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September 27 |
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The Cuban Revolution
and Hemispheric Affairs |
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Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot
Lodge, at this point just beginning a career notable for its outspoken
advocacy of a more aggressive US role in the Western Hemisphere. |
| The debate over imperialism, which we've been looking at
over the last few classes, erupted with fervor by the mid-1890s. In
short order, the United States proclaimed that its "fiat is
law" over the Western Hemisphere and then sent troops to intervene
in the Cuban independence revolt. By the end of the war, the United
States was recognized as the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. |
| The reading for
today's class consists entirely of documents, except for this brief introduction
to the Cuban-Spanish-American War. The documents begin with Secretary of
State Richard Olney's "fiat is law" telegram. We'll then
move on to the remarks of a major player in the foreign policy of the
era, Massachusetts senator Henry Cabot Lodge, on the Cuban revolt. Next
will be two contrasting views of whether the United States should pursue
an imperialist course, one by Massachusetts senator George Hoar, the
other by Indiana senator Albert Beveridge. And finally, the text of the
Platt Amendment, adoption of which brought this era to a close. |
DOCUMENTS:
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