The US declaration of war was influenced by long-term factors that included the foreign policy affairs, the need to be honored, and the yellow journalism in the 19th century. However, there were different reasons which led the US to be involved in the foreign affairs. Firstly, there were various problems initiated by the government which included the tariffs, the 1877 Great uprising, and the spoil systems (Faragher, 2011). The tariffs resulted in a major political issue between the Republicans and the Democrats. The Republicans, who represented mainly business interests, raised tariffs to new levels on a vast production of goods and retained them as long as they had power while the Democrats argued for reductions in the tariff as a way to save the rural economy and to give a boost to the workers. The great uprising which was also the first nationwide strike was a factor because the workers were protesting against wage cuts (Faragher, 2011). Also, the spoils system prevailed in the political parties where the patronage would give out bribes, jobs, and food to persuade people to vote for them.
Secondly, it was because of the depression of 1893, which brought the economy to a halt because of the collapse of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, followed by the downfall of the National Cordage Company, that caused a crash in the market which sent waves of panic to all the banks in that region. Consequently, the introduction vagrancy laws made matters worse because it forced people to prison. Thirdly, the populist and the people’s party was also another factor where the populists cooperated with the local Republicans in sponsoring state and local tickets that put black and white candidates on the same plate (Faragher, 2011). Meanwhile, the new people’s party called for government ownership of banks, railroads, and telegraphs lines, prohibition of large holding companies, restriction of immigration, and an eight- hour workday. Lastly, the social gospel was also another factor which led to Americans war because the Protestant churches no longer sanctioned the situation of the lower class such as unhealthy conditions and subsistence wages.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The role that yellow journalism played in the shaping of American opinions towards the war was achieved by using the editors of the newspapers to create conflict. As a result, the newspaper’s editors were interested in a war because it would mean that more of the public would want to know what was happening and, thus, buying more newspapers. Yellow journalism was also manifested through the printing of huge scare headlines (Faragher, 2011). These headlines gained the attention of readers that led to angry thoughts and reactions and started demanding for people to go to war. Besides the title and the front page format of the newspapers, the editors also printed photos that showed terrible scenes such as the concentration camps in Cuba where rebels were held to control the population (Faragher, 2011). These were able to regenerate a lot of bad feelings towards Spain and started to convince the American’s to go to war.
The American ideas about honor and manhood led the US to war with Spain because debates over the wars mainly revolved around the issues of manhood and drew on a political culture of the manly ideal of politics during the war period. During the Depression of 1893, it emasculated men who could not provide for their families, while others worried about closing the frontier as an opportunity for building manliness (Faragher, 2011). Also, during the debate over the US intervention in Cuba, President McKinley, a civil war veteran was portrayed as weak and effeminate for his hesitancy to take military action after the USS Maine Attack. As Hoganson’s explains, the popular notion that the civil war had developed the courage of men who fought contributed to the theory that Americans manhood could only be found in military efforts. However, the proponents of US intervention in Cuba used their admiration of the civil war generation to contrast the condition of their contemporaries and to demonstrate how the military service cultivated the characteristics of the red-blooded American male.
References
Faragher, J. M. (2011). Out of Many: A History of the American People, AP Edition . New Jersey: Prentice Hall
