Dare, June 1954 / Inside, August 1955 / TV Life, April 1954

*Quick Note - After becoming increasingly frustrated by image compression and degradation in older .jpegs with my image host, I'm trying a new one for this post as an experiment to see how I like it. I'm looking into the best way to host images. I have over 30,000 images in my account and like the uploader at Tinypic and how the "scrollable images" are big and no frills, but the enormous amount of jpeg artifacting that seems to appear after an image has been on their server for even a short bit drives me crazy*

After the last couple of long-winded posts, I thought I'd take a bit of my Thanksgiving Day respite and post a trio of pocket magazines that I've scanned very recently that McCoy has performed his edit magic on. I'm a little shocked to look back through my posts here on my blog and to find only a single pocket mag, the iconic one-shot, Teen-Age Gangsters from Hillman. Though the lifespan of this variety of magazine was short, say approximately the mid-50s, there were a great number of titles and approaches. Just about any genre of magazine might be found in one iteration or another amongst these mini-mags (even smaller than digests), and I am constantly discovering new titles. In my Teen-Age Gangsters post, I guessed that comic publishers experimented with these magazines when the comic-market imploded following a mainstream attack on comics in the early 50s (if you are unfamiliar, I highly recommend David Hadju's The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America). Indeed, at least two producers of comics, Hillman Publications and Martin Goodman's Magazine Enterprises began to diversify - Hillman also moving into pulp paperbacks and Martin Goodman also moving towards sweat magazines as well as a number of other full-sized magazines in the mid-50s. It's hard to tell from the publisher names given on the indicia pages on many of these magazines exactly which publisher owned them (no doubt intentional in many cases), but I would guess that other names in comics tried their hands as well (Ace? Dell?).

However, other, more-mainstream publishers originated the boom in these little magazines, namely Cowles Magazines, Inc. publisher of Look. Theodore Peterson in his Magazines in the Twentieth Century gives the only information I've ever seen on this type of magazine, calling them "super digests" and with his typical but somewhat endearing tendency to dismiss the riff-raff of the magazine world writes that the pockets "carried the conciseness of the news magazines almost to the point of absurdity, and they borrowed its brightness of style, its preoccupation with personalities. They exploited the appeal of the picture magazines. They packaged their contents in a publication so small it scarcely covered a man's hand. Their fad as a type of magazine of any importance was correspondingly short; it lasted less than a decade." Gardner Cowles, Jr., who thought Americans needed a stashable and concise way to get the news put the most successful of the pocket magazines, Quick, on sale in nine test cities. The first issue used a single sentence to cover most news items, and the longest story consisted of only six sentences. It was an instant hit. Circulation was 200,000 by the seventh issue, 850,000 a year later, and was at 1,300,000 in 1953 when Cowles got rid of the magazine (which is about the time some of its seedier imitators picked up the ball). Advertisers had to make special ads for such a small magazine, and a distinct dearth of advertising was probably part of the appeal even if it did not translate into profits for the publishers. Newsweek attempted to duplicate the circulation success of Quick with People Today but sold it to Hillman only 8 months later. That magazine had a peak circulation of 500,000 which isn't too shabby at all. Still, there must have been a fad aspect in the popularity of these magazines that, matched with their lack of ad revenue and high production costs (which might not have been so bad for some of the outfits that seem to have published a number of these titles at once), spelled a short life span. Noting that many of the titles later on edged into increasingly sleazier content, I have to wonder if the pocket mags didn't earn themselves community disdain. Of course, I readily admit, their tendency towards scandal and rapid-fire change of subject matter is what I find endearing about the pockets. They're great fun and antidote (as so many magazines of the day are) to Norman Rockwell type preconceptions of life in the decorous and demure 50s.

Admittedly, I developed this preconception on sick days home from school in front of the TV, watching 50s sitcoms in syndication. I might very well be of the last generation with high exposure to Leave it to Beaver, My Three Sons, The Andy Griffith Show, etc., as I came of age without cable. Three channels along with the local UHF stations are what we had to choose from before cable, and daytime fare on sick days was limited to soaps, game shows, and reruns. Really, some of those old shows seem pretty great to me now (and probably more subversive than I realized at the time). How completely different TV watching is today with 200+ cable stations and TVs and computer screens all over the average house from the way it was when there was just a few channels and a single TV in the living room. Whether TV programming deserves to rate highly as a shared cultural experience or no, Americans used to spend much more of their time watching the same programs. Which I suppose gives me a segue to one of tonight's mags, TV Life. I'll try and not interject too much more here and just get up some samples and maybe a full article here or there. They are so much fun and well worth a download. McCoy's two page edit style is a great presentation, so thanks to him for his work.

