The Spanish-American War, Just Or Unjust?

Vocabulary: Just- meaning war must be the last resort if all means have failed,must be declared to correct violated rights, must be legally and openly declared by legal governments; means used in war must be in proportion to their ending goals and the war must not be fought to satisfy national pride or to further economic and territorial gain.

On April 21, 1898 America declared war on Spain. this war is known as the Spanish-American War. The question i will be trying to persuasively answer is "was the Spanish-American war a 'just' or 'unjust' war?" Although this question does not only qualify to be answered about during the war, but as well as before the war, suggesting to America's decision to go to war and after the war also suggesting to what America decided to do.

The Spanish-American war was not just. We, America has made many bad choices in the past and still do, but in 1898 it was cool to be an Imperialist, to dictate weaker countries and gain the most territory. News papers in America were competing to sell the most papers and at the time yellow journalism was running high with juicy topics. The most talked about topic was the U.S.S. Maine.

A ship sent straight from America the beautiful to aid Cuba in their revolution. The Maine, a ship loaded with 260 Anglo-Saxon American men suddenly exploded near the Cuban shore line; a island that was dictated by Spain, a enemy of the U.S. Back on the mainland American news papers caught wind of what was happening in Cuba.

Just as suspected America blamed Spain. Americans were told an exaggerated lie of Spain blowing their ship up. I would have been confused because all Spain did was help and try to befriend us, especially after our loss. God bless America, we work in mysterious ways.

There are many ways to view this war if we are deciding whether its just or not, but first we have to know what triggered the decision to go to war. A conflict between Cuba and Spain, that was not involved with the U.S. in any way, was what started the decision of consideration to get involved with Cuba's rebellion. America believed that Spain's dictatorship over Cuba will ruin their rich trade with Cuba's natural resources, such as sugar and tobacco. America also believed that it was their duty to protect other countries being dictated against their will and to relieve countries of European manpower. America especially wanted Europeans to clear out of 'American' hemisphere. We as a country made up many excuses to go to war with Spain. America was angry at Spain for blowing their ship up, why wouldn't we be? Or was this another excuse to get American citizens upset and begging to go to war, because in reality Spain did not blow us up, we accidentally blew ourselves up. We wanted to be a powerful dictating country.

There were two very different sides of the Spanish-American War in America, the Imperialist and the Anti-Imperialist. Personally I side with the Anti-Imperialist. They believed imperialist were like thieves who directed their hits to those who are weak. They also believed our country has a duty that entitles us to follow certain morals such as liberty and freedom of speech.

How America began the Spanish-American war was some what just, except for the minor detail of the Maine. Although after they won they began to turn their victory unjust. They went back on their main goal which was to help Cuba gain independence, going against what just means. Briefly summarizing my post the Spanish-American war was unjust and I disagree with the whole concept of America's decision during the war.

The Spanish-American War Was Not a "Just" War

Many people have different ideas on what a "just" war is. I believe a just war means the war has to be for the right reasons and it has to be last resort. To me the Spanish American War was not a just war. I don't feel the U.S foreign policy was justified following to war because the U.S used the foreign policy of imperialism when the should have use isolationism. This war was not their war they should have stood out of it.

This war all started when the small island of Cuba wanted independence from Spain. This was a conflict of Cuba and Spain, NOT America. But the United States felt the need to interfere and "help" Cuba. Of course the United States had its own reasons for going in like sugar and the fact that they didn't want Spain in the Norther Hemisphere. See, at the time all or almost all nations were being imperial. Almost as if every man for himself. Every nation wanted to expand their land and spread there cutler; be imperial. I consider my self an anti-imperialist because to me going into other weaker and poor nations just seems wrong. Now, if America weren't so caught up in being imperial they would have never gotten into this war at all. They wouldn't care about getting into Cuba and Spain's conflict to keep Spain out of the Northern Hemisphere or to keep Cuba for themselves.

In the beginning President McKinley didn't even want to go to war! The United States sent a boat called the U.S.S Maine to Cuba to help Cuba get independence from Spain. When the U.S.S Maine exploded the United States quickly accused the Spanish for blowing up the Maine. That's when the media started to play a huge role in this war. The media influenced the U.S public opinion by using yellow journalism to make the American people believe that Spain blew up the Maine. Yellow journalism is a type of reporting that is not always true and uses eye checking writing to sell more newspapers. All the newspapers had written articles on what happened with the U.S.S Maine but those articles were using yellow journalism. An example of how they used yellow journalism is that the newspapers had headlines like "Work of Enemy." And Because at the time all people got their news from newspaper, everyone believed Spain blew up the Maine.


