HISTORY UP TO DATE

CHAPTER I

WHEN AND WHY THE WAR BEGAN

WAR between the monarchy of Spain and the republic of the United States began about the end of the month of April, 1898. A formal declaration of war was made by Spain on Sunday, April 24. The Congress of the United States the next day, at the request of President McKinley, passed a bill declaring that a state of war had existed between the United States and Spain from and including April 21, 1898.

Before these formal declarations both nations had been expecting and preparing for hostilities. There had been no love lost between the two countries for many months. A United States war-ship had been blown up in the harbor of Havana, arousing the people of the United States almost to fury. President McKinley had announced his intention of intervening to end the war Spain was waging against the

rebels in Cuba. This had aroused the wrath of the people and government of Spain.

The causes which led to the war, summarized briefly, were: —

Spain's cruel methods of waging war on the Cuban insurgents, who had many relatives and sympathizers in the United States.

Causes of the War

The imprisonment and killing of American citizens and the destruction of American property in Cuba.

The blowing up of the United States battle-ship "Maine" in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.

American indignation at the system of reconcentration put in practice in Cuba by General Weyler, which resulted in many non-combatants being starved to death.

Great damage to American trade with Cuba and serious losses to American merchants as a result of the insurrection which Spain seemed powerless to

suppress.

The Hispano-American war has been called a war of sentiment and a war of humanity, but A Matter it cannot be denied that to a certain of Dollars extent it was a matter of dollars. While undoubtedly the principles of liberty for which their forefathers fought had much to do with the desire of the people of the

United States to see Cuba freed from the dominion of Spain, their interest in the matter was by no means an unselfish one.

The failure of Spain to suppress the rebellion begun in Cuba in 1895 put the government of the United States to considerable direct and Large amounts were ex

indirect expense. pended in policing the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to prevent filibustering expeditions which had been fitted out in the United States from getting away from American ports.

The Congress of the United States in May, 1897, appropriated $50,000 to be expended by the American consuls in Cuba for the relief of American citizens on the island whom the war had reduced to abject poverty. In addition to this it was estimated that the war had resulted in the destruction of American property to the value of $10,000,000.

To these direct expenses laid upon the United States were added other and greater expenses or losses attributable to the state of war existing in the island. The extensive trade that existed between the United States and Cuba before the war began, shrank almost to nothing. There were no indications that Cuban trade would improve until the Cubans were

conquered or the Spaniards driven from the island. Many business houses in the United States with branches in Cuba or with large interests there, unable to collect their accounts, were forced to assign.

The sugar crop in Cuba, which in 1895 had been valued at $70,000,000, for the season of 1896-7 amounted to only $14,000,000. The tobacco product of normal times, about $15,000,000, had shrunk to $3,000,000. Trade with the United States had suffered to a still greater extent. Before the insurrection began, the annual imports from Cuba into the United States amounted to $75,000,000, but after the war began they fell off to less than one million dollars. Before 1895 the United States had been exporting to Cuba every year goods valued at more than $30,000,000. In 1896 the exports from the United States were hardly $7,000,000.

With such a condition of affairs the business men of America were naturally desirous of seeing the Cuban question speedily settled once and for all. They saw better business opportunities with a "Cuba Libre" than with a Cuba burdened by Spanish tax-gatherers and bound by tariffs, restrictive except with Spain.