Hello, ceplair-ga!
The answer to your question lies in what factions "you" align
yourself with during the crisis in Cuba from 1890-1916. Therefore, I
have presented the view of the three dominant groups in Cuba during
that time period: the upper, ruling class, the Cuban rebels, and the
lower, common class.
Also, it is important to realize that my information and "opinion" is
only based on the history about Cuba during that time period.
Some background
***************
The United States was experiencing tremendous industrial growth in
the late 1800's. The abundance of raw materials and an unlimited labor
force of foreign immigrants placed the United States in a leading
position in the world. The superior position of the United States
fueled it's interest in expanding territorial control and to compete
against other countries in exercising power throughout the world. To
refrain from competing over territory on an international scale might
allow other countries to gain superiority.
****
It was this attitude that drew the United States into the controversy
over Cuba.
****
The United States definitely saw Cuba as an important asset to their
future.
"As President McKinley said in 1898, the United States had special
interests in Cuba because "it is right at our door." Louis A. Pérez,
author of "Cuba and the United States," holds that Americans eyed Cuba
as a strategic site in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, a market,
supplier, rich investment territory, and cultural outpost. "North
Americans considered Cuba essential to the politico-military security
of the United States," he writes, and "Cubans looked upon the United
States as vital to the socioeconomic well-being of the island." (1)
If Spain was going to lose sovereignty over Cuba, the United States
certainly wanted to prevent another country from taking control. The
U.S. government also wanted to prevent the radical Cuban faction from
gaining control within the country.
"Above all else, Pérez argues, the United States sought to prevent
Cuba's sovereignty from being transferred from Spain to anybody else -
including radical Cubans vowing revolution against propertied
interests. The nineteenth-century goal of the United States, he
argues, was always to control Cuba's sovereignty; when Spain would not
sell the island and could not reform it, the United States intervened
in 1898 to halt a nationalistic revolution or social movement that
threatened U.S. interests." (1)
American Policy Toward Cuba
***************************
While there has been suggestion that the United States became
involved in the Spanish war to allow Cuba to gain independence, many
historians disagree.
It appears that President McKinley tried to avoid entering a war by
offering to purchase Cuba from Spain for three hundred million
dollars. However, the ultimate intention of the offer seemed to
indicate a guaranteed future of U.S. control over Cuba.
The fact that he "refused to recognize the insurgency or the republic
and showed little sympathy for Cuba Libre also indicates that McKinley
did not endorse outright independence. The president, it seems, had
two goals in 1898: to remove Spain from Cuba and to control Cuba in a
manner yet ill-defined. When the Spanish (and the Cubans) balked at a
sale and when diplomacy failed in the face of the belligerents'
rejections of compromise, McKinley opted for war. War became the only
means to oust Spain from Cuba and to control the island." (1)
Possible attitudes of Cubans toward American policy
***************************************************
A. Cubans of high position, wealth and leadership most likely had
mixed feelings about the U.S. policy towards their island.
*******
The "harm" they may have felt concerning U.S. policy would have been
directed at the United State's lack of consideration for their
interests.
The U.S. held a superior attitude toward the involvement of Cuba's
leaders in decisions. Disregard toward those whose interests were most
affected by the war could have only led to frustration and anger.
"Once the war [against Spain] began," John L. Offner reminds us in
his "An Unwanted War" (1992), "McKinley cut the Cubans out of wartime
decisions and peacemaking negotiations..." In 1898 and after, it is
telling how infrequently U.S. officials consulted Cuban leaders about
Cuba's future." (1)
However, the U.S. Policy was also seen as a benefit to Cuba at that
period in history. According to author Louis A Perez, "Cubans looked
upon the United States as vital to the socioeconomic well-being of the
island." (1)
The Cuban sugar trade with the United States was vital to the
continued economic health of the country. Cuba also looked upon the
United States as a "protector" during "its periodic revolts against
Spain. (2)
Therefore, this group of upper class and politically important group
of Cubans may have been more swayed by the benefits of alliance with
the United States, while also resentful that their "voice" went mostly
unheard.
