Table Of ContentLEWIS L. GOULD
The Spanish-American War
and
PRESIDENT McKINLEY
UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KANSAS
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
1 President McKinley 1
2 "The War in Cuba Must Stop" 19
3 The President's War 55
© 1980 by The Regents Press of Kansas
© 1982 by the University Press of Kansas
4 "Duty Determines Destiny" 91
All rights reserved 5 "The Period of Exclusiveness Is Past" 121
Notes 139
Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045),
which was organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and
funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas Bibliographical Essay 151
State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and
Wichita State University
Index 163
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gould, Lewis L.
The Spanish-American War and President McKinley.
"Based on an earlier study, The presidency of William
McKinley"-Pref.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. United States-History-War of 1898. 2. McKinley,
William, 1843~1901. I. Gould, Lewis L. The presidency
of William McKinley. II. Title.
E715.G66 1982 973.8'8'0924 82-13672
ISBN 0-7006-0227-5
Printed in the United States of America
"'~' .. , .., . ,, ... ,. ..
4
V
J
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface ix
1 President McKinley 1
2 "The War in Cuba Must Stop" 19
3 The President's War 55
© 1980 by The Regents Press of Kansas
© 1982 by the University Press of Kansas
4 "Duty Determines Destiny" 91
All rights reserved 5 "The Period of Exclusiveness Is Past" 121
Notes 139
Published by the University Press of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas 66045),
which was organized by the Kansas Board of Regents and is operated and
funded by Emporia State University, Fort Hays State University, Kansas Bibliographical Essay 151
State University, Pittsburg State University, the University of Kansas, and
Wichita State University
Index 163
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Gould, Lewis L.
The Spanish-American War and President McKinley.
"Based on an earlier study, The presidency of William
McKinley"-Pref.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. United States-History-War of 1898. 2. McKinley,
William, 1843~1901. I. Gould, Lewis L. The presidency
of William McKinley. II. Title.
E715.G66 1982 973.8'8'0924 82-13672
ISBN 0-7006-0227-5
Printed in the United States of America
"'~' .. , .., . ,, ... ,. ..
4
V
J
List of Illustrations
Map of Cuba 21
Wreckage of the Maine 36
Cartoon from Judge 39
Map of the Philippines 57
The War Room 58
Early morning advance to San Juan 77
U.S. troops at Bloody Bend 77
Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders on
San Juan Hill 78
Signing of the Peace Protocol 89
vii
Preface
This volume is based on an earlier study, The Presidency of
William McKinley (Lawrence: Regents Press of Kansas, 1980).
Since the Spanish-American War was the decisive event of Mc
Kinley's years in the White House, the three chapters on the coming
of the conflict, the war itself, and the making of peace formed a
natural unit. I have provided an opening chapter, which brings
McKinley and his administration to the brink of the diplomatic
controversy with Spain, and a concluding chapter, which traces
the consequences that followed the ratification of the Peace of
Paris. These two chapters also draw freely on material in the book
on McKinley's presidency. By concentrating on McKinley and the
war, I hope that students and colleagues will be able to examine
why this conflict was a turning point in American foreign policy
and the evolution of the modem presidency. This book thus at
tempts to fill the need for a brief, up-to-date analysis of how presi
dential policy under McKinley shaped American entry into the war,
brought the fighting to a successful conclusion, and acquired an
empire while achieving peace with Spain.
R. Hal Williams, Paul Holbo, and Herbert F. Margulies read
and criticized the author's work in their usual cooperative and
analytical spirit. Mrs. Bonnie Montgomery typed several drafts
with customary good humor and exemplary efficiency. Karen Gould
has provided loyal support and cheerful inspiration through several
years of work on McKinley and his times.
Lewis L. Gould
Austin, Texas
April 1982
ix
7
1
PRESIDENT Mcl(INLEY
On March 3, 1897, Washington, D.C., was in readiness for the
inauguration the next day of William McKinley as the twenty-filth
president. A close friend of the new chief executive, Charles G.
Dawes, wrote in his diary: "The streets were crowded-the hotel
is full to overflowing and an air of expectancy is ahroad. The army
of office-seekers has its advance guard here." That evening, Presi
dent Grover Cleveland invited McKinley to dinner at the White
House. They talked about Cuba and the dangers of war with Spain.
