Hoganson, Kristin: Fighting for American Manhood

Hoganson subtitles her book, “How Gender Politics Provoked the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars.” She posits that foreign policy did not exist in a vacuum, but was affected by the culture that surrounded it (2). She notes that men felt challenged by the entry of women into roles previously the province of men and that, “when bicycle-riding, bloomer-wearing, college-educated, jobholding New Women refused to serve as foils to traditional masculinity, conservative men began to fret about the future…”. (12) In that context, she discusses the events in Cuba that led up to the SpanishAmerican War, especially the repressive efforts of the Spanish to control their colony and the American reaction, which was generally sympathetic to the rebels. Though American popular opinion sided with the rebels, U.S. foreign policy was neutral; although President McKinley sent the U.S.S. Maine to Havana to protect U.S. citizens. As a result of the destruction of the Maine by unknown parties, Congress and the American public demanded and received a War Resolution. After a brief, one-sided armed conflict, the U.S. – which had entered the war declaring it had no territorial aims – ended up holding sovereignty over Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Finally, the U.S. entered into a war with Philippine insurrectionists, employing some of the very methods it protested when they were used by the Spanish in Cuba. Hoganson maintains that the reasons historians have given for the war – territorial acquisition, Cubra Libre supporters, Darwinian theorists – had a gender component, including even the causes that Richard Hofstadter has cited for the “physic crisis” of the 1890s. (11) Chapter 1 - “The Manly Ideal of Politics and the Jingoist Desire for War” describes in detail the various forces at work in the country prior to the SpanishAmerican war. During the late nineteenth century the United States was a society in flux. Populists, Democrats, and Republicans all believed the American system was rotting from the inside due to a lack of manly honor (29) White males who prior to the Civil War had monopolized political power in the country were challenged first by the granting of suffrage to black men and then the pending suffrage for women. Homosexuality and immoral behavior coupled with the challenges of large corporations and monopolies appeared to threaten the nation. Jingoes, who favored an aggressive foreign policy, were countered by the Arbitration movement which included Women's organizations. Conflicts in Central and South America gave the Jingoes opportunities to redeem male honor. Chapter 2 - "Cuba and the Restoration of American Chivalry" recounts the support for the Cuban rebels in the U.S. and the machinations of the Jingoes in supporting American intervention. Ironically, the plight of the mixed blood Cuban rebels gained support in the U.S. although the nation was systematically denying rights and discriminating against its own citizens of African descent. The Cuban rebels were romanticized: the women, whose role fit the earlier role of women in the U.S., were lauded and the men were represented as chivalric and bold. The Spanish were depicted as degenerate or somewhat effeminate. In addition to chivalry, most groups in the U.S. could find reasons to support the downtrodden rebels: labor and farmers saw the Spanish as an exploitive regime; AfricanAmericans saw a fight for freedom; immigrants recalled liberation movements in their homelands; and Confederates saw the Spanish as carpetbaggers. Even American women were enlisted in the cause by stories of Spanish depredations against women. Accordingly, Congress felt pressed from without and within to act. Chapter 3 - "'Honor Comes First'; The Congressional Debate over War." When the Maine exploded, American sailors died. A naval board of inquiry found that the cause was external, Spain was immediately suspected, and when the Spanish refused to apologize and then suggested the crew of the Maine was fault, (68) the outcry was extensive in the U.S. Republicans, Democrats, and Populists used America's honor to justify support for military action (p.69). Cuba Libre and the other reasons for intervention paled beside the affront to American honor and manhood. Rep. John J. Lentz (D. Ohio) asked if the U.S. was going to regain its honor or remain "impotent"(70). Chivalry aside, Jingoes claimed war would unite the country both geographically and socially and would bolster the standing of the U.S. in the eyes a watching world. The argument of anti-interventionists that attacks on a weaker adversary (Spain) was dishonorable fell on deaf ears. In the end, public opinion was such that anti-interventionist congressmen had to support the war or be stigmatized themselves as dishonorable (87). The Congress voted unanimously for war. Chapter 4 - "McKinley's Backbone: The Coercive Power of Gender in Political Debate. Historians have offered a variety of assessments of McKinley's role in the months between the sinking of the Maine and the declaration of war against Spain. To some, he was courageous and strong; to others weak and spineless. Contemporaries also made both arguments. The pressures on the President were great and there is a perception that he went along with the Jingoes to preserve his political position. His problems were complicated when an ill-timed letter from the Spanish ambassador to the U.S. characterizing McKinley as weak and a low politician (89) fell into the hands of the U.S. press. Although the ambassador's letter apparently echoed statements American journalists themselves had made, this was quite an affront to the manhood of McKinley and all American males. Unfortunately for McKinley, the Maine disaster occurred a week after the ambassador's