Lesson 2: War and Empire Flashcards
Atrocity Definition
act of cruelty and brutality
Buffalo Soldiers Definition
a nickname for the African American members of the 9th and 10th Cavalries during the Spanish-American War
Foraker Act Definition
a law passed by Congress in 1900 under which the United States gave Puerto Ricans a limited say in government
Platt Amendment Definition
an amendment to the 1902 Cuban constitution that allowed the United States to intervene in Cuba
Protectorate Definition
a nation whose independence is limited by the control of a more powerful country
Reconcentration Definition
a policy of moving large numbers of people into camps for political or military purposes
Rough Riders Definition
a nickname for a military unit organized by Theodore Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War Definition
the war between Spain and the United States in 1898
Theodore Roosevelt Definition
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) was the 26th President of the United States. He expanded the powers of the executive branch in domestic conflicts between big business and labor, and led the nation to take a more active role in foreign affairs. He was instrumental in the construction of the Panama Canal and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.
Yellow Journalism Definition
news reporting, often biased or untrue, that relies on sensational stories and headlines
What was happening in Cuba that stirred President McKinley’s worries? How did yellow journalism influence the demands of American citizens for President McKinley to intervene?
President McKinley was worried about a looming war over Cuba, a Spanish-ruled island just 90 miles off the coast of Florida. Cuban patriots were in revolt against Spanish rule. Many Americans demanded that the President take action to help the Cubans. Almost every day, American newspapers reported stories of the cruelty and brutality of Spanish rule. The reports were often exaggerated, sometimes even made up. Nonetheless, they stirred American anger.
Although previously resisting calls for war, when did President McKinley sign a declaration for a war against Spain? How would this war influence American imperialism?
At first, the President resisted calls for war. But at 4 A.M. on April 25, 1898, a weary McKinley signed a declaration of war against Spain. The brief war that followed would launch the United States on its own age of imperialism in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
For many years, why has Cuba been in American interest? What did Secretary of State John Quincy Adams compare Cuba to in 1823? By the 1890s, which two islands remained from Spain’s once vast Western Hemisphere empire? How did Cuban rebels create the “storm” America was looking for?
For many years, Americans had looked longingly at Cuba. As early as 1823, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams had compared Cuba to a ripe apple. A storm, he said, might tear that apple “from its native tree”—the Spanish empire—and drop it into the hands of the United States. By the 1890s, Spain’s once-vast empire in the Western Hemisphere had shrunk to two islands in the Caribbean: Cuba and Puerto Rico. Then, Cuban rebels created the storm that Adams had hoped for.
When was the Cuban rebellion in 1868 crushed? After the rebellion was crushed, how did cries for freedom spread to New York, through the efforts of people like Lola Rodríguez de Tió and José Martí?
In 1868, the Cuban people had rebelled against Spanish rule. The revolution was finally crushed after 10 years of fighting (1878). Some of the revolutionaries fled to New York where they kept up the battle for freedom. Puerto Rican–born Lola Rodríguez de Tió wrote patriotic poems in support of Cuban independence. José Martí worked day and night raising funds and giving speeches in support of Cuban independence. He told sympathetic Americans of the Cuban struggle for freedom in his newspaper, Patria.
What happened in the 1895 Cuban Rebellion? When did José Martí pass away in the fighting? What did rebels do to Spanish sugar cane fields and mills? What did they hope would happen as a result?
In 1895, Martí returned to Cuba. With cries of Cuba Libre!—“Free Cuba!”—rebels launched a new fight against Spain. Martí was killed early in the fighting, but the rebels continued the fight and won control of much of Cuba. The rebels burned sugar cane fields and sugar mills all over Cuba. They hoped that this would make the island unprofitable for Spain and persuade the Spanish to leave. The rebels killed workers who opposed them. They even blew up some passenger trains.
What did Spain do in response to the 1895 Cuban Rebellion? How did the new Governor General Valeriano Weyler use reconcentration and other brutal tactics to stop the revolt?
In response, Spain sent a new governor to Cuba, General Valeriano Weyler (WAY ee lair). Weyler used brutal tactics to crush the revolt. In a policy known as reconcentration, his men moved about half a million Cubans into detention camps so that they could not aid the rebels. At least 100,000 Cubans in reconcentration camps died from starvation and disease.
As Americans saw the revolt in Cuba, why did their concern increase? Why was Cuba a necessity to most Americans?
In the United States, people watched the revolt in nearby Cuba with growing concern. The United States had vital economic links to the island. Americans had invested about $50 million in Cuban sugar and rice plantations, railroads, tobacco, and iron mines. American trade with Cuba was worth about $100 million a year.
What were the different opinions on the conflict in Cuba between Americans? What did Senator Henry Cabot Lodge compare the Cuban rebels to?
Opinion split over whether the United States should intervene in Cuba. Many business leaders opposed American involvement. They thought that it might hurt foreign trade. Other Americans, however, sympathized with Cuban desires for freedom. They called on the government to take action. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts compared the Cuban rebels to the Patriots in the American Revolution.
How did Joseph Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph Hearst’s Journal help increase American sympathies for the people of Cuba? Why did these yellow journalists report on Spanish atrocities?
The press whipped up American sympathies for the people of Cuba. Two New York newspapers— Joseph Pulitzer’s World and William Randolph Hearst’s Journal—competed to print the most grisly stories about Spanish atrocities, or wartime acts of cruelty and brutality. The publishers knew that war with Spain would boost sales of their newspapers.
How did Hearst and Pulitzer attract readers?
To attract readers, Hearst and Pulitzer used yellow journalism, or reporting that relied on sensational stories and headlines. Often, these reports were biased or untrue. According to one story, a photographer bound for Cuba told Hearst that there was no war. “You supply the pictures,” Hearst supposedly replied. “I’ll supply the war.” News stories described events in Cuba in graphic and horrifying detail.
Why did Grover Cleveland want to avoid war with Spain?
Despite growing pressure, President Cleveland wanted to avoid war with Spain. He called the war fever in the United States an “epidemic of insanity.” Stories in the press, he grumbled, were nonsense.
True or False: When William McKinley became President in 1897, he also tried to keep the country neutral. However, remaining neutral would soon become difficult.
True
After fighting broke out in Havana in 1898, why did President McKinley send the Maine to Cuba?
In 1898, fighting broke out in Havana, the Cuban capital. Acting promptly, President McKinley sent the battleship Maine to Havana to protect American citizens and property there.
What happened of February 15, 1898, concerning the battleship the Maine?
On the night of February 15, the Maine lay at anchor in Havana harbor. Just after the bugler played taps, a huge explosion ripped through the ship. The explosion killed at least 260 of the 350 American sailors and officers on board.