Cleveland told friends that McKinley said: "Mr. President, if I
can only go out of office, at the end of my term, with the knowledge
that I have done what lay in my power to avert this terrible calamity,
with the success that has crowned your patience and persistence,
I shall be the happiest man in the world."1
Thirteen months later, on April 20, 1898, President McKinley
signed a congressional resolution that authorized him to intervene
at once to end the fighting in Cuba between Spain and those who
were rebelling against its rnle. The goal, the resolution added,
was "a stable and independent govermnent" for the people of the
island. A senator who was present at the signing ceremony in
McKinley's office said: "This is a historic occasion; you are vir
tually signing the declaration of War, Mr. President."2 Within five
days, Spain and the United States were at war. When the conflict
ended three months later, Spain had been defeated, the Americans
were in possession of Puerto Rico and Guarh, and there were
United States armies on the soil of Cuba and the Philippines.
1
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND PRESIDENT Mc.KINLEY PRESIDENT McKINLEY
McKinley had not been able to escape the war during his presi feet six and sensitive about his height, McKinley, in well-tailored
dency, but his conduct of diplomacy leading up to the outbreak of clothes and stern bea1ing, sought to seem taller than he actually
hostilities, his leadership during the war, and his negotiation of was. He was addicted to cigars, though he was never photographed
peace combined to give his administration its significant place in with one, and Steevens saw that he was also "not umnindful of the
the nation's history. spitoon."4 Despite Steevens's pleas, McKinley would not be inter
McKinley has never come into clear historical focus. Gray viewed, and the journalist had to content himself with the nominee's
and dull beside the pinwheel ebullience of Theodore Roosevelt, he set speech to his visitors.
has remained a catchword for Republican conservatism or an in In 1896 the public McKinley could be summed up in a few
viting target for scholars who find his Victorian values either ready phrases. He was the champion of the protective tariff, a
cloying or hypocritical. These attacks are badly off the mark. The cause he had advanced since entering Congress. Defeated in the
wife of a political associate once wrote of "the masks he wore!"3 1890 election, when the Democrats exploited popular apprehension
McKinley built a public personality with great shrewdness; he ad about higher prices as a result of the Republican tariff measure,
mitted few men to the reality behind the fa9ade. So deftly did the McKinley said in a friend's. newspaper: "Protection was never
various aspects of his character blend together to form a politician stronger than it is at this hour." The panic of 1893 made his linkage
of wide national appeal that critics and enemies who sought an of the tariff with economic well-being both plausible and popular.'
explanation for McKinley's emergence looked at any force or cir Ten years after proclaiming that he was a high protectionist, Mc
cumstance but the candidate himself. Kinley had added an important variation to his tariff philosophy.
McKinley is responsible for a good part of the mystery. Never While he was working on the McKinley Tariff Act, he had become
a discursive letter writer before he became president, he apparently a convert to James G. Blaine's concept of reciprocity. Envisioning
made a conscious decision to restrict his personal correspondence the controlled reductions of tariff rates through treaties with the
while in office. From 1898 on, the pressure of work confirmed his nation's trading partners, reciprocity promised both to forestall
course on this point; therefore the student of his administration more drastic revision of protected schedules and to expand American
lacks the rambling, dictated effusions that Theodore Roosevelt pro markets overseas. 0
vided to his biographers. Reconstrncting McKinley's thought proc His popular standing as the spokesman for the Republicans'
esses is very difficult; it requires the accumulation of evidence from central economic dochfoe was the core of McKinley's appeal, but
his earlier career, small clues, some inference, and a close knowledge other elements enhanced his position within the GOP. As congress
of his working habits. man and governor, he had mastered the demanding political en
A Civil War veteran and a lawyer in northeastern Ohio, Mc vironment of Ohio in a way that made him the embodiment of
Kinley entered politics in the 1870s and was elected to Congress Republicanism in its midwestern heartland. Though he saw the
as a Republican in 1876. By 1890 he had attained power as chair future of the nation as being linked with the health of business, he
man of the Ways and Means Committee; nevertheless he was de found no necessa1y dishaimony between labor and management.
