REPUBLICAN DOMINATION AND WAR WITH SPAIN
The ceremonies attendant upon the inauguration of William McKinley on
March 4, 1897, were typical of the care-taking generalship of Mark
Hanna. The details of policing the crowds had been foreseen and
attended to; the usual military review was effectively carried out to
the last particular; "the Republican party was coming back to power as
the party of organization, of discipline, of unquestioning obedience to
leadership."[1]
The political capacity, the characteristics and the philosophy of the
new President were sufficiently representative of the forces which were
to control American affairs for the next few years to make them matters
of some interest. McKinley was a traditional politician in the better
sense of the word. As an executive he was patient, calm, modest, wary.
Ordinarily he committed himself to a project only after long
consideration, and with careful propriety he avoided entangling
political bargains. His engaging personality, his consummate tact and
his thorough knowledge of the temper and traditions of Congress enabled
him to lead that body, where Cleveland failed to drive it. As a speaker
he seldom rose above an ordinary plane, but he was simple and sincere.
His messages to Congress breathed an atmosphere of serenity and of
deferential reliance upon the wise and judicious action of the
legislative branch. Their smug and genial tone formed a sharp contrast
with his predecessor's anxious demands for multifarious reforms; while
Cleveland inveighed against narrow partisanship and selfish aims,
McKinley benignantly observed: "The public questions which now most
engross us are lifted far above either partisanship, prejudice, or
former sectional differences."
The political philosophy of McKinley typified that of his party. The
possibilities which he saw in protective tariffs, which occupied the
foremost position among his principles, were well set forth in his
message to Congress on March 15, 1897. Additional duties should be
levied on foreign importation, he asserted,
to preserve the home market, so far as possible, to our own
producers; to revive and increase manufactures; to relieve and
encourage agriculture; to increase our domestic and foreign
commerce; to aid and develop mining and building; and to render
to labor in every field of useful occupation the liberal wages
and adequate rewards to which skill and industry are justly
entitled.
Like most American presidents, McKinley was a peace-lover, pleasantly
disposed toward the arbitration of international difficulties and
prepared to welcome any attempt to further that method of preserving
the peace of the world. His conception of the presidential office
differed somewhat sharply at several points from that of his
predecessor. Like Cleveland he looked upon himself as peculiarly the
representative of the people, but he was far less likely either to lead
public opinion or to attempt to hasten the people to adopt a position
which he had himself taken. This fact lay at the bottom of the
complaints of his critics that he always had his "ear to the ground" in
order that he might be prepared to go with the majority. On the other
hand, although he was aware of constitutional limitation upon the
functions of the executive, he was not so continually hampered by the
strict constructionist view of the powers of the federal government as
Cleveland had been. McKinley's attitude toward Congress was far more
sagacious than Cleveland's. He distributed the usual patronage with
skill; he approached Congressmen individually with the utmost tact; he
appointed them to serve on commissions and boards of arbitration, and
later, when matters upon which the commissions had been engaged came
before Congress in the form of treaties or legislation, these men found
themselves in a position to lead in the adoption of the principles
which the President desired. All this indicated an ability to "touch
elbows" with Congress that has rarely been exceeded. When coupled with
the organizing power of Hanna, the harmonizing sagacity of the
President soon brought about a notable degree of party solidarity. As a
political organization, the Republican party reached a climax.
McKinley was hardly an idealist, and distinctly not a reformer.
Although sensitive to pressure from the reform element, he was not
ahead of ordinary public opinion on matters of economic and political
betterment. Leaders in federal railroad regulation found the President
cold toward projects to strengthen the Interstate Commerce law; the
Sherman Anti-trust Act was scarcely enforced at all during McKinley's
administration, and the parts of his messages which relate to the
regulation of industry are vague and lacking in purpose. One searches
these documents in vain for any indication that the Republican leader
had either vigorous sympathy with the economic and social unrest which
had made the year 1896 so momentous or even any thorough understanding
of it. Even if he had possessed both sympathy and understanding,
however, it is doubtful whether he could have made real progress in the
direction of economic legislation and the enforcement of the acts
regulating railroads and industry, in view of his long-continued and
close affiliation with business leaders of the Mark Hanna type and his
deep obligation to them at the time of his financial embarrassments in
1893.
