Was the United States Justified in Going to War against Spain in 1898?

During the mid and late 1800s imperialism was alive and well in the United States. It was not enough for America to have acquired massive tracts of land throughout the late 1800s, such as Alaska and Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico. The idea of imperialism and the Monroe Doctrine called for more land and limited European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately the imperialistic eye of the United States had to eventually turn to Cuba, an area under Spain’s control that represented tremendous opportunity to fuel the growing imperialist machine that was America. The Monroe Doctrine could not tolerate Spanish control over Cuba, forbidding European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. This factor, coupled with the United States’ desire to control Cuban resources, such as sugar, would ultimately lead to the Spanish-American War over the strategic island of Cuba. The United States was not justified in going to war against Spain, not only because American diplomats were already negotiating with Spain before the war in order to achieve a peaceful settlement, but furthermore, the reasons the United States had for going to war were illegitimate the dubious Monroe doctrine pushed the United States to regard all European presence in the Western Hemisphere as illegitimate; Spain’s mistreatment of the Cuban population was an insufficient reason for war; and the harm to American business interests related to Cuba had less to do with riots against Spanish control and more to do with protective tariffs on sugar imposed by the United States.

The American President of the time of war, McKinley, wished for more American land. The United States was in no way justified in going to war with Spain politically because its true motivations were simply to destroy Spain’s presence in the Western Hemisphere and develop an even more hegemonic power in the Western world. Like many other presidents, McKinley wanted to implement the Monroe Doctrine. McKinley and Congress began the Spanish-American War simply to gain popularity with the American public, for they were sympathetic towards the idea of war, and to help the United States gain control of the Western world. Adherence to the Monroe Doctrine in no way justified going to war with Spain, as Spain had nothing to due with motivating the conflict politically and it began simply due to hegemonic ideals held by political officials.

Another group that played a large part in the war was the businessmen of America. Their businesses were being greatly affected by the Cuban riots to destroy Spain’s oppression over them, in particular the halt to sugar production. This economic unrest was not a justifiable reason to begin the war because most of the economic difficulties faced by U.S. businesses came directly from the protective tariff the United States government had implemented. This tariff made it more difficult for Cubans to gain a greater market share of the sugar industry. Spain was in no way responsible for the United States instituting the tariff and therefore should not have been attacked.

While the United States claimed that Spain’s cruelty towards the Cubans presented a moral reason for going to war, on closer examination this reasoning falls apart. It is true that Spain was treating Cubans exceptionally harshly. However, after the United States took control of Cuba, it did little to ameliorate the treatment of the Cubans, although before and during the war the U.S. government had promised the American public and Spain that it would. The true drive for taking Cuba away from Spanish control was to guarantee implementing the Monroe Doctrine ensuring America’s hegemonic expansion. America’s true motivations can be seen in the Platt Amendment truly giving any freedom the United States had promised Cuba into the hands of the American government. The fact was that America was not ridding Cuba of an oppressor. Instead, America was just replacing the Spanish oppressor with itself.

Diplomatically, there can be no argument made as to why the United States could be justified in going to war with Spain. While many Americans were still fuming in anger over the destruction of the battleship Maine, which American public opinion blamed on the Spanish, American diplomats were doing their best to resolve American tensions with Spain. The diplomats were able to make much progress in their discussions with Spain, including getting Spain to agree to an armistice with the Cuban rebels and to end the re-education camps. Sadly, the American public was too caught up in the explosion of the Maine to notice these diplomatic achievements.

To conclude, the United States had no justification for beginning the Spanish-American war, for the real motivations for the conflict were not legitimate and only represented the implementation of the Monroe Doctrine and the quest for American imperialism and hegemonic expansion. Politically, America’s governmental officials’ only goals were to further itself in popularity with the American public and to gain control over all the Western Hemisphere. Economically, American industries failed to confront the real source of their problems, namely, the protectionists tariff, assuming that their Cuba-related business woes were all Spain’s fault. Morally, the United States was just as bad as Spain when it came to the treatment of Cubans and it should certainly not be depicted that America was rescuing Cubans from horrid Spanish control. Diplomatically, Americans were already making progress in achieving peace with Spain without war, so there was nothing to be gained from going to war except for furthering America’s hegemonic dominance in the Western world.