letter was printed. When McKinley attempted to find a peaceful resolution with Spain, he was rebuffed. The Jingoes then questioned his manhood, unflatteringly contrasting him with President Andrew Jackson, a warrior. McKinley’s supporters praised the President’s self-control, courage of convictions, strength of character, and record of service in the Civil War. Despite his war record, however, McKinley was perceived as a soft, old man and critics noted his cabinet officers were mostly over sixty years of age. Pressure became so great that McKinley feared Congress would act on its own, weakening his ability to lead, so he sent a message to Congress placing the decision in its hands. It appeared his course was determined not by backbone or a lack thereof, but of political necessity. Chapter 5 - "The Spanish-American War and the Martial Ideal of Citizenship" attests to the popularity of the Spanish-American war. Men flocked to induction centers. Women responded by joining patriotic organizations. The war lasted only three and one half months, but Cuban Independence was a casualty. American perception of the rebels had changed upon the arrival of U.S. troops in Cuba; they came to regard the guerrillas as cowardly and dishonorable. The chivalric image of Cuban women also changed as the press employed racial stereotypes and the number of U.S. troops in Cuba increased after the end of the war. Military heroes were once again revered. McKinley, as Commander-in-Chief, became a heroic war president and was even compared to Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt rode his martial success into the Vice Presidency. Others, including former Confederate General Joseph Wheeler, used their Spanish-American war service as springboards to public office. Young men from wealthy families, characterized as "dudes" in the press, enlisted in the army and navy in the lower ranks and several became heroes, thus confirming their manhood. Their service allowed wealthy, educated men to enhance their political positions. Women's contribution to the war effort involved their traditional roles of nursing and comfort to the wounded. However, the women's contributions were often not given the same status as that of the men. When women's groups attempted to gain recognition for their efforts, their participation was often trivialized as was the service of African-American males in the war. Citizenship and the proof of it by contribution to the war effort remained solidly in the province of white males. Chapter 6 – “The Problem of Male Degeneracy and the Allure of the Philippines” discusses how the Spanish-American war which began ostensibly to liberate Cuba became a war of imperialism, especially with respect to the Philippines. The U.S. attacked and subdued Manila as part of the war against Spain. The Treaty of Paris which ended the war ceded the Philippines to the U.S., angering Filipino nationalists. Reasons given for U.S. control of the islands included the strategic location of Manila for trade with Asia and the inability of the “savage” and uncivilized Filipinos to govern themselves. A bellicose nature – considered manly in white males – was seen as “savage” in the Filipinos. Racial stereotypes consistent with those used against Native Americans and blacks were directed towards Filipinos, who were too “simple” to govern themselves. Imperialists believed that by holding colonies, American manhood would be renewed and the martial spirit of American males would be kept from dissipating. Theodore Roosevelt was a proponent of the benefits of military service, feeling it built character. Chapter 7 – “The National Manhood Metaphor and the Fight over the Fathers in the Philippine Debate” discusses the response to the Imperialists by antiImperialists. This group, quite diverse in its makeup, included Republicans, Democrats, and Populists, but was primarily composed of white, Protestant, professional men. They argued that having an empire was contrary to the policies and traditions of the country. As the lines were drawn, Hoganson notes that the Imperialists tended to be younger than the anti-Imperialists, many of whom were adults during the Civil War. The younger politicians perceived themselves as paralleling the country’s growth into a major power. Men like Roosevelt and Senator Albert Beverage were prime examples of the young Imperialists. AntiImperialists lauded use of intellect and did not connect manhood with physical endeavors. Women were often anti-Imperialists, a fact which helped to feed the Imperialists’ characterization of the antis- being effeminate. Chapter 8 – “Imperial Degeneracy: The Dissolution of the Imperialist Impulse” After a while, the nation realized Imperialism did not build American manhood. In fact, the perception emerged that whites did not cope well with tropical climes and those who did somehow became degenerate, like the natives. Proof seemed to be forthcoming when the American military turned to tactics used by the Spanish in Cuba against Filipino insurrectionists. Charges of brutality and rape by American soldiers bolstered this concept. The moral debasement of American boys was decried by numerous groups, frequently women’s organizations such as the WCTU. As warfare was judged less necessary for maintaining manhood, subsequent U.S. activities in the Caribbean were undertaken for commercial interests, moreso than martial ones. Hoganson acknowledges gender was not the primary issue involved in the U.S. participation in both wars. Still, she concludes that it was a factor, and one that historians have largely ignored. She states that women and minorities’ challenges to the manhood of white males made gender a salient issue in American society in general and influenced many of the changes that occurred during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.