Spanish-American War - Research Paper Example

Spanish-American war Outline Thesis: Policies of Attraction and chastisements in The American-Spanish War. I. Introduction II. Spanish-American war III. Policies of attraction and chastisement A. Policy of attraction in Cuba B. Policy of chastisement in Cuba C. Policy of attraction in Philippines D. Policy of Chastisement in Philippines IV. Similarities and difference between policies of chastisement and attraction (a) Similarities (b) Differences V. Conclusion Abstract This paper is going to cover the policies of attraction and chastisement in the American-Spanish war. The America-Spanish war began when there was a tariff imposed in 1894 restricting the importation of sugar to United States from Cuba. This could affect the economy of Cuba. The people of Cuba were angry at Spain, who was their colonial power. The Spanish community was causing the Cubans to live poorly because the economy was declining. American businesspersons became concerned with this situation, because they had investments in Cuba. This led to American invasion of Cuba and overthrew the Spaniards. They used various tactics to win the support of the people; both policies of attraction and chastisement. After taking over, the Americans, set their bases in Philippines and colonized it. The Americans used the policies of attraction and chastisement to woo the support of the locals. I. Introduction This paper is going to highlight the application of policies of attraction and chastisement in both Cuba and Attraction. The policy of attraction was an appealing message, while the policy of chastisement was using of force. It will show how Americans were trying to bring change in a short time. Spanish were failing the economies of both Cuba and Philippines and this paper will highlight the reason Americans removed Spanish authorities in these two countries. II. Spanish-American war Spain was in the war with Cuba. They had invaded the territory of the South American nation. Americans used their press called the yellow papers to spread the news of the war all over the world (Company, 1999). American policy makers felt the investments, which Americans had invested in Cuba would face destruction. Many people lost their lives. The European countries put in place the Monroe Doctrine that prohibited any form of war, whether internally or externally. European countries felt they had to react and stop the war too. There was pressure from all quarters towards Spain, so that they stopped the war. The American government sent a warship to Cuba as a warning to Spain as they wanted a lasting peace. The ship sent to deliver the warning was bombed (Archives, 2014). American press sent out rumors that the Spanish troops destroyed the ship. In reality, Cuban rebels were responsible for the ambush. This triggered American congress to declare war against the Spanish forces in Cuba (Blumenfeld, 2003). III. Policies of attraction and chastisement US wanted the Spanish to withdraw its troops immediately. America declared war. It was the first time for almost eighty years since US was in the war against a European country. The plan of American troops was to prevent further advancement of the Spanish army. America did not want to involve the people of Cuba into the war. Many people supported the war because Cuba had many resources that were benefiting investors from all over the world. At the same time, Spain had colonized Philippines. When this war began, Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence for Philippines. A. Policy of attraction in Cuba Americans colonized Cuba, and John Brooke, who was an American major general, became the governor of Cuba. His administration concentrated on applying the policy of attraction. He wanted to attract additional investors from America, and the same time, woo support from the local people (Grandin, 2010). He established a local government with the same structure as the American one. He used the locals in his administration, creating jobs in the end. The locals were impressed with his administration, and there was no resistance. His soldiers were kept motivated. The governor used presents to reward the soldiers. This was like a form of payment. The policy of attraction was the tradition in Cuba. Brooke’s successor was MG Lenard Woods (Miller, 2011). He improved on the policy of attraction. His budget had allocation for improving infrastructure. He created roads and built many schools. Americans wanted to bring civilization. The policy of attraction failed because Americans wanted things to go too fast. They did not include the locals in making these policies. The Americans wanted things to go their own way. The American troops then advanced to flush the Spaniards out of Philippines. B. Policy of chastisement in Cuba There was use of force by American forces in Cuba. Elwell Otis led these forces. The forces relocated the people from their original homes. This is because the forces wanted land to settle on and develop their settlements. Americans used 70,000 troops to force their plans in Cuba. This force concentrated people in camps by force. They also burned these camps resulting to deaths of many people (Blumenfeld, 2003). There was brutal repression of rebellion by the Spanish in 1896 (Blumenfeld, 2003). This was as a war between the Spaniard forces and the locals. The brutal repression led to the massacre, destruction, and extortion. The Spanish authority in Cuba had strict punishment to those who opposed their authority. They faced imprisonment, imposed heavy fines, and took their property (Miller, 2011). C. Policy of attraction in Philippines Lieutenant Colonel Mac Arthur was the commander of the American forces. He had replaced Otis and assumed command of VIII Corps in Philippines. Many Americans saw this as a mission to civilize Philippines because a civilian governor was to take charge of Philippines, replacing the Spain’s military leaders. They appointed Mac Arthur as the governor. This contradicted to the wishes of Filipinos because they wanted independence (Beede, 2013). The war was over, and a transition to civilian authority that applied the policy of attraction. Americans formed government structures in Philippines, which was similar to the one in their mother country. This did not go as planned. They did not convince the local Filipinos on why they needed to settle. Americans, under MG Elwell leadership, promised the locals that they would bring civilization, but locals were still not convinced. The locals doubted