The Spanish-American War

The Spanish-American War

Since the late 18th century, America had put its foreign policy centered on moving westward, securing U.S. interests abroad, and preventing foreign influences from coming into America. After the Civil War, however, America experienced a fast-growing industrial economy. Based on accumulating wealth and growing power, America started to pursue a policy of imperialism in order to attain worldwide markets and sources of raw materials for manufacturing. (A) As Cuba had been desired from the Southern expansionists since 1850s, America first tried to expand its territories by occupying the Caribbean area. While Cuba had been considered as either colony or province of Spain for four centuries, America took a risk to free Cuba from Spanish influence by even declaring war against Spain in 1898 because of yellow press and sinking of the Maine.

In 1890s, newspaper industry in New York City enjoyed its fast-growing development due to the eruption of Cuban revolt and the furies of people against Spanish atrocities in Cuba. For ten years since 1868, Cubans went against Spanish colonial authorities to earn independence. Though their revolt ended unsuccessfully, they kept trying to force Spanish to withdraw from Cuba by destroying their plantations in 1895. As Americans started to hear about Cubans' struggle for independence and knew that Cuba would become necessary as a strong naval station in the Caribbean area, they influenced by the Monroe Doctrine were outraged by the Spanish atrocities in Cuba. (B) Recognizing the potential for great headlines and stories that would bring profits by selling copies, two New York newspapers, which are Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal, took advantage of "yellow journalism," a technique of newspaper reporting with bold and lurid headlines of disaster, crime, and scandal. To increase the furies of Americans, both newspaper printed exaggerated and false accounts of Spanish immoral conducts in Cuba. Moreover, they tried to focus more on that the Catholic Spanish Empire was a immoral country