Figure 2.1 "The triumph of the American battle ship"
Effects and Evaluation
The effects of the pro-war propaganda attempts were wildly successful; the Spanish-American War was extremely popular. American citizens and politicians alike, nearly all white men, made their desire for war known through public remarks, speeches in the press, and letters to representatives. The tidal wave that finally knocked over McKinley's anti-war stance was the criticism men let loose via their senators. Angered by the fact he hesitated to avenge Americans' deaths, constituents wrote letters complaining about the President's character, declaring him unfit for the presidency.16 Thus, when McKinley called for 125,000 men in April, he had 125,000 volunteers within six weeks, although unfortunately, the logistical mobilization that followed was a three-month-long disaster.17
White women who sympathized with the plight of Cuba were also outraged, especially over the fact that men cowardly refused to fulfill their duties and defend helpless women and children. Many wrote letters to political leaders and donated funds (started by women) to aid Cuba. A women's magazine, the American Home Magazine, attacked President Grover Cleveland for allowing the "butchery of women and children at his very door."18 Women were also quick to help with the war effort, and thousands of women's organizations provided all the financial, material, and medicinal aid they could. Over 320 women's societies participated in the war effort in Massachusetts alone. This patriotic show of support, women activists later declared, was unparalleled in American history.19
Winning the Spanish-American War, however, meant that the concepts the jingoist propaganda had been based on were publicly reinforced. Even though the heavily outnumbered, "cowardly" Spanish held their ground and ensured that the US did not have a smooth path to victory, force, an exclusively masculine trait, had still bought it.20 Thus, as they lacked physical power, women were again pushed out of the political sphere, much to the disappointment of suffragists.21Black men who had volunteered to fight in the war and had also hoped for political rights were too met with disappointment. Although there was some recognition of their military efforts, it was tinted with the racial biases of the time and the country was unable to acknowledge Black men as soldiers. In this way, the concepts of bravery and honor were not only reinforced as masculine traits but exclusively white traits as well.22
The Philippine-American War (1899-1902)
Feeding off the success of the Spanish-American War, imperialist jingoes and their evolving standards of manhood and honor eyed the Philippines as the next frontier. However, this time, a significant number of white politicians joined forces with anti-imperialists, mainly African-Americans, women, labor activists, and Catholics.23 Senator Hoar, one of the most prominent anti-imperialists, lamented that the transformation of America from a shining republic of the Founding Fathers into a "vulgar, commonplace empire" was the inevitable downfall the ambitions of the jingoes would bring.24 As it so happened, imperialist politicians were all younger than opposing politicians. Taking advantage of this, jingoes turned seniority from something that warranted respect into out-of-touch frailty. Presenting the United States as a "vigorous young man" (like themselves), they argued that imperialistic tendencies were necessary for a growing nation, something akin to shaking loose the restrictions of a father.25 Therefore, the elderly anti-imperialists should follow the lead of the imperialists, not the other way around.
Ironically, it was the sake of these "vigorous young men" that destroyed the popularity of war in the Pacific. Using the accepted medical knowledge of the time, anti-imperialists described the Philippines as the "colony of lepers" and "disease-ridden islands" to impress the fear on the public that soldiers who spent too much time there would come back sick, impotent, and broken.26 Even worse, with the American position deteriorating under guerrilla operations of the Filipinos, American soldiers had turned to committing atrocities – and getting away with it.27 When news of this reached the mainland, anti-imperialists emphasized sexual violence in addition to accounts of sexual depravity such as male and female prostitution, raising concerns over purity of blood, mind, and morals. Targeting women with these fears was especially effective, given that women's organizations had been attacking male sexual transgression for decades. This refocused attention on America's welfare and moral security and less on islands of non-whites as even though the Philippines was not granted full independence until 1946, President Roosevelt had declared victory in 1902.28