McKinley's cabinet was composed of men whose advanced age and
conservative characteristics indicated that his advisers would commend
themselves to the business world and would instinctively avoid all
those radical proposals that were coming to be known as "Bryanism." The
dean of the cabinet in age and experience as well as in reputation and
ability was John Sherman, who was now almost seventy-four years of age
and had been occupying a position of dignity and honor in the Senate.
Two reasons have been given for his appointment to the post of
Secretary of State. In the first place, important diplomatic affairs
were on hand, in the settlement of which his long experience as a
member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations would be of obvious
advantage. The second reason was the ambition of Hanna to enter the
Senate. Since Sherman and Hanna were both from Ohio, it was possible to
call the former to the cabinet and rely upon the Governor of the state
to appoint the latter to the Senate. The propriety of this course of
action depended somewhat on the question of Sherman's physical
condition. Rumor declared that he was suffering from mental decay, due
to his age, but McKinley believed the rumor to be baseless, summoned
him to the cabinet, and Hanna was subsequently appointed to the Senate.
When Sherman took up the duties of his office it appeared that the
rumor had been all too true, and a serious lapse of memory on his part
in a diplomatic matter forced his immediate replacement by William R.
Day. Somewhat more than a year later Day retired and John Hay assumed
the position. Many critics have asserted that McKinley was aware of the
precise condition of Sherman and that he made the choice despite this
knowledge, but it now seems likely that he was guilty only of bad
judgment and carelessness in failing to inform himself about Sherman's
infirmities. Another error of judgment was made in the choice of
Russell A. Alger as Secretary of War. Alger failed to convince popular
opinion that he was an effective officer and he resigned in 1899. As in
the case of Sherman, McKinley then somewhat retrieved his mistake by
appointing a successor of undoubted ability, in the person of Elihu
Root.[2] It thus came about that the political and economic theories
which had been characteristic of the leaders of both parties during the
seventies and eighties, but more particularly of the Republican party,
were again in the ascendancy. The President and his cabinet were
uniformly men who had grown up during the heyday of _laissez faire_,
and Hanna, who would inevitably be regarded as the mouthpiece of the
administration in the Senate, was the embodiment of that philosophy.
McKinley's experience with the distribution of the offices emphasized
the progress that had been made since civil service reform had been
inaugurated. One of the steps which President Cleveland had taken
during his last administration, it will be remembered, was to increase
the number of positions under control of the Civil Service Commission.
The immediate result, of course, was to increase the demand for places
in the unclassified service. John Hay picturesquely described the
situation in the State Department a few years later:
All other branches of the Civil Service are so rigidly provided
for that the foreign service is like the topmost rock which you
sometimes see in old pictures of the Deluge. The pressure for a
place in it is almost indescribable.
Both in his inaugural address and in his message to Congress on
December 6, 1897, McKinley expressed his approval of the prevailing
system, but suggested the possibility of exempting some positions then
in the classified service. President Cleveland had, indeed, admitted
to the Civil Service Commission that a few modifications might be
necessary. The Senate promptly ordered an investigation and discovered
10,000 places which it believed could be withdrawn, but because of
other events further action was delayed. In 1899 the President returned
to the subject and promulgated an order authorizing the withdrawal of
certain positions from competitive examination and the transfer of
others from the Commission to the Secretary of War--a total of somewhat
less than 5,000 changes.[3] It appeared, in view of the circumstances
under which the change had occurred, that a retrograde step had been
taken, and McKinley received the condemnation of the reformers.
The first legislation undertaken by the administration was that
relating to the tariff. The election of 1896, to be sure, had been
fought out on the silver issue, but it was not deemed feasible to
proceed at once to legislation on the subject, because of the strong
silver contingent within the party. Several other considerations
combined to draw attention away from the currency question and toward
the tariff. The Wilson-Gorman Act of 1894 had been passed under
circumstances that had caused the Democratic President himself to
express his shame and disappointment; the period of industrial
depression following the panic of 1893 had been attributed so widely to
Democratic tariff legislation that a Republican tariff act could be
hailed as a harbinger of prosperity; and the annual deficit which had
continued since 1893 indicated a genuine need of greater revenue, if
the current scale of expenditures was to be continued. The President
and the party leaders in Congress were men who were prominently
identified with the protective system, and it was not likely that the
business interests which profited from protection, which believed in
its beneficent operation, and which had contributed generously to the
Republican war-chest would remain inactive in the presence of an
opportunity to revise the tariff.
