LAD #22 McKinley's War Message

McKinley's message addresses the "crisis that has arisen in the relations" between the United States and Spain regarding the warfare that has raged in the neighboring island of Cuba for more than three years. The revolution in Cuba "has subjected the United States to great effort and expended in enforcing its neutrality laws, caused enormous losses to American trade and commerce, caused irritation, annoyance and disturbance among our citizens, and, by the exercise of cruel, barbarous, and uncivilized practices of warfare, shocked the sensibilities and offended the humane sympathies of our people." He is speaking on behalf of the safety, the staggering economy of the American people which has been hurt by the tensions with Cuba. McKinley's goal was armistice and "to bring about animmediate termination of the war" as peacefully as possible. He states the grounds of intervention being "in the cause of humanity and to put an end to the barbarities, bloodshed, starvation, and horrible miseries now existing there", to protect the citizens of Cuba and "to terminate the conditions that deprive them of legal protection", in interest of American commerce. The destruction the USS Maine, no matter how it was sunk, is impressive proof of a state of things in Cuba that is intolerable. For the time being, McKinley, "in the interest of humanity and to aid in preserving the lives of the starving people of the island, saw it necessary to "recommend that distribution of food and supplies be continues, and that an appropriation be made out to the public treasury to supplement the charity of the citizens."