Theos-Talk Archives (September 2001 Message tt00134)

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER.........

The Spanish-American War, which was fought in 1898, marked a turning
point
in American history. Within a few years after the war ended, the United
States was exercising control or influence over islands in the Caribbean
Sea, the mid-Pacific and close to the Asian mainland.

By the 1890s, Cuba and Puerto Rico were the only remnants of Spain's
once
vast empire in the New World, while the Philippine Islands comprised the
core of Spanish power in the Pacific. The outbreak of war had three
principal sources: popular hostility to autocratic Spanish rule;
American
sympathy with demands for independence; and a new spirit of national
assertiveness in the United States, stimulated in part by a "jingoistic"
or
nationalistic and sensationalist press.

In 1895 Cuba's growing wrath against the tyranny of the mother country
burst
into a war of independence. The United States watched the course of the
uprising with mounting concern. Most Americans were sympathetic with the
Cubans, but President Cleveland was determined to preserve neutrality.
Three
years later, however, during the McKinley administration, the U.S.
warship
Maine was destroyed while lying at anchor in Havana harbor, under
circumstances that are still unclear (it is thought that the US
government
destroyed it as an excuse to declare war on Spain, which has always
denied
perpetrating this attack, Spain had NOTHING to gain by it, and
everything to
lose). More than 250 men were killed, and an outburst of indignation,
intensified by sensationalized press coverage, swept across the country.
Although for a time McKinley tried to preserve the peace, within a few
months, believing delay futile, he recommended armed intervention.

The war with Spain was swift and decisive. During the four months it
lasted,
not a single American reverse of any importance occurred. A week after
the
declaration of war, Commodore George Dewey, then at Hong Kong, proceeded
with his squadron of six vessels to the Philippines. His orders were to
prevent the Spanish fleet based there from operating in American waters.
He
caught the entire Spanish fleet at anchor and destroyed it without
losing an
American life.

Meanwhile, in Cuba, troops landed near Santiago, where, after winning a
rapid series of engagements, they fired on the port. Four armored
Spanish
cruisers steamed out of Santiago Bay and a few hours later were reduced
to
ruined hulks.

>From Boston to San Francisco, whistles blew and flags waved when word
came
that Santiago had fallen. Newspapers dispatched correspondents to Cuba
and
the Philippines, who trumpeted the renown of the nation's new heroes.
Chief
among them were George Dewey of Manila fame and Theodore Roosevelt, who
resigned as assistant secretary of the navy to lead the "Rough Riders,"
a
volunteer regiment he recruited for service in Cuba. Spain soon sued for
peace, and in the treaty signed on December 10, 1898, transferred Cuba
to
the United States for temporary occupation preliminary to the island's
independence. In addition, Spain ceded Puerto Rico and Guam in lieu of
war
indemnity, and the Philippines on payment of $20 million.

Having overseas possessions was a new experience for the United States.
Consequently, the new territories were encouraged to move toward
democratic
self-government, a political system with which none of them had any
previous
experience..... ETC.....ETC.......
-----Original Message-----
From: Bart Lidofsky [mailto:bartl@sprynet.com] 
Sent: Monday, 17 September 2001 1:55 AM
To: theos-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: Theos-World US Karma


Mic Forster wrote:
> 
> Dear Frank and Bart,
> 
> You've both lost it.

I used to work for a political fundraising agency. 
Somehow, we got on several neo-Nazi mailing lists. I would read 
their literature. Frank's phraseology is identical to the 
phraseology I used to read in the neo-Nazi newspapers. 

Bart Lidofsky



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to 
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/