Immediately after his succession to office, therefore, McKinley called
a special session of Congress to legislate upon the chosen subject. His
message urged an increase in revenue to be brought about by high import
duties which, he suggested, should be so levied as to be advantageous
to commerce, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, building and labor.
The projected bill was already in hand. Republican success in the
election had insured the return of Thomas B. Reed to the speaker's
chair and Nelson Dingley to the Committee on Ways and Means. The latter
was as devoted to the high-tariff cause as the Speaker and the
President, and had laboriously constructed a bill which was distinctly
protective. The legislative history of the Tariff Act of 1897--more
commonly known as the Dingley act--was in several respects much like
that of similar measures of earlier years. Its passage through the
House was expedited by the masterful personality and vigorous tactics
of the Speaker--a process which consumed less than a fortnight. In the
Senate, bargain and delay ruled procedure; a few of the silver
Republicans held the balance of power and demanded a _quid pro quo_ for
their support; and the Secretary of the Wool Manufacturers' Association
preserved a suggestively close connection with the Finance Committee
which had charge of the bill. After amending the House draft in 872
particulars, the Senate entrusted its interests to the usual conference
committee, and there, as had happened before, the rates were in many
cases raised above those desired by either the Senate or the House. The
bill became law in July, 1897.
The Dingley act added little to the settlement of the tariff problem.
The ordinary consumer was as little able as before to present his
demands effectively and at the time and place at which the rates were
really determined. The requirements of the silver Republicans were met
by the imposition of high duties on wool. For one reason or another,
duties were restored or raised upon hides, silks and linens, although
those on cotton goods were slightly lowered. The duty on sugar was
retained at a point favorable to the trust. In brief, then, the Act of
1897 was aggressively protectionist. An abortive section of the act
empowered the President to conclude treaties providing for reductions,
as great as twenty per cent., in return for commercial concessions from
other countries. Such reciprocity arrangements, however, must be made
within two years of the passage of the law and might not remain in
force more than five years, and each treaty must be ratified by the
Senate. The President was favorable to reciprocal adjustments and
several were arranged but were uniformly rejected in the Senate.
Business was prosperous after the enactment of the Dingley tariff and
little agitation for a change was observable for a decade. Prosperity,
being world wide, was doubtless not due in its entirety to the American
tariff, yet the coincidence of protection and good times gave the
Dingley act a pleasant reputation. For many years enthusiastic stump
speakers placed the beneficence of Providence and the tariff of 1897 on
an equality as causes of American well-being.
The President's first message to Congress had extended congratulations
upon the fact that peace and good will with all the nations of the
earth continued unbroken. Nevertheless it was necessary for him to
devote much attention to the relations between Spain and its most
valuable American possession--the island of Cuba.
American interest in Cuba was by no means of recent growth. The
situation of the island--dominating the narrowest point of the waterway
between the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of Mexico--insured the
importance of Cuba as a strategic position. The traditional attitude of
Spain toward her colony had been one of exploitation, a policy which
was sure to be looked upon with suspicion by a nation which had itself
revolted from oppression. Riots and rebellions in the island, having
their origin in Spain's colonial policy, had long engaged American
sympathy and attention. American statesmen--Jefferson, John Quincy
Adams, Clay and Webster--had pondered upon the wisest and most
advantageous disposition of Cuba. In 1859 the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations had even concluded that "The ultimate acquisition of
Cuba may be considered a fixed purpose of the United States." From 1868
to 1878 the "Ten Years' War" between Cuba and Spain had raised American
feeling to a high pitch. The struggle was characterized by a barbarity
that rivalled mediaeval warfare; islanders who escaped to the United
States sent ships to Cuba laden with arms and men; American trade
rights were interfered with and American citizens seized by the
Spaniards and shot; the _Virginius_ was captured--a ship carrying the
American flag--and many of her crew were executed. Indignation meetings
were held, the navy was put in order and war was in sight. Cautious
diplomatic negotiations delayed hostilities, however, and subsequently
exhaustion caused the restoration of peace between Spain and her
distracted colony.
