As the nineteenth century drew to a close, the United States reached the end of its own frontiers. The time had come to find new markets for American products and to enter the global picture as a growing power. At the same time, in Cuba the tyrannical rule of the dying Spanish Empire inflicted incredible cruelties on the Cuban people who were struggling to gain their freedom.
In February, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was sent to Havana to protect American citizens caught in the rising tide of violence. On the night of February 15, a mysterious explosion sank the battleship, thus precipitating the Spanish-American War, and for the first time in its history the United States was engaged in a conflict on foreign soil. Expansionist groups in Congress, businessmen and politicians saw in this act an opportunity to broaden our horizons by annexing Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippine Islands.
Memorable events and people sweep through these pages Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders; Admiral George Dewey; Emilio Aguinaldo, the Filipino patriot; newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst who sent an artist to Cuba before the Maine was blown up and told him, "You make the pictures, I'll make the war..." and many others.
The author also re-creates the cruel and ugly aftermath of the Spanish-American War—the forgotten conflict of 1899-1902 in which Filipino insurgents who had fought for years against Spanish rule, now fought to drive out the Americans who had acquired the islands from Spain and from whom they had hoped to gain their independence.
Here is the thought-provoking narrative of the turning point that brought the United States from an isolated nation to an active participant in world affairs.
—from the dust jacket
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