After all this happen with the Maine it gave America more reasons to interfere with Spain and Cuba's conflict, not only for imperialism but now America thinks Spain blew up the Maine. Her Majesty sent a letter to the U.S concerning what happened with the U.S.S Maine and in this letter it stated how Spain had nothing to do with what happened with the Maine and it said "As for the question of who destroyed the Maine, the Spanish government has declared itself ready to submit the issue to the judgment of impartial and disinterested experts." Spain pretty much wanted to solve this problem it now had with America. President McKinley then wrote a letter to congress declaring war on Spain with out taking the problem to judges to figure out whether or not Spain blew up the U.S.S Maine. 78 years later we found out Spain did NOT blow up the U.S.S Maine.

President McKinley was pressured into war. He had a difficult decision to make. He did not want war. He once said "I fought in our Civil War. I saw dead piled up. I do not want to see it again." But he knew many Americans wanted war and if he didn't go to war he would lose Republican support. Also he felt America related to Cuba because when the colonies wanted freedom from England they also rebelled. He also felt bad for Cubans, Cubans were being put into consideration camps by Spain. Cubans were dieing quickly from starvation and deises.

Imperialist believed expanding our nation was a good thing. That even included going into other weaker, poorer nations and taking over. Imperialist supported foreign policy. They agree with the position we took on going in and helping Cuba. America helped free Cuba from the Spanish. But once Cuba was free they went into chaos so America went in and took over. America set up a government in Cuba. Cuba then became U.S territory, today Cuba is not U.S territory anymore. Imperialist believed even though we helped Cuba get free from Spain, its OK that we go in and take over later. See, at the time all nations were trying to expand. All nations wanted more land , more power and they wanted to influence other places to believe what they believe. So for the U.S to gain Cuba would be a big plus.

Anti-imperialist did not support foreign policy. They believed it was wrong to want to be better then everyone else. Places that nations tried to take over liked their ways not other peoples way so why should the be forced to follow ways the don't like. "Now the great reason why saying to someone else 'We know what is good for you better then you know yourself and we are going to make you do it' is false and wrong is that it violates liberty; or to turn the same statement into other words, the reason why liberty, of which we Americans talk so much of, is a good thing is that it means leaving people to live out their own lives in their own way, while we do the same."

After- Once the war ending Cuba was set free along with Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and other small islands. Once Cuba was set free it went into chaos without a government so The United States took control over Cuba and set up a government there. Puerto Rico became a U.S territory; not a state but this island belongs to the U.S.

The Spanish American war shows me how shady thing were back in the 1900's. It shows the ways of imperialism and unfair war. This war shaped the U.S because it was the nations first step on the pathway to becoming a world power.

-Kaitlyn Rivera

Cashing for Fashion

What do we really get when we buy from clothing and shoe name brand companies? We definitely know the price, but is the price we pay worth it? Although it's not only the price, it's the choice we are making when buying these clothes. I mean do we have a choice or are we pressured in to buying the expensive and "in style" clothes by everyday society and Hollywood? Of course we are, think about it. Why else would I have bought that eighty dollar bedazzled, bejeweled? Ed Hardy tattoo style shirt? Oh, now I know why. That shirt was the same one the Jersey Shore guys were wearing. Or I had to buy it because all the kids at school wear Ed Hardy and if I didn't have it they would think I'm pops ( pops meaning poor as they would actually say in my school, yeah i didn't get it either.) That is the mentality of our generation now a days, children think that if you don't have expensive and overpriced shoes or clothes then you are poor, but most people with money don't exactly go flashing it around. I truly don't get how owning a pair of so called cool Nikes can impress kids, there are things more important in the world, like how those shoes were probably made in sweat shops, or even how you got cheated in to paying $250 for the shoes just for the name of the brand. I also don't get how children get so worked up on criticizing other kids on how they dress. If someone showed me their shoes to try and intimidate or impress me they wouldn't be getting very far because, well in the end guess who would get the last laugh, the Nike company and I.

-Mikiko

Big Fat Liar

Nowadays most of the advertising we see and hear on television, the radio, and even on the streets are all about fast food restaurants like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, and Popeye's. And a lot of the time in these commercials they like to say that they use "real" and "fresh" ingredients. Fast food restaurants like to compete with their oh so fattening burgers, saying that they are flame grilled or that they are not frozen when they are thrown on the grill (meaning they are "fresh"). They like to show athletes eating their products and having the narrator say "It's a fresh start to your day", but the truth is that people who eat their foods end up obese or lethargic. Most people can tell they are just big fat liars or exaggerating, but sometimes these commercials with their in shape beautiful people can get to you and change our minds; making us want to believe or even believe them.