With the recurrence of insurrection in 1895, interest in the United
States was renewed, and this time circumstances combined to bring about
a climax in American relations with Spain. On both sides the contest
between Spain and her colony was carried on with unutterable cruelty.
The island leader, Maximo Gomez, conducted guerrilla warfare,
devastating the country, destroying plantation buildings and forcing
laborers to cease work, in order to exhaust the enemy or to bring about
American intervention. Spanish procedure was even more barbaric. A
"reconcentration" order, promulgated by Valeriano Weyler,
Governor-general of the island and General-in-chief of the army,
compelled the rural population to herd together in the garrisoned
towns. Their buildings were then burned and their cattle driven away or
killed; hygienic precautions were disregarded and the people themselves
were insufficiently clothed and fed. The extermination of the
inhabitants proceeded so rapidly as to promise complete devastation in
a short time.
President Cleveland had been deeply affected by the Cuban situation.
His last annual message to Congress had noted the $30,000,000 to
$50,000,000 of American capital invested in the island, the volume of
trade amounting yearly to $100,000,000, the use of American soil by
Cubans and Cuban sympathizers for raising funds and purchasing
equipment, and the stream of claims for damages done to American
property in Cuba. In spite of his well-known disinclination to share in
the internal affairs of other peoples, he had voiced a suggestive
warning that American patience could not be maintained indefinitely.
The succession of McKinley seemed likely to result in a change in the
attitude of America toward the Cuban problem. He was more responsive to
public opinion than his predecessor had been, public opinion was more
and more coming to favor intervention, and his party had committed
itself in its platform to Cuban independence through American action.
Moreover, two events early in 1898 greatly irritated the United States.
On February 9 a New York newspaper published a letter written by Senor
Enrique Dupuy de Lome, Spanish minister to the United States, to a
personal friend in Havana. It referred to President McKinley as a
"would-be politician who tries to leave a door open behind himself
while keeping on good terms with the jingoes of his party." It further
revealed the intention of the Minister to carry on a propaganda among
senators in the interest of a commercial treaty. On all sides it was
seen that the usefulness of Senor de Lome was at an end and his
government immediately recalled him. On February 15 the whole world was
shocked by the destruction of the United States battleship _Maine_ in
Havana harbor, with the loss of 260 officers and men. News of the
disaster was accompanied by the appeal of Captain Sigsby, commander of
the vessel, that popular judgment of the causes of the disaster be
suspended until a court of inquiry could investigate and report.
Nevertheless on March 9, Congress placed $50,000,000 at the President's
disposal for the purposes of national defence and the navy prepared for
a conflict that seemed inevitable. Both the Spanish and American
authorities conducted examinations. The American court reported that
the ship had been destroyed by the explosion of a submarine mine, which
had caused the partial explosion of two or more of her magazines. No
evidence could be found which would fix the responsibility on any
individual. The Spanish court came to the conclusion that the
catastrophe was due solely to an explosion of the ship's magazines.
American opinion naturally supported the findings of the American
court, and feeling ran high; newspapers demanded war; "Remember the
_Maine_" summarized much of popular discussion.[4]
Under such circumstances, diplomatic negotiations looking toward peace
were difficult, and resulted only in disagreements and delay.
Accordingly on April 11 the President laid before Congress a succinct
account of Cuban affairs and earnestly called for forcible
intervention. The grounds for this action he found in the sufferings of
the people of Cuba, the injuries to Americans and to American property
and trade, and the menace to American peace which was entailed by
continuous conflict at our very threshold.[5] The transfer of the Cuban
question from the hands of the President to those of Congress was
equivalent to a decision in favor of war. On April 19 the Senate and
House resolved that the people of Cuba were and ought to be
independent, demanded that Spain withdraw from the island and directed
the President to use the force of the nation to achieve the results
desired. The approval of the Executive on the following day completed
the severance of peaceful relations with Spain. At daylight on April 22
Admiral Sampson and his fleet were crossing the narrows between Florida
and Cuba, on the way to establish a blockade of the greater part of the
island. Within three days more, Commodore George Dewey, who was in
command of a fleet at Hong-Kong, had been instructed to proceed at once
to the Philippine Islands and capture or destroy the Spanish fleet
there. On April 25 Congress formally declared war upon the kingdom of
Spain.
