American-Spanish War - Essay Example

In the history of the United States, the Spanish-American War (SAW) is one of the most important foreign wars. The result of the war was the victory for the United States, and this victory became possible due to the hard work and efforts of far-sighted Americans, particularly known as “Navalists”. The contemporary world would have looked quite different today, if the United States had not won this war. The United States was able to defeat Spain so easily because some far-sighted Americans, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, were able to develop a strong American fleet.

Creating a strong navy was one of the most important ways to protect the national interest and sovereignty of the United States. The navy was to be the backbone of the American power for years to come . The U.S. was able to defeat Spain at considerably low cost as it got prepared better both military and psychologically, to a large extent The background of the war actually propelled the United States to embark on the policy of revenge, and to take wide public opinion. On February 15, 1898, an explosion occurred in the USS Maine, in the Havana Harbor, which led to the war.

Another reason was the idea of freeing Cuba from Spanish domination. However, the USA was able to rapidly gain control, and build an empire effectively. After it had drive Spain from Cuba, the United States was able to gain control of Puerto Rico, and eventually Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, Philippines, and then eventually Hawaii . The war only lasted around 3 months, and resulted in very few casualties, around 400 killed and wounded. In fact, the anti-Spanish press was able to raise the public against Spain, which led to mass support, which is essential in wars.

Such anti-Spanish press included the “Yellow Journalism”. . It was also because of the misrule by Spanish in Cuba, and the misery that it had caused, which led to huge nationalistic outburst.6 The fact that the United States was so strong militarily also paved the way for the swift and relatively easy victory. The U.S did not have to protect any colonies abroad. Additionally, the strong navy was built, which was encouraged by both business and government leaders. A modernization program had been started back in 1881, which had included innovations, which included new ships having steel hulls, large, rifled guns and steam engines.

The strong U.S navy was able to defeat Spain easily, because Spain could not compete with the all-steel and steam navy, which had ranked one of the top five navies in the world at that particular period. The Spanish navy was easily defeated. 7 Additionally, the government policies, as well as the high quality of leadership also made Spanish defeat extremely easy. Theodore Roosevelt had a policy, which was summarized “Speak softly but carry a big stick” showed that there were masterminds behind the development of this plan.

The building up of the navy, and the subsequent annexations that the U.S pursued ensured that Spain no longer stood a chance. 8 The Monroe Doctrine also stated that the New World would not be part of foreign colonization, which is why American leadership did not want Spanish presence in Cuba. The leadership eventually turned against Spain, and America’s policies and strength diverted to driving out Spain. Additionally, as historians have examined, Spain was an old and weak country, while the United States was vigorous, new and energetic.

It had new strategies.9 As Barrett wrote: “When Dewey’s squadron sailed out from Mires