feated in the election that year over the tariff issue. He quickly From the time of an early case in which he defended striking miners
recovered, winning the Ohio governorship in 1891 and again in and through the labor disputes during his governorship, he was
1893, retiring from that office as the front runner for the Republican even-handed in dealing with strikes, sympathetic to unions, and
presidential nomination in 1896. At the party's convention in St. able to demonstrate to indush·ial laborers how the tariff worked to
Louis, he easily beat his divided and dispirited competitors. their benefit. On the touchy ethnic and religious questions that
During his campaign, which he conducted from his front porch often shaped local politics, he was tolerant and inclusive. His per
in Canton, McKinley, who was fifty-three, attracted newspapermen. sonal experience with bankrnptcy in 1893 did nothing to injure his
The British reporter George W. Steevens, who visited the candidate popularity. If anything, his national reputation grew when Amer
on October 1, 1896, found a "strong, clean-shaven face" with "clear icans learned how a friend's business failure had involved McKinley
eyes, wide nose, full lips-all his features suggest dominant will because of notes that he had endorsed. Even the private funding
and energy rather than subtlety of mind or emotion." Only five that relieved him of his debts did not destroy the public's percep-
2 3
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND PRESIDENT Mc.KINLEY PRESIDENT McKINLEY
McKinley had not been able to escape the war during his presi feet six and sensitive about his height, McKinley, in well-tailored
dency, but his conduct of diplomacy leading up to the outbreak of clothes and stern bea1ing, sought to seem taller than he actually
hostilities, his leadership during the war, and his negotiation of was. He was addicted to cigars, though he was never photographed
peace combined to give his administration its significant place in with one, and Steevens saw that he was also "not umnindful of the
the nation's history. spitoon."4 Despite Steevens's pleas, McKinley would not be inter
McKinley has never come into clear historical focus. Gray viewed, and the journalist had to content himself with the nominee's
and dull beside the pinwheel ebullience of Theodore Roosevelt, he set speech to his visitors.
has remained a catchword for Republican conservatism or an in In 1896 the public McKinley could be summed up in a few
viting target for scholars who find his Victorian values either ready phrases. He was the champion of the protective tariff, a
cloying or hypocritical. These attacks are badly off the mark. The cause he had advanced since entering Congress. Defeated in the
wife of a political associate once wrote of "the masks he wore!"3 1890 election, when the Democrats exploited popular apprehension
McKinley built a public personality with great shrewdness; he ad about higher prices as a result of the Republican tariff measure,
mitted few men to the reality behind the fa9ade. So deftly did the McKinley said in a friend's. newspaper: "Protection was never
various aspects of his character blend together to form a politician stronger than it is at this hour." The panic of 1893 made his linkage
of wide national appeal that critics and enemies who sought an of the tariff with economic well-being both plausible and popular.'
explanation for McKinley's emergence looked at any force or cir Ten years after proclaiming that he was a high protectionist, Mc
cumstance but the candidate himself. Kinley had added an important variation to his tariff philosophy.
McKinley is responsible for a good part of the mystery. Never While he was working on the McKinley Tariff Act, he had become
a discursive letter writer before he became president, he apparently a convert to James G. Blaine's concept of reciprocity. Envisioning
made a conscious decision to restrict his personal correspondence the controlled reductions of tariff rates through treaties with the
while in office. From 1898 on, the pressure of work confirmed his nation's trading partners, reciprocity promised both to forestall
course on this point; therefore the student of his administration more drastic revision of protected schedules and to expand American
lacks the rambling, dictated effusions that Theodore Roosevelt pro markets overseas. 0
vided to his biographers. Reconstrncting McKinley's thought proc His popular standing as the spokesman for the Republicans'
esses is very difficult; it requires the accumulation of evidence from central economic dochfoe was the core of McKinley's appeal, but
his earlier career, small clues, some inference, and a close knowledge other elements enhanced his position within the GOP. As congress
of his working habits. man and governor, he had mastered the demanding political en
A Civil War veteran and a lawyer in northeastern Ohio, Mc vironment of Ohio in a way that made him the embodiment of
Kinley entered politics in the 1870s and was elected to Congress Republicanism in its midwestern heartland. Though he saw the
as a Republican in 1876. By 1890 he had attained power as chair future of the nation as being linked with the health of business, he
man of the Ways and Means Committee; nevertheless he was de found no necessa1y dishaimony between labor and management.
feated in the election that year over the tariff issue. He quickly From the time of an early case in which he defended striking miners
recovered, winning the Ohio governorship in 1891 and again in and through the labor disputes during his governorship, he was
1893, retiring from that office as the front runner for the Republican even-handed in dealing with strikes, sympathetic to unions, and
presidential nomination in 1896. At the party's convention in St. able to demonstrate to indush·ial laborers how the tariff worked to
Louis, he easily beat his divided and dispirited competitors. their benefit. On the touchy ethnic and religious questions that
During his campaign, which he conducted from his front porch often shaped local politics, he was tolerant and inclusive. His per
in Canton, McKinley, who was fifty-three, attracted newspapermen. sonal experience with bankrnptcy in 1893 did nothing to injure his
The British reporter George W. Steevens, who visited the candidate popularity. If anything, his national reputation grew when Amer
on October 1, 1896, found a "strong, clean-shaven face" with "clear icans learned how a friend's business failure had involved McKinley
eyes, wide nose, full lips-all his features suggest dominant will because of notes that he had endorsed. Even the private funding
and energy rather than subtlety of mind or emotion." Only five that relieved him of his debts did not destroy the public's percep-
2 3
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND PRESIDENT McKINLEY PRESIDENT McKINLEY
tion of him as being .an unwitting victim of the general economic Kinley needed the organizational skills and fund-raising ability
that Hanna brought to politics. Their intimacy was always a po
distress.
