Answer the following questions for homework after carefully reviewing/researching the Spanish American War. You must complete questions 1-8 for Thursday. If there is a snow day you must complete questions 9-17 for Friday. No excuses.
1. What factors led to friction between Cuban rebels and the Spanish rulers of Cuba during the late 19th century? How did Americans perceive this conflict? What stance did the U.S. government initially adopt towards this conflict?
2. What was the deLôme letter? What did it indicate about how Spain viewed the United States? What impact did it have on the American publicís view of Spain and Spainís role in Cuba?
3. How does the rise of the newspaper empires of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer reflect the societal and technological changes brought on by industrialization?
4. What was "yellow journalism"? How did American newspaper reports of the war between Cuban rebels and the Spanish reflect Americansí views of the conflict? How might yellow journalism have promoted war between the United States and Spain?
5. What was the Maine and why was it stationed off Cuba? What caused the Maine to explode? At the time, how did Americanís interpret the explosion of the Maine? What impact did the Maine incident have on the American decision to engage in war with Spain?
6. What role did African-Americans play in the Spanish-American War? How were black regiments treated in the American South? Why might blacks have felt ambivalent about serving the United States in the war?
7. Why did some call the Spanish-American War, a "splendid little war?" Why was it such a popular war among Americans?
8. In his "War Message" why does President McKinley urge Congress to declare war against Spain?
9. Why did the proposed annexation of the Philippines create such conflict among Americans? What were the arguments for and against the annexation of the Philippines?
10. What arguments did Anti-imperialists use to oppose annexation of the Philippines and imperialism more generally? Why might individuals as diverse as Samuel Gompers, Andrew Carnegie, and Booker T. Washington have all opposed imperialism? What impact might this diversity have had on the effectiveness of the anti-imperialist movement?
11. How might both imperialism and anti-imperialism be seen as progressive?
12. Traditionally, why might historians have rarely written about the Philippine- American War?
13. Why had Philippine leader Emilio Auginaldo supported the United States in the Spanish-American War? Why did Auginaldo, who had supported the U.S. in the Spanish-American War, then lead a revolt against the U.S. in 1899?
14. What was the Taft Commission? What did it indicate about the way Americans saw their role in the Philippines? In what sense was the Taft Commission progressive?
15. What principle did the U.S. Supreme Court assert in the Insular Cases (Dooley v. U.S., Downes v. Bidwell, etc.)? What did this suggest about the way Americans viewed the peoples of territories annexed by the United States during the late 19th century?
16. What was the Foraker Act? What did it suggest about the way Americans viewed the United Statesí role in the Western Hemisphere during the late 19th and early 20th century?
17. What were the provisions of the Platt Amendment? What did it suggest about the way Americans viewed the United Statesí role in the Western Hemisphere during the late 19th and early 20th century?
