Brief And Decisive

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) American Foreign Policy 1890-1914 War: Brief And Decisive The Spanish-American War lasted for about 10 weeks, and the result was evident: the United States was successful in its mission to assist in the liberation of Cuba from Spanish rule. Even though the outcome was favorable, the battle posed serious difficulties for the US troops. As McKinley feared, the new fleet was formidable, but its ships were mostly untested. The American soldiers had also not been put to the test. Less than thirty thousand soldiers and sailors made up the nation, many of whom were ill-prepared to engage a powerful foe in combat. However, volunteers made an effort to make up for it. More than a million American men promptly responded to McKinley's appeal for physically fit men, many of them arriving without uniforms and armed with personal firearms. Despite the segregated surroundings and other challenges they faced, including as violent uprisings at a few US sites prior to their departure for Cuba, about ten thousand African American men also enlisted for duty. Despite being appreciative of the volunteers' efforts, the government was ill-equipped to provide for and feed such a force, and as a result, many of them endured malaria and starvation. American military planners prepared for the struggle as a war for empire, much to the astonishment of the Spanish army, who regarded it as an obvious war for Cuba. Military strategists aimed to advance Mahan's vision of new naval bases in the Pacific Ocean, extending as far as mainland Asia, more so than merely liberating Cuba and safeguarding American interests in the Caribbean. American entrepreneurs looking to expand into China would likewise profit from such a plan. Assistant Secretary of the naval Theodore Roosevelt ordered naval ships to assault the Spanish fleet in the Philippines, another Spanish-controlled island chain, just before he left his position to enlist as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. cavalry. Because of this, the first major military conflict happened in the Philippines, halfway across the globe, rather than in Cuba. The U.S. was headed by Commodore George Dewey. Navy in a resounding triumph, taking nearly no American casualties while sinking every Spanish ship. In just one month, the U.S. The Army successfully landed a force to wrest the islands from Spain by the middle of August 1899. In Cuba, the win came a bit later. Sixteen thousand US troops touched down in Cuba in June. They encountered minimal Spanish opposition at first, but by early July, violent clashes sprang up in the vicinity of Santiago, the Spanish bastion. The most well-known action occurred when Theodore Roosevelt led his Rough Riders, an all-volunteer cavalry troop composed of Southwest cowboys, veterans, and adventure-seeking college grads, in a charge up Kettle Hill, which lies adjacent to San Juan Hill. This led to the American forces encircling Santiago. Although the Rough Riders' triumphs are the most well-known aspect of the conflicts, other African American regiments composed of seasoned soldiers also played a significant role in their success. In a desperate attempt to evacuate to the sea, the Spanish fleet encountered an American naval blockade, which led to its complete annihilation, with all of the Spanish ships lost. Spain soon lost control of Puerto Rico as well, providing essentially little resistance to the advancing American soldiers due to a lack of naval backup. The combat stopped by the end of July, and the conflict was declared over. Though the conflict lasted just a short period and claimed relatively few lives (less than 350 troops lost their lives in battle, 1,600 were injured, and over 3,000 men died from sickness), Americans praised the victory as a symbol of peace between the North and the South.