The country became familiar with McKinley in the 1880s and litical rather than a personal one, however; there were lines regard
1890s as he crossed the nation, speaking on behalf of Republican ing behavior that Hanna knew he must never cross. Their friend
candidates and causes. He enjoyed traveling, and so he came ship, which was at its height in 1896, would undergo important
naturally to the journeying that marked his presidency. In front alterations once the new president had been inaugurated.
of an audience, McKinley was an effective orator in an age that McKinley's ascendancy in his dealings with Hanna was char
venerated that now vanished art. During his presidential race he acteristic of his management of people generally. "He had a way
still displayed his capacity even to make statistics about the tariff of handling men," said Elihu Root, "so that they thought his ideas
more than the stuff of an arid recitation. Once in the White House, were their own." Listening more than he talked, even being patient
his speeches, all of which he wrote, tended to be shorter, more with those who bored him, McKinley moved toward his objectives
abstract, and, to the modem ear, often less specific. His listeners steadily and unobtrnsively. "He was a man of great power," Root
supplied the context and grasped the message in ways that gave his continued, "because he was absolutely indifferent to credit. His
great desire was 'to get it done.' He cared nothing about the credit,
utterances great influence.
When people spoke of McKinley in his prime, they used such but McKinley always had his way."8 From such men as Elihu Root,
words as "dignity," "kindness," and "understanding." The tragedies William Howard Taft, and John Hay, the president secured ex
emplary service and enduring respect.
of his personal life-two daughters had died in infancy, and his
wife was virtually an invalid-closed off his private life from the Whether they were his critics who assailed him or his friends
public, who saw him as an example of marital devotion and appro who idolized him, most men who knew McKinley recognized that
priate reserve. McKinley once said to Charles W. Fairbanks, he kept the core of his personality away from public view. The
"Never keep books in politics,"7 and he avoided making unneces private McKinley had a strain of stoicism and reserve that made
sary enemies through recriminations or vengeance. He possessed him a cold and, on occasion, a ruthless figure. He possessed ambi
charm, tact, and an ability to put himself in the place of others. tion and a sense of his own destiny, h·aits that he usually kept well
After his death the theme of his small acts of thoughtfulness ran hidden. "I don't think that McKinley every let anything stand in
through the memorials to him. the way of his own advancement," said Senator Charles Dick in
Because he had so many friends, McKinley faced the charge 1906. "McKinley was not altogether to blame for this trait in his
that he had no firm convictions-and that he gained affection and character. He had been petted and flattered until he felt that all
popularity by being weak and compliant. Opponents pointed to the fruit on the tree was his."9 Dick knew that McKinley always
his pragmatic course on the money issue, where he responded to gave a little less than he received from friends. The Major could
inflationary pressures in Ohio and was never a staunch advocate use and discard people when it suited his purposes.
of a rigid gold standard. Joseph G. Cannon, in a notorious gibe, As a political leader, McKinley had the defects of his qualities.
said that McKinley's ear was so close to the ground it was full of Charisma was not a concept that McKinley would have understood.
grasshoppers. If he pleased Americans, whose goodness he affirmed, he did not
I
Buttressing the apparent impression that McKinley was the frequently inspire them. He surrounded the presidency with a
instrument of the will of others was his friendship with the Cleve d1gmty that became almost imperial by 1900, but there was never 1
!
land industrialist Marcus A. Hanna. The two men met first in the the drama that Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson supplied.