These lies are not only being brainwashed into adults, but also to children. Actually it's being mostly directed towards children. These fast food restaurants have happy meals that come with toy characters from the most popular and latest TV shows and movies which make kids want the food more. They have commercials where children are having lots of fun at McDonald's and playing with Ronald McDonald. McDonald's often has playgrounds or TVs in their restaurants to make them seem kid friendly. Their commercials consist of anything from children, family, sports, and popular movies to lure in customers. These companies go far and wide, all over the world to spread the meaning of Super-Sized (a.k.a fat).

So when you eat these foods know when big chain companies are misleading you, but don't think only fast food companies are lying to you because even grocery store products lie to you as well. There was a quote once said by Ray Kroc the founder of the McDonald's corporation, he said "Look after the customer and business will take care of itself." The question is "Do these fast food companies really care for us or is it just propaganda that's sentencing us to an extra-large coffin?"
-Mikiko

A Sequal to The Uglier Truth

Yes, every time you look in to products concerning animals there is always going to be cruelty, but what about us human beings, how are we treated? We are supposed to have rights, but the right of free speech is being denied some because of unsophisticated laws such as the Food Disparagement Laws. In which these laws declare that food companies are not to be publicly criticized. These laws were said to be created to "protect" farmers and food companies, but they might as well be made to protect the money these companies and their owners are receiving.

As consumers we have a right to know about our food, where it comes from, and what's in it. Even if it takes a little criticism of the food to get there and have people listen. We need to speak of our minds otherwise the government, other consumers, and industries won't listen to us. Not that the government or industries are helping out much in the first place.

Sometimes we overlook the fact that some workers and producers (a.k.a farmers for big companies like Tyson Chicken) are being denied just like us, more or less blackmailed as well. They are put in to great debt by the large corporations demands for live stock grown a certain way the corporations chooses, which is definitely not the pretty way. They are not always treated with respect or allowed to show people how the livestock is treated or their contracts will be broken and they will immediately be fired. Producers should have a right to raise livestock the way they want (not cruelly), be treated with respect, and not blackmailed in to staying with the industries.

These companies have a lot of secrets and it just takes a couple of people to speak the truth and a bit more to spread it. Most of all we need to understand these truths and listen.
- Mikiko

Food Research Project: White Roasted Sesame Seeds

I have been doing a research project in my 8th grade humanities class on food products brought in by us students. We were searching for information about the products we have brought in, to be specific how much control companies have over what goes on the nutrition label and how advertising affects what consumers buy. This project has come up very interesting, frustrating, and disappointing.

My research project was white roasted sesame seeds from a company called JFC. I approached this project with an open-ended research that got me no where. Yet with this open-ended research I did have some questions when I started. But before all this began I first started with an examination of the product casing. What caught my eye was the logo, not to mention the Japanese writing on the front. The Japanese writing only said goma which means sesame seeds or at least the part I could read. On average these sesame seeds seemed pretty healthy from the looks of the nutrition label, I mean what is there to hide about plain old seeds?

Being plain old seeds there must be no dirty little secrets on them, but I was going to go deeper in to this investigation. I was going to ask questions; being it's my nature to be stubborn and non accepting. Thinking that by my nature I just might get somewhere. The questions I had were "is there any fertilizers, pesticides, or chemical of any kind used on the sesame seeds?", "who picks them?", and "where are they grown and who grows them?"

I called the JFC head office and their New York Branch, but I didn't catch them on their business hours. I also went on their web site, http://www.jfc.com/, which was no use because it was set up to show other products they distribute, recipes, and contact numbers. But I'm not stopping there, I'm determined to catch them off guard (during their business hours) and answer my questions. So when I get the time to call them, I will add on the answers to this post.

-Mikiko

Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity makes for an early grave. (States ABC News and Health)

Child Obesity is a very scary thing. Why is it so easy to gain weight and so hard to lose it? Many kids are suffering a hard life of being overweight. Usually if a child is overweight someone in their family is facing the same problem. Most children don't understand moderation in food. They don't know when to say stop, I've had enough. This is excessive eating, or more likely know as over eating. People over eat for many reason, stressed, habitual overeating, comfort overeating and even boredom. Excessive eating can lead to many problems like diabetes or becoming overweight.

Its not only over eating that's causing children to be overweight it lack of exercise. Children aren't as active as they used to be. With this new modernize America most kids are always home playing video games or on the computer. Kids are supposed to be getting fresh air and running around with friends.

So do what you can to help prevent your child from being obese? Make sure they have a healthy balanced diet and that they get enough exercise everyday.

-Kaitlyn Rivera