give me 10 notes on this
Well hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s History. In the last video we started Unit 7 of
0:03
the AP U.S. History curriculum, and in this video we’re going to keep going in unit 7,
0:08
and that means it’s time to talk about the Spanish-American War.
0:11
So if you’re ready to get them brain cows milked, let’s get to it.
The American Empire
0:14
So if we’re going to talk about the Spanish American War,
0:15
we need to begin by remembering what we learned in the last video,
0:18
namely that there were a whole group of American industrialists and politicians eager to expand an
0:24
American empire. And so one of the territories they very much wanted to acquire was Cuba. Now,
0:28
Cuba at this point was a Spanish imperial colony, and in 1895 Cuban nationalists
0:33
renewed their struggle against Spain, but as it turned out, the Spanish crushed the rebellion.
Yellow Journalism
0:38
Now, what does this have to do with America? Well, here’s where I introduce you to yellow
0:42
journalism. This was a group of journalists competing with each other for greater and
0:45
greater readership under the competing leadership of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst.
0:50
And the way they tried to get people’s attention was by publishing increasingly
0:53
sensational stories that danced on the other edges of truth and responsible journalism. Now,
0:58
these yellow journalists began publishing stories which exaggerated the atrocities
1:02
committed by the Spanish against the Cubans, and as people read about this, they came to
1:07
the conclusion that America must intervene in Cuba because it was the only humanitarian thing to do.
1:12
Now historians debate how much influence yellow journalists actually had in the ensuing conflict,
1:17
but everyone agrees that it was at least some influence. So now that the American public
1:21
was riled up over Spanish atrocities, the U.S. established a naval presence in the island. And
1:26
in 1898, one of those American battleships, the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, killing
1:32
over 200 Americans. Now, before any investigation was begun on the causes of the explosion,
1:37
yellow journalists jumped all over it like a hungry man on a Christmas ham. They claimed
1:41
that the explosion was ignited by the Spanish because of their resentment of U.S. interference
1:45
in the region. Now, to be clear, when the investigation WAS done, the explosion was found
1:50
to be accidental, not caused by any bad actors. But such due diligence didn’t matter to folks like
1:55
Pulitzer and Hearst who saw these outrageous headlines as a way to sell more newspapers.
2:00
So president McKinley issued an ultimatum to Spain:
2:02
back off or we go to war. And Spain agreed to the demand. Hmm.
2:07
That’s not what I was expecting. Can we still declare war on Spain? YEAH!
The SpanishAmerican War
2:12
Thus began the very short Spanish American War, which America won. And that victory
2:17
launched the United States right into the imperial game. Now to be clear,
2:20
the war itself was not really that important, but it’s effects were all
2:24
out of proportion to the war itself, so let’s deal with the effects of the war.
2:27
And let’s begin with the fate of Cuba. The country did gain its independence as a result of the war,
2:32
but that independence was severely qualified by something called the Platt Amendment. American
2:36
politicians insisted that this amendment be inserted into the Cuban constitution,
2:41
and it allowed the U.S. to intervene militarily in Cuba if American economic
2:45
interests were threatened. That made it extremely difficult for the new Cuban
2:49
government to conduct its own foreign policy and manage its foreign debts in a way that
2:53
benefited their own interests. So it was kind of like empire-light for the United States.
The Philippine War
2:58
But we go full on empire with another effect of the Spanish American War, namely the annexation
3:03
of the Philippines from Spain. Now before the war was even over, assistant secretary of the navy
3:07
Theodore Roosevelt sent that new, shiny navy built on the imperialist ideas of Alfred Thayer Mahan
3:13
right into the Philippines and began bombarding the Spanish fleet stationed there. From there,
3:17
they allied with Filipino nationals and mounted a land invasion that ended
3:21
with the overthrow of Spain. And so in the treaty that ended the Spanish American War,
3:25
the Philippines was ceded to the United States for $20million.
3:28
Now the Filipinos themselves somehow got the notion that the United States was intervening
3:32
in this whole mess to help them achieve independence. But it soon became clear
3:36
that this was not the case: they just traded one imperial power for another. And this was
3:41
untenable to the Filipinos who gathered under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo to throw
3:46
off U.S. rule. This war lasted three years with more limited conflicts stretching out for ten
3:51
years. But in the end, the U.S. held on to the Philippines until after World War II.
3:55
Now we got this empire train humming. But here’s the problem with the Philippines:
3:59
it’s really far away. If only America, with all its newfound enthusiasm for empire
4:05
building could find a set of islands in the Pacific that was roughly halfway between… Oh
4:10
there it is: it’s Hawaii. Now I mentioned in the last video how American settlers had
4:13
overthrown the Hawaii monarch, Queen Liliuokalani in 1893. And so with the
4:18
Philippines squarely in the American pocket, the annexation of Hawaii occurred in 1898.
4:23
Now, these weren’t the only territories gained by the victory of the Spanish American War,
4:26
but these will serve as good enough examples to illustrate the expansion
4:29
of American empire. Now we need to move on to American empire through economics,
The Open Door Policy
4:33
and here we get to talk about the Open Door Policy with China. Now if you remember your
4:37
world history, you’ll recall that the 19th century wasn’t the best for the Chinese. Due
4:41
to the superior industrial strength of European nations, China was essentially taken over,
4:46
not politically, but economically, and carved up into European spheres of influence.
4:51
So President McKinley’s secretary of state, John Hay saw America’s economic opportunities
4:55
in China quickly disappearing, and therefore decided to act. Hay sent what was known as
4:59
the Open Door Note to the European powers in China asking them to observe an open
5:04
door of trading privileges in China. Now the European powers didn’t pay it much attention,
5:08
but they didn’t really reject it either, so Hay marked that down as a victory,
5:12
and America held onto some trading rights in that highly desired Asian market.
5:17
Okay, so those are some of the effects of the Spanish American War,
5:19
which led America to get its big boy empire pants on and tramp out on to the world stage.
5:25
Ookay, if you need more help on unit 7, here’s the playlist right here. If you need more help getting
5:31
right here. And lastly if you want to expand the Heimler’s History sphere of influence in the AP
1. The Spanish-American War was fueled by American industrialists and politicians eager to expand the American empire.
2. Yellow journalism played a significant role in influencing public opinion about the Spanish atrocities in Cuba.
3. The U.S.S. Maine explosion in Havana Harbor was blamed on the Spanish, leading to increased tensions.
4. President McKinley issued an ultimatum to Spain, leading to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War.
5. The war resulted in Cuba gaining independence but with limitations imposed by the Platt Amendment.
6. The annexation of the Philippines from Spain further solidified America's imperial ambitions.
7. Emilio Aguinaldo led the Filipinos in a rebellion against U.S. rule in the Philippines.
8. The United States also annexed Hawaii during this period of imperial expansion.
9. The Open Door Policy with China aimed to secure America's economic interests in the increasingly competitive Asian market.
10. The Spanish-American War marked a turning point in American history, pushing the country towards greater involvement in global affairs and imperialism.