TV Life v01n06 (1954-04.Crest)(D&M)

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Get the full hi-res scan here.

Rosemary Clooney is the cover girl for the issue.

TV Life reminds me a lot of TV People, and as you might expect considering the popularity and novelty of the medium, the public was very interested in TV personalities at the time. Some of those personalities faded quickly out of the limelight and others hold a special place in the hearts of Americans even all these years later.

Contents. Ricky and Lucy eating watermelon.

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The article on Dorothy Dandridge which focuses on her racy lyrics. This same year, she would become the first black woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for best actress for Carmen Jones.


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Rosemary Clooney

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Sid Caesar

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Jack Webb

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Lucy and Desi's latest movie

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Inside v01n08 (1955-08.Dodshaw)(D&M). Mario Lanza on the cover, lip-synching scandal pre-Milli Vanilli.

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Get the full hi-res scan here.

Venturing into less-wholesome material here, Inside was a mini-Confidential. Publisher Dodshaw had a number of other entertainment-themed pocket mags including Fame, Pose!, Pulse, Star, and maybe others.

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Leno-Conan is far from the first lTV host feud. Godfrey vs. Sullivan.

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Concerns regarding Tony Anastasia's control of the NY waterfront, key in cold war operations.

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Elia Kazan, unAmerican? I've got a copy of Baby Doll I keep meaning to watch.

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Cold medicine = drug-crazed teens?! Fear of juvenile delinquents features prominently in the pocket mags. A generation "pampered" according to their parents' standards. A generation that hadn't been forged in unity by WWII. And they listen to that devil music!!! Robotrippin? Speed? What's this syringe got to do with it?! o.O

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This lot looks like trouble.

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Even Bing's boy is up to no good!

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Lastly, Dare v01n14 (1954-06.Fiction)(D&M), Sex and the atom bomb, America's got the big one, baby. Is this hysteria, or am I just getting turned on - I just can't tell.


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Get the full hi-res scan here.

Dare is one of my favorites, a companion to He, always pushing the crazy up to 11. Dangers are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

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C-Bomb, because, you know, the A-Bomb isn't scary enough.

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And if the nukes don't get you, you'll grow old enough that they replace your parts with animal organs.

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More J.D.s, violence in the streets!!!!!!! Whatsamatta with kids these days...

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Love the girls' hairdos.

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Dare doesn't shrink from showing graphic violence. A cop killer gets his.

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Remember, crime is all around you. Pickpockets! I've always marveled at descriptions of the deftness of old-time pickpockets. The watch bit is too much. No way do I believe that somebody could snag the watch. The newspaper bit reminds me of the excellent Sam Fuller/Richard Widmark flick Pickup on South Street. Don't be a mark for dips!

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And crazy people. They're everywhere. You're neighbor might be an axe murderer. Just beneath the surface - bloody fucking murder, man.

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Even the nice looking man in a bow tie might just slit your throat.

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Next issue, your neighbor is a red spy. It's a dangerous world out there. Learn Karate now.

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You can find many more pocket magazines in here. I try and keep that folder updated whenever I come across a new scan. Thanks to everyone that scans them, especially McCoy who did most of the scans in that folder.

Next time - ze women of La Vie Parisienne..

Collier's Illustrated Weekly May 10, 1902/Philippine-American War

A political cartoon regarding the Philippines from the ever-brilliant Winsor McCay.

Alright, I've done my 60 minutes of cardio at the Y and eaten a delicious dinner my wife prepared with soba noodles, chicken, endamame beans, shredded carrots and some sort of orange and lemongrass vinaigrette and feel refreshed, so I'll hop back on the keyboard here and finish my train of thought.

While most of the attention and recollection of the war goes to our exploits in Cuba, the protracted struggle and the real lesson in empire was in the Philippines. While the American media focused on Cuba, American leaders were ready to fight in the Pacific when the war broke out, and I'm fairly sure that this was a large, underlying motivation in forcing Spain's hand. While there was the Teller Amendment for Cuba, no such promises were made for the Spanish holdings in the Pacific. America saw the European powers scrambling for land and influence in the East and could be left out without a port closer to the action than Hawaii.

