spanish-American War of 1898 did the one thing nothing else had managed. It proved that the