1870s but did not become a political team until the period between The party, the Congress, and the nation moved toward the presi-I
1888 and 1892. Hanna, who was fifty-nine in 1896, had been a dent's goals in small, cumulative steps without a sense of passing{ II
force in Ohio politics for more than a decade. The relationship from one great event to another. When McKinley died, his political\,
was easily caricatured in contemporary cartoons, and the notion approach disappeared, leaving large results but few traces of their
architect. 1
lingers that Hanna made McKinley president when, in fact, the
politician used the businessman to reach the White House. Mc- It was easy to find weaknesses in McKinley's style of gover-
4 5
THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND PRESIDENT McKINLEY PRESIDENT McKINLEY
tion of him as being .an unwitting victim of the general economic Kinley needed the organizational skills and fund-raising ability
that Hanna brought to politics. Their intimacy was always a po
distress.
The country became familiar with McKinley in the 1880s and litical rather than a personal one, however; there were lines regard
1890s as he crossed the nation, speaking on behalf of Republican ing behavior that Hanna knew he must never cross. Their friend
candidates and causes. He enjoyed traveling, and so he came ship, which was at its height in 1896, would undergo important
naturally to the journeying that marked his presidency. In front alterations once the new president had been inaugurated.
of an audience, McKinley was an effective orator in an age that McKinley's ascendancy in his dealings with Hanna was char
venerated that now vanished art. During his presidential race he acteristic of his management of people generally. "He had a way
still displayed his capacity even to make statistics about the tariff of handling men," said Elihu Root, "so that they thought his ideas
more than the stuff of an arid recitation. Once in the White House, were their own." Listening more than he talked, even being patient
his speeches, all of which he wrote, tended to be shorter, more with those who bored him, McKinley moved toward his objectives
abstract, and, to the modem ear, often less specific. His listeners steadily and unobtrnsively. "He was a man of great power," Root
supplied the context and grasped the message in ways that gave his continued, "because he was absolutely indifferent to credit. His
great desire was 'to get it done.' He cared nothing about the credit,
utterances great influence.
When people spoke of McKinley in his prime, they used such but McKinley always had his way."8 From such men as Elihu Root,
words as "dignity," "kindness," and "understanding." The tragedies William Howard Taft, and John Hay, the president secured ex
emplary service and enduring respect.
of his personal life-two daughters had died in infancy, and his
wife was virtually an invalid-closed off his private life from the Whether they were his critics who assailed him or his friends
public, who saw him as an example of marital devotion and appro who idolized him, most men who knew McKinley recognized that
priate reserve. McKinley once said to Charles W. Fairbanks, he kept the core of his personality away from public view. The
"Never keep books in politics,"7 and he avoided making unneces private McKinley had a strain of stoicism and reserve that made
sary enemies through recriminations or vengeance. He possessed him a cold and, on occasion, a ruthless figure. He possessed ambi
charm, tact, and an ability to put himself in the place of others. tion and a sense of his own destiny, h·aits that he usually kept well
After his death the theme of his small acts of thoughtfulness ran hidden. "I don't think that McKinley every let anything stand in
through the memorials to him. the way of his own advancement," said Senator Charles Dick in
Because he had so many friends, McKinley faced the charge 1906. "McKinley was not altogether to blame for this trait in his
that he had no firm convictions-and that he gained affection and character. He had been petted and flattered until he felt that all
popularity by being weak and compliant. Opponents pointed to the fruit on the tree was his."9 Dick knew that McKinley always
his pragmatic course on the money issue, where he responded to gave a little less than he received from friends. The Major could
inflationary pressures in Ohio and was never a staunch advocate use and discard people when it suited his purposes.
of a rigid gold standard. Joseph G. Cannon, in a notorious gibe, As a political leader, McKinley had the defects of his qualities.
said that McKinley's ear was so close to the ground it was full of Charisma was not a concept that McKinley would have understood.
grasshoppers. If he pleased Americans, whose goodness he affirmed, he did not
I
Buttressing the apparent impression that McKinley was the frequently inspire them. He surrounded the presidency with a
instrument of the will of others was his friendship with the Cleve d1gmty that became almost imperial by 1900, but there was never 1
!
land industrialist Marcus A. Hanna. The two men met first in the the drama that Theodore Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson supplied.
1870s but did not become a political team until the period between The party, the Congress, and the nation moved toward the presi-I
1888 and 1892. Hanna, who was fifty-nine in 1896, had been a dent's goals in small, cumulative steps without a sense of passing{ II
force in Ohio politics for more than a decade. The relationship from one great event to another. When McKinley died, his political\,
was easily caricatured in contemporary cartoons, and the notion approach disappeared, leaving large results but few traces of their
architect. 1
lingers that Hanna made McKinley president when, in fact, the
politician used the businessman to reach the White House. Mc- It was easy to find weaknesses in McKinley's style of gover-
4 5