The Filipinos were very close to having run the Spanish out by the time America arrived on the scene. The revolution began in 1896 when revolutionaries including the popular Emilio Aguinaldo began to fight the Spanish, scoring early victories. By August of 1897, the fighting looked to be going nowhere and armistice negotiations were opened between the governor-general and Aguinaldo. By December of that year, an agreement was struck where Aguinaldo was paid to leave the country, retreating to Hong Kong and asking his countrymen to lay down their arms. In April of the next year, just four months later - and the details are murky on this - Admiral Dewey communicated with Aguinaldo via American Consuls in Hong Kong that if he would take up arms once again that the U.S. would recognize Philippine independence with Spain overthrown. The U.S. consuls and Dewey would later repudiate that this was the case. On May 1st, Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in a matter of hours, similar to how the fleet in Cuba went down quickly. Dewey arranged for the transport of Aguinaldo back to the Philippines, and, by June, rebel forces had captured the entire territory with the exception of the walled fortress in Intramuros within Manila and turned over 15,000 Spanish prisoners to the United States. On June 12, Aguinaldo proclaimed Philippine independence. The friendship between the Filipinos and America was greatly injured, though, when the Spanish made a deal (not knowing that the day previous on the other side of the world Spain and America had agreed to cease hostilities) to allow the Americans to take Manila in a mock battle and saving face from being defeated by islanders by specifically disallowing the guerrillas from entering the vanquished city. Wiki sez:

On August 13, with American commanders unaware that a peace protocol had been signed between Spain and the United States on the previous day, American forces captured the city of Manila from the Spanish. Governor-General Fermin Jaudenes had made a secret agreement with Dewey and General Wesley Merritt. Jaudenes specifically requested to surrender only to the Americans, not to the Filipino rebels. To save face, he proposed a mock battle with the Americans preceding the Spanish surrender; the Filipinos would not be allowed to enter the city. Dewey and Merritt agreed to this, and no one else in either camp knew about the agreement. On the eve of the mock battle, General Thomas M. Anderson telegraphed Aguinaldo, “Do not let your troops enter Manila without the permission of the American commander. On this side of the Pasig River you will be under fire”.

At the beginning of the war between Spain and America, Americans and Filipinos had been allies against Spain in all but name; now Spanish and Americans were in a partnership that excluded the Filipino insurgents. Fighting between American and Filipino troops almost broke out as the former moved in to dislodge the latter from strategic positions around Manila on the eve of the attack. Aguinaldo had been told bluntly by the Americans that his army could not participate and would be fired upon if it crossed into the city. The insurgents were infuriated at being denied triumphant entry into their own capital, but Aguinaldo bided his time. Relations continued to deteriorate, however, as it became clear to Filipinos that the Americans were in the islands to stay.

On December 18th, 1899, Spain agreed to the Treaty of Paris wherein Spain surrendered Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and would be paid $20 Million for the Philippines. Many considered taking only a single port in the Philippines but McKinley feared that allowing the Spanish to retain control was unwise, even if they did not keep it, they might sell it to other European powers. On December 21st, McKinley issued to the Filipinos a Proclamation of Benevolent Assimilation (what nation could resist such a thing? LOL) that would be published in January in which America assured our "little brown brothers" that we had only their best interests at heart. Needless to say, having just cast of the yoke of one imperial power, the Filipinos were not eager to take on another. Aguinaldo rapidly issued a counter-proclamation, "My government cannot remain indifferent in view of such a violent and aggressive seizure of a portion of its territory by a nation which arrogated to itself the title of champion of oppressed nations. Thus it is that my government is disposed to open hostilities if the American troops attempt to take forcible possession of the Visayan islands. I denounce these acts before the world, in order that the conscience of mankind may pronounce its infallible verdict as to who are true oppressors of nations and the tormentors of mankind." Tensions rose.

It must be fairly noted here that ratification of the Treaty of Paris by the Senate was hotly contested. The newly-formed Anti-Imperialist league with champions like Mark Twain and Henry James bitterly opposed annexation. Senator George Frisbie Hoar said, "This Treaty will make us a vulgar, commonplace empire, controlling subject races and vassal states, in which one class must forever rule and other classes must forever obey." Andrew Carnegie was prepared to write the U.S. Treasury a check for $20 Million dollars to forget about the whole thing. Indeed, on February 4th, 1899, the treaty was two votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to pass. But, that evening, the pot boiled over. American sentries encountered rogue rebel forces, and shots were fired. Though Aguinaldo looked for a cease-fire and to explain that the rebels had acted against orders, The Battle of Manila ensued on February 5th. On February 6th, the Treaty of Paris passed the Senate by only one vote. Two Senators had changed their vote in order to "support the troops" because fighting had begun.

