The U.S is not justified in annexing the Philippines and fighting a war to keep it because it was just a chance to exploit people and land to earn power and prestige. On April 25, the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor sent by President McKinley to protect U.S citizens. Cuba was the first to initiate its own struggle for independence. Spain used ruthless brutal tactics to bring down the revolt where the U.S intervened due to sympathy for Cuban rebels.
It embarrassed the young Kennedy administration and Kennedy was blamed for not giving it adequate support. The Cuban exile leader Jose Miro Cardona blamed the failure on the CIA and the refusal of Kennedy to authorize air cover for the invasion force, but the main reason for failure was because the exiles had been counting on a local uprising to help them. The Bay of Pigs invasion also made Castro wary of the U.S. He was convinced that the Americans would try to take over the island again. There were many reasons for the Bay of Pigs invasion.
The USA was influenced to war heavily by Cuba, which was still part of Spain’s American empire, In 1895 Cuba wanted to become independent however it was still under the Spanish control which made it hard to become free. When Cuban nationalists, led by Jose Marti, began a revolt against Spanish rule they were backed by America however they were quickly dealt with by the Spanish army. The president at the time William McKinley also believed in the moral perspective of the Whiteman’s burden so they supported the Cuban population. The harsh methods of the Spanish (to stop the Cuban revolt) were criticised by the Americans, where there was a strong support for American intervention in Cuba. In February 1989 those who were seeking intervention got a big opportunity as the warship, the USS Maine, was blown up whilst stationed on the harbour of Havana.
Cuba had to use a Swedish ruse to safely and successfully ship sugar, an ingredient in bomb-making, to Britain and France. Finally, a reason that was very important to Cuba’s president Menocal was that U.S. support would help him continue to stay president since he declared war on Germany. One consequence of war was that the Cubans threw all Germans and Austrians into internment camps. 25,000 people were conscripted into the war and they underwent training for one year before they were sent out. As a result of the accessibility of the Cuban ports, the Cubans denied Cuban ports to German U-boats.
Gar Alperovitz, another revisionist, says that Truman’s main purpose in dropping the bombs was to demonstrate its power in order to intimidate the Russians (127). Even American generals, such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur and Curtis LeMay have stated that the A-bombs were unnecessary (Dower 92), arguing that Japan could have been forced to surrender by conventional means. If these charges are true, than Truman committed a war crime against Japan and its people. However, the historical record shows that in the summer of 1945 Truman was concerned only
Napoleon's first major mistake was made in March of 1808, when Napoleon intervened in a dispute between the present king of Spain and the king's son. He placed them both in prison and put his own brother on the throne. The people of Spain did not take too kindly to this act and so began a bloody war that was not defined by major battles, but by guerrilla warfare that kept a large number of French troops occupied to keep control of the country. French troops would end up executing hundreds of Spaniards who were thought to be resisting French power. Britain saw an opportunity to weaken Napoleon's empire by landing 13,000 troops on the coast of Portugal, where they made their way up along Spain's coastline.
In 1912 the US forces return to Cuba to put down black protests against discrimination. 1934: The US abandons its right to intervene in Cuba's internal affairs, revises Cuba's sugar quota and changes tariffs to favour Cuba. 1958: The US withdraws military aid to Batista. Over all, these events all have lead to the build up of tension between Cuba and the USA which eventually lead to the Missile crisis. Why did Castro come to power in Cuba?
One event that created a good platform and story for Yellow Journalism was the maine. This started a motive for revenge. The Maine was sent to Havana to protect American Property. Mysteriously the ship exploded killing 260 men. There was no explanation but this angered American casuring them to want to go to war.
However, that changed in 1994 when another wave of Cuban exiles arrived by boat. Following the Mariel Boat Wave Ronald Reagan criticized Carter for allowing the Mariel refugees into the United States (Gonzalez 113). This time, White America’s view on Cuban refugees shifted to match their views of refugees from the rest of Latin America. Concurrently, the political climate shifted as well and, according to Gonzalez, with the 1994 wave of Cuban refugees called balseros Bill Clinton ordered the first halt on special treatment of Cuban refugees in the United States’ history. Accordingly, U.S. officials would detain the balseros and, this time they would deny their entry (Gonzalez 108).
Allan Adderley 3/9/2015 | | The Tribune | Cuba Under Attack | | Spanish-American War! Letter to the Editor of The tribuneI am more than please to acknowledge President William McKinley strategic plan to help Cuba against Spain. President McKinley made sure that Cuba was protected from any raids, ensured the safety of the people and made sure there was a stable government to operate Cuba. As a result, Cuba gain their independence. Despite the bloodshed that 100,000 people were killed made me sick to my stomach and can’t imagine how many bodies were scattered on that island.