It was not by mere chance, of course, that Admiral Sampson and
Commodore Dewey were prepared to act with such celerity. Authorities in
the Navy Department had long felt that a collision with Spain was
inevitable and had been preparing for such an eventuality. With as
little publicity as possible the Department completed and commissioned
ships that were already under construction; it hastened the repair of
vessels which were in any way defective; it ordered target practice and
fleet manoeuvres; and it prepared plans for the conduct of a naval war.
Commanders of squadrons were instructed to keep in service men whose
terms of enlistment were about to expire; supplies of ammunition were
procured and shipped to points where they would be needed; the
_Oregon_, which had been stationed on the Pacific coast, was ordered to
return to Key West by way of the Straits of Magellan and so began a
voyage whose closing days were watched with interest by a whole nation.
A Northern Patrol Squadron was organized to guard New England; a Flying
Squadron was assembled at Hampton Roads for service on the Atlantic
coast or abroad; and a formidable array gathered at Key West under
Rear-Admiral Sampson for duty in the West Indies. Foreign shipyards
were scoured for vessels in process of building and several were
purchased, completed and renamed for American service. Greater
additions were made through the purchase of merchantmen and their
transformation into auxiliary cruisers, gunboats and colliers. In these
ways the attempt was made, with some success, to improvise a navy on
the eve of war.
The people of the country had scarcely become accustomed to the thought
that war with Spain had actually come to pass when word was received in
Washington of the exploit of Commodore Dewey in the Philippine Islands.
Attention for the moment was focussed on the Far East, and the press
dilated upon the first test of the new American Navy.
The story of the test proved to have points of interest and importance.
When Commodore Dewey received the orders already mentioned, on April
25, he finished immediately the preparations for conflict which had
been initiated and turned his flagship, the _Olympia_, in the direction
of Manila. His available force consisted of four protected cruisers,
two gunboats, a revenue cutter, a collier and a supply ship. The city
of Manila is on Manila Bay, a body of water twenty miles or more wide,
and is reached only through a narrow entrance. Dewey judged that the
channel was too deep to be mined successfully except by trained experts
and that both contact and electrical mines would deteriorate so rapidly
in tropical waters as to be effective only for a short time. He
therefore decided to steam through the channel at night, disregarding
the mines, and to attack the Spanish fleet which lay within. The plans
worked out even better than he had hoped. With all lights masked and
the crews at the guns, the squadron moved silently through the passage
with no other opposition than three shots from a single battery. Once
within the Bay Dewey steamed slowly toward the city of Manila and then
back to a fortified point, Cavite, where he found his quarry arranged
in an irregular crescent and awaiting the conflict. Oblivious of the
hasty and inaccurate fire from the batteries on shore, he deliberately
moved to a position within two and a half miles of the Spanish ships
and said to the Captain of the _Olympia_, "You may fire when you are
ready, Gridley."
[Illustration:
The Philippines]
Three times westward and twice eastward the American squadron ran
slowly back and forth, using the port and starboard batteries in turn,
and in a short time the shore batteries and the Spanish fleet were
masses of ruins. Of the American forces, only eight were injured, and
they only slightly, while 167 of the Spanish were killed and 214
wounded. News of the victory was as unexpected as it was welcome in the
United States. President McKinley appointed Dewey an acting
Rear-Admiral and on all sides discussion began of the situation and
possibilities of the Philippines.
In the meantime, the position of the American squadron was far from
secure. To be sure, all resistance from the batteries in and around
Manila was quickly suppressed by a threat to destroy the city;
nevertheless Admiral Dewey was in command of too slight a force to
enable him to occupy both the town and its environs. He accordingly
notified Washington that more troops were necessary if it were intended
to seize and retain Manila, and expeditionary forces were despatched,
the first of which arrived on June 30. Indeed it was high time that
assistance be forthcoming, for new possibilities of conflict had
appeared in the presence of a powerful force of German warships.
