Charles Hearst Primary Source

Differing ideas of national identity shaped views of United States overseas expansion in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to a great extent due to the presence of segregation amongst the African American population, acquisition of the Philippines, and encouragement of violence as a result of the Spanish-American War. Imperialism is the policy of taking control over countries around the world for political and economic gain. Since its formation, the United States has imperialized several countries, including the Philippines, Cuba, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Imperialism was incorporated during the Spanish-American War, a four-month battle between the United States and Spain. Then, chaos induced after the explosion of the USS Maine in Cuba.

The Spanish-American War started in April of 1898 and lasted until August of 1898. The United States wanted to provide aid to Cuba to help them gain freedom from Spanish rule. Although this was a short war, it ended in terms more than favorable to the United States

The agreements of this included all territory of Cuba became independent, Guam and Puerto Rico now would belong to the United States and Spain had to transfer sovereignty over the Philippines for a great deal of money to the United States. New gained territory was essential to the United States new dominance on the Western Hemisphere and would lead to future affairs with Europe.

Born in San Francisco, California, on April 29, 1863, William Randolph Hearst used his wealth and privilege to build a massive media empire. A founder of "yellow journalism," he was praised for his success and vilified by his enemies. At one point, he considered running for the U.S. presidency. The Great Depression took a toll on Hearst's company and his influence gradually waned, though his company survived. Hearst died in Beverly Hills, California, in 1951.

A very publicized battle took place in July at San Juan Hill in Cuba. This battle was known for including Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders and made him a national hero. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris that gave the US the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Cuba was recognized as an independent nation but was made to pass the Platt Amendment in their constitution. The Platt Amendment allowed the United States to intervene militarily whenever they saw fit.

Both Spain and the United States were truly impacted by the war because the war happened unexpectedly. The Spanish-American War was not started by one event alone, but with the accumulation many events which caused the war to explode. It started with the event surrounding USS Maine, was a "second class" battleship built up for the U.S. Navy. Spain sent General “Butcher” Weyler to control the situation in Cuba, so America sent the navy battleship called

Around 9 o’clock p.m. on February 4, 1974, 19-year-old Patricia Hearst was kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, thrown into the back of a car, and taken away. Her kidnappers were later revealed to be the Symbionese Liberation Army, who demanded several million dollars worth of food donations in exchange for her release. Hearst claimed to have been raped by SLA member William Wolfe, stating that “she hated him”[1], but in a previous interview, she has called him “the most gentlest, most beautiful man I have ever known.” If Hearst truely was abusively coerced to aid in the robbery, she would not have spoke so highly of him. To further add upon that, she has kept a ‘trinket’ given to her by Wolfe.

Theodore Roosevelt saw that war was approaching and advised Commodore George Dewey to send troops to the Philippines on May 1. The battle of the Philippines was the first battle of the Spanish American War, it took place on May 1. There was not a single ship lost for the U.S., whereas all Spanish ships were destroyed, the U.S. had won their first battle of the Spanish American War. Most of the fighting in Cuba took place in Santiago, there was partial fighting in the water. Roosevelt left his post in the navy to come fight in Cuba.

During the 1890s, journalism that sensationalized Cuban affairs became a powerful force that helped fuel anti-Spanish and pro-war feelings in the United States (“Yellow Journalism”). This type of journalism, called yellow journalism, relied on exaggerating stories in order to lure readers and increase newspaper sales (“Yellow Journalism”). Led by New York World owner Joseph Pulitzer and New York Journal owner William Randolph Hearst, yellow journalism played a significant role in pushing the United States’ decision to declare war on Spain in 1898 (“U.S. Diplomacy”). Prior to the Spanish-American War, Cuba’s struggle for independence was met with American sympathy, as General Valeriano Weyler tried to crush the revolution launched by José

On Dec 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris was signed which put an end to the Spanish-American war. Among the conditions in the treaty was that the Philippines and Puerto Rico to the United States (in the treaty Cuba was granted independence) in return, Spain would receive $20 million dollars from the United States. How the United States handled these situations are subject to much scrutiny and negatively looked upon. Another area of discussion is if the United States abandoned things from the Declaration of Independence and essentially what the country stood for. Under the Treaty of Paris Puerto Rico became an American Provence.

Yellow journalism played its part in making the war happen because the newspaper companies wanted to sell more newspapers so they stretched the truth for example with the headlines (doc c) “Main Blown Up by Spanish”,” Main Sinks do to Spanish Mines” it was these kind of headlines that

the United States used propaganda targeting humanitarian concerns to incite the public to declare war. As Americans were interested in the Cuban Revolution, sensational journalism only raised tensions between the United States and the Spanish monarchy, which would help cause the war. While General Weyler

To start off, publishers did not tell the public what they did not want them to know, and they also persuaded opinions. From an article titled, “Joseph Pulitzer,” it reads, “Yellow journalism on the part of both papers helped inflame public opinion in favor of war against Spain in 1898” (McGuire and Leslie). This is a demonstration of how yellow journalism persuaded the public to all think the same way. By doing this, the publishers hoped they could lead everyone to think the way powerful people thought.

Yellow journalism, or the yellow press, is a type of journalism that presents no legitimate well-researched news and instead uses eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers. Techniques included exaggerations of news events. The real reason why journalists used this type of journalism was because they wanted or needed to sell more newspapers. Pulitzer and Hearst are often proven as the cause of the United States' entry into the Spanish–American War due to sensationalist stories or exaggerations of the terrible conditions in Cuba. The main result of yellow journalism was the Spanish-American war.

This is where the term “yellow journalism” originated, but soon after the Spanish American war started, it gained a totally different meaning. Hearst realized that he could use