University:
California State University, Northridge
Course:
HIST 271 | The United States Since 1865
Academic year:

2022
Views:

235

Pages:

23
Author:

Skylar Newton

History 271 The Spanish-American War A. ORIGINS 1868-78. CUBA LIBRE! Movement begins. The Spanish imperial government is corrupt and authoritarian. A small clique of Spanish landowners living in Cuba or operating as "absentee" landlords exploits the labor of native workers and treats them terribly. This elite is backed up by the Spanish military. U.S. government defends Cubans and protests Spain's policies. Spain promises reform. None is forthcoming. U.S. doesn't do anything militarily- the army is too busy policing the South during Reconstruction (1865-1877) or fighting Indians in the West (1860s70s). U.S. offers to mediate between the colonial landlords and the angry Cubans Spain rejects the offer. 1895. Cuban rebels take up a new strategy. To get rid of the Spanish, the rebels look to cut their source of revenue. BURN the sugar cane fields. "Work is a crime against the Revolution! Blessed be the Torch!" Maximo Gomez Revolutionaries want INDEPENDENCE, not AUTONOMY. They are willing to take a short term financial loss to achieve a long term political vision. They have support in the east, but not in the west of Cuba. Many middle class Cubans are frustrated with the Spanish and the poor conditions on the island, but they are still willing to "go along to get along." A revolution poses its own risks and they find the tactics of radicals like Gomez to be counterproductive. The rebels do have support in the US, and they do all they can to cultivate more support, including sending propagandists to the US in hopes of influencing newspaper editors and politicians who could prove useful allies. 1