As soon as the defeat of the Spanish squadron had been effected,
Admiral Dewey established a blockade of Manila Bay and, according to
custom, the war vessels of interested nations went thither to observe
the effectiveness of the blockade and to care for the well-being of
their nationals. Among the early arrivals were the British, the French
and the Japanese, all of whom observed the formalities of the situation
and reported to the American Admiral before venturing into the harbor.
The Germans, however, omitted the proprieties until sharply reminded by
a shot across the bow of the _Cormoran_. By mid-June five German
men-of-war under command of Vice Admiral von Diedrichs were in the
Bay--a force nearly if not quite the match of the American squadron.
When the Germans continued their disregard of the regulations
controlling the blockade, indicating a potential if not an actual
hostility, it became necessary for Admiral Dewey to have done with the
Teutonic peril at once. He sent a verbal message to von Diedrichs which
effectually ended all controversy. Admiral Dewey has not disclosed the
exact phraseology of the message, nor did he send a record of it to the
Navy Department. A newspaper correspondent who was acting as one of the
Admiral's aides asserted that the protest was against von Diedrich's
disregard of the usual courtesies of naval intercourse and that it
closed with the words, "if he wants a fight he can have it right now."
The disclosure by Captain Edward Chichester, in command of the English
force, that he had orders to comply with Admiral Dewey's restrictions
and that his sympathies were with the Americans, together with the
arrival of the expeditionary force, assured American supremacy and a
peaceful blockade. On August 13 a joint movement of the naval forces
and the infantry under General Wesley Merritt resulted in the speedy
surrender of the city of Manila. The Americans were now in control of
the capital of the Philippine Islands and would, perforce, face the
question of the ultimate disposition of the archipelago in case of the
eventual defeat of Spain. In the meanwhile, popular attention turned
toward stirring events which were taking place in the Caribbean Sea.
On April 28--a week after Admiral Sampson started for Cuba--the Spanish
Admiral Cervera left the Cape Verde Islands. His force was a
considerable one; his goal was unknown, although naturally believed to
be some point in the Spanish West Indies. On the assumption that this
hypothesis was a correct one, Sampson patrolled the northern coast of
Cuba, extending his movement as far as Porto Rico, and scouts were
placed out beyond Guadeloupe and Martinique. The entire nation
anxiously awaited the outcome of the impending encounter.
[Illustration:
The Spanish-American War in the West Indies]
On May 19 Cervera slipped into Santiago, a town on the eastern end of
Cuba which had rail connection with Havana, the capital of the island.
Commodore W.S. Schley who was in command of a squadron on the southern
coast soon received information of the enemy's whereabouts and
established a blockade of the city, while Sampson hastened to the scene
and assumed command of operations. The American force now included four
first-class battleships, one second-class battleship and two cruisers.
They were arranged in semi-circular formation facing the harbor, and at
night powerful search-lights were kept directed upon the channel which
Admiral Cervera must take in case of an attempt to escape. The main
part of Santiago Bay is between four and five miles long and is reached
through a narrow entrance channel. Elevated positions at the mouth of
the channel rendered the vigorous defence of the harbor a matter of
some ease. Early in the progress of the blockade the Americans
attempted to sink a collier across the entrance, but fortunately, as it
turned out, this daring project failed, and Admiral Sampson settled
down to await developments.
It was apparent that the capture of Santiago, and the destruction of
the fleet could be brought about only through a joint movement of the
army and navy. Hitherto the war had been entirely on the sea.
Nevertheless over 200,000 volunteers had been called for, in addition
to somewhat over 50,000 regular troops and the "Rough Riders"--the last
a regiment of volunteer cavalry which had been raised by Colonel
Leonard Wood and Theodore Roosevelt and which was largely composed of
cowboys, ranchmen, Indians and athletes from eastern colleges. The
regulars, together with a few volunteers and the Rough Riders, were
sent to Tampa, Florida, while most of the volunteers were trained at
Chicamauga Park, in Georgia. It had been expected that the important
military operations would take place around Havana and for that reason
the officer commanding the army, General Nelson A. Miles, with most of
the regular troops, were retained for the larger service. The command
of the expedition to Santiago fell to General William E. Shafter.
