LAD #18: President McKinley's War Message
Public indignation brought pressure upon the President for war. Unable to restrain Congress or the American people, McKinley delivered his message of neutral intervention in April 1898. Congress thereupon voted three resolutions tantamount to a declaration of war for the liberation and independence of Cuba. The intention behind the nation's actions were unselfish, and honest, and had noble reasoning: peace and prosperity. The differences between Spain and the United States had nothing to do with this, and our nation was completely unselfish in this process. The forcible intervention, he stated, was only used as a neutral to stop the war. He explains the grounds for the intervention, naming four key points in his message: (1)the U.S. will fight for the people starving and injured in Cuba, (2)the U.S. will fight for a government in Cuba that will grant the people their natural rights, (3)the right to intervene may be justified by injury in trade or business, and finally, (4)he explains that the present condition of affairs in Cuba are a menace to the people, and it relationships must remain peaceful. He ends on this note: "If this measure attains a successful result, then our aspirations as a Christian, peace-loving people will be realized. If it fails, it will be only another justification for our contemplated action."