The Saber and Scroll
Hacienda Aurora , 1898-1899 , painted by Francisco Oller . Museo de Arte de Ponce .
The Panic of 1893 economically ravaged the United States . Wounded Knee , Homestead , and tensions between genders and races defined the decade . Diplomatic historian Robert L . Beisner said that the American morale was low enough in the 1890s that the United States needed to “ reaffirm American strength : the United States could thrash some other country in a war or , more subtly , demonstrate its ability to govern ‘ inferior ’ peoples in an empire .” 4 President Theodore Roosevelt , whose life served as a metaphor of masculinity and strength , extended the Monroe Doctrine through the Roosevelt Corollary to make governing a Latin American territory possible with the United States serving as a massive guard with a gun . 5 The United States needed its morale to be boosted after several years of economic calamity . A war and claiming lands were looked at as remedies for this problem .
When the Spanish-American War ended , the territories that the
United States acquired from Spain consisted of Guam , the Philippine islands and Puerto Rico . Because of the United States ’ experience as a colony , Americans were not fond of imperialism . The country did not even consider itself an imperial power after claiming land from Spain . Instead , the United States justified its newfound powerful presence in Latin America as an action that would cause Europe ’ s foothold in the region to dwindle . The language used to justify the acquisition of oversea territories hailed the United States as a helpful and beneficial force that could instill economic and governmental freedom to its neighbors . For the United States , freedom was the answer and colonialism was a relic of the past .
The Organic Act of 1900 in Puerto Rico is an example of the United States justifying its imperial pursuits . Once it was enacted , Puerto Rico gained a representative House of Delegates that ensured there was an American majority in the house and an American-ap-
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