Sixteen thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven officers and men set
sail from Tampa on June 14 and began to disembark eight days later at
Daiquiri, sixteen miles to the east of Santiago.
Advancing from this point General Lawton, commanding a division of
infantry, moved parallel to the shore and seized Siboney. General
Wheeler, a former Confederate who was now in command of the cavalry,
met and defeated a Spanish force at Las Guasimas. Further advance met
difficulties that were more serious. On the left of the American line
was San Juan Hill, an eminence which commanded the country toward the
east; on the right was El Caney, a fortified village held by a small
force of Spaniards. The country between the two points was a jungle,
the roads hardly better than trails, where troops frequently had to
go in single file. The fight at El Caney was severe, the enemy being
well-entrenched, well-armed and protected by wire entanglements and
block houses, and General Lawton suffered a loss of more than 400
killed and wounded before driving the Spaniards out of their position.
San Juan Hill was still more stubbornly defended, and an American
advance was impeded by the heat, the tropical growth and the uneven
character of the country. Under these circumstances officers became
separated from their men and victory was gained through the
determination and resourcefulness of the individual. The Spaniards then
fell back upon Santiago.
[Illustration:
Campaign about Santiago]
The continued success of the Americans compelled the Spanish
authorities to make an immediate decision in regard to the fleet. To
remain in the harbor seemed to mean being encircled and starved; to go
out through the narrow channel seemed to lead to sure destruction. Yet
the latter venture appealed to the commander-in-chief of Cuba,
Captain-General Blanco, as the more honorable one and on July 2 orders
were sent to Admiral Cervera to make the attempt. Early next morning,
while Admiral Sampson was away at a conference with General Shafter,
lookouts on the American battleships descried the _Infanta Maria
Teresa_ feeling her way out of the harbor, followed by the remainder
of the Spanish fleet, three armored cruisers and two torpedo-boat
destroyers. The Americans instantly closed in, directing their fire
first against the _Teresa_ and later against the rest of the fleet as
they tried to follow their leader out to safety. Once out of the harbor
the entire Spanish fleet dashed headlong toward the west, parallel to
the coast, while the Americans kept pace, pouring a gruelling fire from
every available gun. The Spaniards returned the fire and thus "the
action resolved itself into a series of magnificent duels between
powerful ironclads." One by one the enemy's vessels were sunk or forced
to run ashore--the _Cristobal Colon_ last, at two o'clock in the
afternoon. The Spanish losses, besides the fleet, were 323 killed and
151 wounded; the Americans lost one killed and one wounded. The city of
Santiago, deprived of its fleet, found itself in a desperate plight and
surrendered on July 16. Shortly afterwards General Miles led an
expedition into Porto Rico, but operations were soon brought to a close
because of the suspension of hostilities, and from a military point of
view the importance of the campaign was negligible.
The succession of overwhelming defeats drove home to Spain the futility
of further conflict. The despatch of American troops to the Philippines
and to Porto Rico, moreover, indicated that Spain would soon suffer
other losses. Hence the Spanish government, acting through Jules
Cambon, the French ambassador to the United States, sought terms for
the settlement of the war. The President's reply of July 30 made the
following stipulations: Spain to relinquish and evacuate Cuba and to
cede Porto Rico and one of the Ladrone Islands; the United States to
occupy the city and bay of Manila, pending the conclusion of peace and
the determination of the final disposition of the Philippines. Spain
wished to restrict negotiations to the Cuban question, but was forced
to accept the conditions laid down by the victor. A preliminary
agreement or protocol was therefore signed, which provided for a
conference at Paris concerning peace terms.
The uniform success of the American arms could not obscure the popular
belief that the Department of War had been guilty of many shortcomings.
