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It was 1898. The nation that had begun as
a bunch of ragtag rebels throwing rocks at the
world's most powerful army had grown up.
Amazingly, it had won its independence. At the
time, the British Empire spanned the world.
The young nation had even withstood a second
war against Britain. It had bounced back from
the humiliation of seeing its capital reduced to
ashes. It had even withstood the dreadful
wounds of a war within itself.
The United States was no longer an
upstart band of colonies. It was a union, over
one hundred years old, solid and strong.
Through all its struggles, its people had
constantly pushed out its boundaries. A vast
wilderness had been tamed. Now the country
sprawled across the North American continent.
It truly stretched "from sea to shining sea."
Ships carrying goods from U.S. fields and
factories docked at all the world's ports. From
all over the world, other ships brought people
to the nation's wide shores. The newcomers
looked to America for their future. Many
thousands had hung their hopes on the "broad
stripes and bright stars."
In the 1890s, the U.S. and the world were
getting ready for the coming of a whole new
century. For many Americans, times were
good. They had made it through a nasty
economic storm in the early part of the decade.
Now, factories were humming and people were
buying goods. In most sectors, money was
flowing.
The importance of foreign affairs was not
lost on the money makers. They knew that faroff markets helped American business thrive.
Still, for the better part of the last century, the
attitude of most had been "There's no place like
home!" Americans should look to America,
people said, and leave the rest of the world to
look after itself.
Isolationism had been the prevailing way
of looking at the world almost since the
nation's birth. Americans were interested in
selling goods to distant markets. Beyond that,
they had little desire to be involved in foreign
relations. In the early days, there was concern
over the threat of European presence in the
"neighborhood." The U.S. had gone into the
War of 1812 overly confident in their military
might. They had even tried to grab Canada for
themselves. They'd gotten a scare when Britain
not only proved herself fully capable of
hanging on to Canada, but threatened to sweep
through the U.S. as well.
Americans were thankful when the U.S.,
in the end, managed to hold its own. The
events of the second war, as well as the actions
of European powers, made Americans rethink
their strategy. Just how secure were they? The
world powers were always in the market for
new territory. They had snapped up many
nooks, crannies, and handy little islands in
what was then the new world. The vast,
resource-rich lands of America would make a
fine prize. If one of its land-hungry neighbors
came calling, would the U.S. be able to defend
itself?
In 1823, President James Monroe gave a
speech to Congress. In it, he served notice to
European nations. If you're thinking of
grabbing more land in our neck of the woods,
he told them, forget it! Of course, his exact
words were more formal, but that's the idea. He
told European countries that fishing for
colonies in the Americas would be considered
an act of war against the U.S. The declaration
came to be known as the Monroe Doctrine.
Down through the years, Monroe's words
had been the guide for U.S. foreign policy to
one degree or another. They had been put to the
test during the 1860s. As the U.S. fought its
Civil War, France made a bold play for control
right on America's doorstep. French forces
raised up a European king on the throne in
Mexico.
As the Civil War ended, U.S. troops were
sent to the Mexican border. War was narrowly
avoided when French troops were called home
to deal with other problems. Mexicans threw
off the unwanted king and peace was restored.
The Monroe Doctrine had been upheld.
By and large, though, the people who had
fought two wars for their freedom had no
desire to go to battle for any lesser cause. The
1890s brought other questions for Americans,
however. What about someone else's freedom?
Was the U.S. willing to go to war for someone
else's just cause?
Expansionism became a more popular
idea as the 1800s drew to a close. In defending
the great ideal of freedom, America might add
to its territory. Wouldn't that be a just reward?
The U.S. had absorbed its wilderness. There
was no more new land waiting to be settled.
Surely there would always be a need for more
land and resources to supply a growing
population. Could there, after all, be some
reason besides self-defense to go to war?
The gathering clouds of war caused a
scramble among American military leaders.
The U.S. was proud of its navy. It had played a
vital part in past military victories. Recently, it
had been overhauled and enlarged. In the years
since the Civil War however, ground forces
had been cut back. Money had not been
allotted to keep the army up to date. Knowhow was in short supply as well. Most War
Department jobs had been handed out on the
buddy system. In many ways, America wasn't
ready to fight a war.