Though Cuba established a republic in 1902, America continued to
retain the right to intervene and quell any revolts that might arise.
The Platt Amendment of 1902 made Cuba a U.S. protectorate, thus
negating any real sovereignty. The amendment to the Cuban constitution
allowed the U.S. to intervene "to protect "life, property, and
individual liberty" in Cuba. U.S. forces intervened in Cuba seven
times over the next 32 years." (4)
========
B. The Cuban Rebels were most likely to feel "harm" from the U.S.
policy toward Cuba. They stood for a free and independent Cuba, and
any intervention and domination from another country would have been
considered undesirable.
*******
"Cuban groups in the United States tried to influence public opinion
and to secure material aid. They wanted American assistance to fulfill
their cry of "Cuba Libre!" but were as suspicious of domination from
the North as from Spain." (2)
True independence was never really attained while the United States
maintained a policy of intervention. The Cuban republic was still
technically under the reigns of the United States.
========
C. The common people, or lower class, probably felt a great "benefit"
from the U.S. policy toward Cuba.
***********
Spain's method of destroying the rebel's ability to fight was to
employ a strategy called "reconcentration", which involved the herding
of the common people, including women, children and the elderly, into
containment camps. The "reconcentrados," as they were called,
"languished in horrible conditions, enduring high mortality, endemic
disease, and despair." (2)
In 1987, William Calhoun was sent to Cuba to talk to islanders and
bring back an eyewitness account of the conditions in the country to
President McKinley.
"I traveled by rail from Havana to Matanzas. The country outside of
the military posts was practically depopulated. Every house had been
burned, banana trees cut down, cane fields swept with fire, and
everything in the shape of food destroyed. It was as fair a landscape
as mortal eye ever looked upon; but I did not see a house, man, woman
or child, a horse, mule, or cow, nor even a dog. I did not see a sign
of life, except an occasional vulture or buzzard sailing through the
air. The country was wrapped in the stillness of death and the silence
of desolation." (2)
Further evidence of the civilian suffering under Spanish rule was
observed by Republican Redfield Proctor of Vermont, during a visit to
Cuba in 1898.
"On March 17, Republican Redfield Proctor of Vermont spoke at length
in the Senate about a recent trip to Cuba. In solemn, dispassionate
almost clinical tones, he recounted the continued deaths from
starvation and disease among civilians, the brutal ineffectiveness of
Spanish rule, and the need for America to intervene to stop the
conflict." (2)
I can only conclude that the freedom from oppression during Spain's
attempt to conquer the Cuban rebels led to a feeling of relief among
the lower class after the U.S. intervened. These people had very
little voice no matter who was in control. Therefore, peaceful living
conditions most likely provided their primary satisfaction. The fact
that the United States helped to build schools and worked to improve
public health in Cuba was undoubtedly beneficial to the working class.
"...teams of doctors, nurses, educators, social workers,
administrators, engineers and assorted experts" came to Cuba, helping
to improve the country with "bridges and canals, civic and hygienic
education, field hospitals and libraries.." (3)
Works Cited:
1. "U.S. Intervention in Cuba, 1898: Interpreting the
Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War," by Thomas G. Paterson. OAH
Magazine of History (Spring 1998)
http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/1898/paterson.pdf
.
2. "Echoes and Lessons from the Spanish-American War." Presented by H.
Wayne Morgan. East Carolina University. (11/1998)
http://www.ecu.edu/history/brewster/bl98.htm
3. "1898: History and Memory," by Federico Romero.
Italian Association for North American Studies.(1998)
http://www.aisna.org/rsajournal10/10romero.html
4. "Overview of U.S. Policy Toward Cuba." The Close Up Foundation
(June 1977)
http://www.closeup.org/cuba.htm#timeline
================================================================================
I have given you my summation of what might be the potential
attitudes of Cubans toward American policy during the time period in
question. These are merely my opinions, however, based on the
historical reviews I have read. You may come to an entirely different
opinion!
However, I hope the information I have provided for you is useful and
gives you some food for thought. Please don't hesitate to ask for
clarification if needed!
umiat-ga
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