their intentions, and knew they wanted to colonize their home. Their government structure had no Filipino as a senior administrator. This further made the locals doubt the Americans. US failed to create a connection between their plans of civilization, and the culture of the Filipino people. Other soldiers were racists and did not like the American plans for the Filipinos. The Americans had no tactics of defeating the guerrilla warfare (Archives, 2014). They thought civilization and diplomacy would help cool down the locals. The culture of the locals in Philippines contradicted with the new cultures brought by the Americans. Filipinos viewed civilization as a tool to bring disunity in their communities. D. Policy of Chastisement in Philippines The Americans used punitive measures. This is by applying the policy of chastisement. BG Fredrick supported this policy. The Americans used the people who tend to favor them. This people gave information about Philippines, and advised the troops on what to do to conquer Philippines. They settled in their lands, and some of them got jobs in the government (Andrews, 2002, pp. 13-50). The American soldiers captured those who participated in guerilla warfare and advised them on its disadvantages. US used a relaxed approach in dealing with opposition. They did not fight back but listened to their concerns. This was just a measure used to regain the control of Philippines (Andrews, 2002). Americans denied the insurgents logical support so that they remained loyal to them. There was development of intelligence in Philippines (Miller, 2011). The American government in Philippines asked prisoners questions to gain intelligence information. This information was very useful by the Americans to govern Philippines properly. It also helped the government counter attack the ones opposing their system. Soldiers were constantly involved in hikes through the hills of Philippines. This was a tactic used to know the trenches used during guerilla war (Andrews, 2002). They used the local scouts during these hikes so that they could get to know information about the culture of their people. Military officials were able to learn the local language during these hikes. Tactics that were punitive included destroying the property of the enemies, burning their houses, killing their loved ones, and providing basic needs to the loyal locals. With these injustices, Andrew Carnagie offered to buy Philippines for $20 million so that they can be set free from the Americans (Blumenfeld, 2003). IV. Similarities and difference between policies of chastisement and attraction (a) Similarities There are similarities in the two conflicts above. The first is that they intended to colonize a country. Spain and America colonized both Cuba and Philippines (Forrest, 2008). The application of policy of attraction was to win the support of the people. After this, the Americans would colonise both Cuba and Philippines easily. This is the same motive as the application of policy of chastisement. The American motive was a failure because there was no any successful policy. The policy of attraction would improve the levels of infrastructure in both colonies. This was the same with the policy of chastisement. (b) Differences There are differences in this conflict. They differ in the reasons for their colonization. There is also the difference in the policies of both attraction and chastisement. Philippines had no important economic resources. Americans conquered it because they wanted to show their strength. They first used the policy of chastisement, so that they could use force. After gaining control, they brought the policy of attraction to woo support (Blumenfeld, 2003). Spain colonized Philippines because of its importance strategically. Spain wanted to deny Portugal occupation of the whole East Indies. This reason made Philippines lag behind in development because no colonial power had interest in its economy. Cuba had many resources. Spain conquered it so that they could benefit from its resources, mainly the agriculture sector (Grandin, 2010). It grew its economy very fast because they were many settlers from Europe in that country. For this purpose, America invaded Cuba to flush out the Spanish soldiers who would destroy its economy. There was participation of guerilla warfare in Philippines while opposing the policy of chastisement. This was not the case in Cuba. The people of Cuba were not against the Americans bringing war to their territory, they knew it would be for their benefit (Grandin, 2010). V. Conclusion Both policies had merits and demerits of attraction and chastisement. Policy of attraction has downfalls. It can make the governing body in charge of people look weak. The policy makes only the few, those who support the government, to acquire the nation’s resources. The advantage is that, this policy of attraction brought civilization. The government built schools and many people gained the right of education. There was access to health facilities and creation of jobs. This improved the standards of living. Attraction demonstrated good intentions of counterinsurgency. The policy of chastisement could alienate the local population, and reduce their standards of living (Beede, 2013). It is against human rights because the soldiers could use excessive force against the locals. The advantage of chastisement is that, the rebels could be convinced to stop using violence in the agitation for their rights. There should be good leadership to bring people together. Settlers could include the locals in their governance. The government should study the culture of the locals before bringing in new cultures. It is evident that the soldiers, who help the country to liberty, will eventually settle there. They will begin their occupations in the country and start their administration. This is after the mission they were to achieve success. Soldiers will continue fighting, even if the war is over, to create time for their settlement. However, if the military receives external pressures, it will eventually leave as the case of Spaniard forces in Cuba (Grandin, 2010). References Andrews, F. (2002). The Philippine Insurrection(1899-1902). Louisiana: United States Millitary Academy. Archives. (2014). Spanish American War Records & Newspapers. 1. Beede, B. R. (2013). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions. New York: Routledge. Blumenfeld, S. (2003). Forgotten American History: The Spanish-American War. 1. Company, G. P. (1999). Yellow Journalisms , 1. Read More