It will doubtless be always a subject for dispute as to whether the
major portion of the blame is to be laid at the door of the traditional
American disinclination to be prepared for warfare, or upon Secretary
Alger and his immediate advisors. That the conduct of the military
affairs was inexpert, however, is admitted on all sides. The facilities
for taking care of the troops at Tampa were inadequate. When transports
reached Tampa to take the troops to Santiago, officers wildly scrambled
to get their men on board. The Rough Riders, for example, made their
way into a transport intended for two other regiments, one of regulars
and the other of volunteers, with the result that the volunteers and
half of the regulars were left on shore. The clothing supplied for the
Cuban campaign was better suited to a cold climate than to summer in
the tropics. The health of the troops during the Santiago campaign was
such that the general officers expressed the opinion that the army must
immediately be removed from Cuba or suffer severe and unnecessary
losses from malarial fever. When the men were removed, however, they
were taken to Montauk Point on Long Island, where the climate was too
cool and bracing. Unsanitary conditions in the training camps within
the borders of the United States were the cause of fatalities estimated
at several times the number killed in battle. A controversy over the
quality of the beef supplied to the troops led to an executive
commission of investigation. Both unnecessary and unfortunate was the
Sampson-Schley controversy, which originated in a difference of opinion
about the proportion of credit which each of these officers should have
for the success of Santiago and which was continued in charges that the
latter had made serious mistakes in the conduct of his share of the
operations. Subsequently a Court of Inquiry investigated the
accusations and made a decision which did not completely satisfy either
side.
Despite these minor mistakes, however, the war increased the strength
of the administration. The most lasting effects of the conflict on
constitutional and political history demand detailed discussion at a
later point, but the immediate results can be briefly stated.[6] The
successful prosecution of a popular war, combined with widespread
prosperity and the demoralization of the opposition party greatly
heightened the prestige of the Republicans. McKinley appeared to have
been in truth, the "advance agent of prosperity"; and his party
obtained a dominating control of public policy.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
H. Croly, _Marcus A. Hanna_ (1912), and C.S. Olcott, _William McKinley_
(2 vols., 1916), discuss the politics of the period, subject to the
limitations already mentioned. W.D. Foulke, _Fighting the Spoilsman_
(1919), describes the relation of the administration to the civil
service; for the Dingley tariff, Stanwood, Tarbell and Taussig.
The literature on the Spanish war is extensive. Most detailed and
reliable is F.E. Chadwick, _Relations of the United States and Spain_;
I, _Diplomacy_, II, III, _The Spanish War_ (1909, 1911). J.H. Latane,
_America as a World Power_ (1907), has several good chapters; H.E.
Flack, _Spanish-American Diplomatic Relations Preceding the War of
1898_ (1906), and E.J. Benton, _International Law and Diplomacy of the
Spanish-American War_ (1908), take up the diplomatic side. On naval
preparations, J.D. Long, _New American Navy_ (2 vols., 1903), is by
McKinley's Secretary of the Navy; see also E.S. Maclay, _History of
the United States Navy_ (rev. ed., 3 vols., 1901-1902). Good
autobiographical accounts are: C.E. Clark, _My Fifty Years in the Navy_
(1917); George Dewey, _Autobiography_ (1913); Theodore Roosevelt,
_Autobiography_; and W.S. Schley, _Forty-five Years under the Flag_
(1914). See also A.T. Mahan, _Lessons of the War with Spain_ (1899).
* * * * *
[1] Cf. Peck, 518.
[2] Other members of the cabinet were: Lyman J. Gage, Ill., Secretary
of the Treasury; Joseph McKenna, Calif., Attorney-General; J.A. Gary,
Md., Postmaster-General; J.D. Long, Mass., Secretary of the Navy, C.N.
Bliss, Secretary of the Interior; James Wilson, Ia., Secretary of
Agriculture.
[3] The National Civil Service Reform League estimated the changes at
10,000.
[4] In 1911 the wreck of the _Maine_ was raised and examined. The
evidence found was such as to substantiate the findings of the American
court of inquiry. _Scientific American_, January 27, 1912.
[5] It has commonly been felt among certain classes in the United
States since 1898 that the business interests whose property and trade
were mentioned by President McKinley had an undue share in bringing
about the declaration of war. While it can not be doubted that the
President was swayed more by business interests than most of our
executives since the Civil War have been, yet it is also true that the
sufferings of the Cubans aroused genuine sympathy in the United States.
The President himself was anxious to delay war as long as possible.
[6] Below, Chap. XVIII.