The Spanish-American War

             It has been a 'splendid little war' wrote John Hay to Theodore Roosevelt after the fall of Santiago. Little, the Spanish-American War was; it was over in barely four months. Splendid? Maybe for those at home, reading the headline about its lucky victories. But for those men who fought in it, it was a bloody, dirty and heroic war as any in history. Zinn, Johnson, and Tindall & Shi, mostly wrote similar information about the war, some wrote more details than the others. They also emphasized strongly on different areas about the war. This is not a summarization of the history of the war, it is only to show which areas each authors wrote a great deal about.
             In Howard Zinn's book, he emphasized strongly on commercial possibilities, economic interest and an establishment of a white and a black republic in Cuba. In 1898, there was a turnabout in the US business attitudes on Cuba. Businessmen had been interested, from the start of the Cuban revolt against Spain in the effect on commercial possibilities there. There was a substantial economic interest in the island because according to President Grover Cleveland's summarization in 1896, it is estimated that at least $30 million to $50 million of American capital are invested in the plantations and in railroad, mining and other business enterprises on the island. The volume trade between the US and Cuba, which in 1889 amounted to about $64 million rose in 1893 to about $103 million. The US government had power and profit in mind as it observed the events in Cuba. The issue with the establishment of a white and a black republic was also a concern to the Cleveland administration if Cuba wins the war since Cuba had a mixture of the two races. Out of the three books, only Zinn wrote about this issue. A black republic might be dominant. Two-fifths of the insurgents in the field are negroes. If these men win, they would demand a predominant share in the gov...

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The Spanish-American War. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 02:42, March 19, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/92226.html