- - - Erp..I'm going to have to pick this back up in the morning - It's time to watch The Walking Dead with the mrs. on my DVR. Brainssssss. I'm completely addicted to that show. Sigh, I never get as far with the typing as I hope to, c'est la vie, but I'll get back to it after I get the kids to school in the morning. - - -

----Well, rather, it's Monday evening, and here I go again. The best laid plans of me and mine or summat.---

So, fighting begins in earnest with the Battle of Manila. The Americans sweep through the town along a 16 mile front shocking the rebels in their fervor. The Filipinos suffered ten times the casualties as the U.S. , and, after some continued skirmishing on the outskirts, the rebels would leave Manila in disappointment that there was no popular uprising and surprised that the Americans did not retreat at night like the Spanish had. The attitude of the commanding officer for the U.S., General Elwell Stephen Otis was that, "Fighting having begun, must go on to the bitter end." A First Philippine Commission led by Jacob Schurman had been appointed to survey the Philippines and determine how to best handle our new acquisition in January, before the fighting erupted, but by the time the members arrived on the islands in March, military leadership viewed them as a hindrance to the war effort (Otis was on the commission and also Military Governor and boycotted meetings of the commission as annoyances). The New York Times wrote of this "insane attack of these people upon their liberators. It is not likely that Aguinaldo himself will exhibit much staying power, after one or two collisions the insurgent army will break up." Otis himself, even in the face of escalating conflict, quickly declared that the insurgency had been broken and that further attacks were being conducted by "isolated bands of outlaws." If all this doesn't sound awfully familiar to the present American public, you haven't been paying attention, because this is freakishly similar to what happened and is happening in Iraq to me with the American public's indignation that the Iraqis might not want us there or with Rumsfeld's statements on the staying power of the insurgency. But I interject. The First Philippine Commission recommended the establishment of a duly elected civilian bicameral legislature, free schools, improvement of infrastructure and other modernization of the islands. The U.S. found itself dealing with different groups from different parts of the islands with varying attitudes towards the Americans, a fractured populace. McKinley wanted peace through "kindness and conciliation" but in the first two months of the war America suffered 500 casualties, and by August of 1899 Otis asked McKinley to quadruple the number of troops on the ground. In this madness, the First Philippine Commission concluded that "the United States cannot withdraw. ... We are there and duty binds us to remain. The Filipinos are wholly unprepared for independence ... there being no Philippine nation, but only a collection of different peoples." The official report states:

Should our power by any fatality be withdrawn, the commission believe that the government of the Philippines would speedily lapse into anarchy, which would excuse, if it did not necessitate, the intervention of other powers and the eventual division of the islands among them. Only through American occupation, therefore, is the idea of a free, self-governing, and united Philippine commonwealth at all conceivable. And the indispensable need from the Filipino point of view of maintaining American sovereignty over the archipelago is recognized by all intelligent Filipinos and even by those insurgents who desire an American protectorate. The latter, it is true, would take the revenues and leave us the responsibilities. Nevertheless, they recognize the indubitable fact that the Filipinos cannot stand alone. Thus the welfare of the Filipinos coincides with the dictates of national honour in forbidding our abandonment of the archipelago. We cannot from any point of view escape the responsibilities of government which our sovereignty entails; and the commission is strongly persuaded that the performance of our national duty will prove the greatest blessing to the peoples of the Philippine Islands.

The conquered are incapable of practicing democracy on their own and must be helped. Our little brown brothers would only fall prey to other world and regional powers if we allowed them self-determination. We are duty-bound to correct the situation that we find ourselves in. Ugh. And if all of this echoes what's happened in Iraq, what follows is certain to echo the American experience in Vietnam.

In order to inflict losses on the Americans in the hopes that McKinley would lose the 1900 election (which he did not lose - the economy was doing very well, and he won in a comfortable victory against anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan), Aguinaldo moved further away from conventional warfare and to guerrilla tactics. The 80-100,000 rebels remained in the field, wore civilian clothes, and could strike quickly and then blend into civilian populations. At first, it seemed that the hit and run raids and long-term outlook of the rebels might lead to a stalemate and force withdrawal. America responded to these tactics with a "total-war" doctrine. Civilians were put into "reconcentrados," concentration camps surrounded by dead zones (the exact same tactic used by the Spanish in Cuba that so incensed the American public!@), and any food outside of these camps would be destroyed to deny succor to the rebels. American soldiers took to calling the Filipinos "Indians," and many came to scoff at the idea that these people were their "brothers." And to be fair, war is war, and atrocities were certainly committed on both sides. There were cases where captured Americans were crucified upside down and their stomachs neatly cut so their entrails would hang in their faces. The errant U.S. soldier might be buried up to his neck near an anthill and his mouth stuffed with sugar. In the Samar province, a sneak attack caught 50 Americans at rest who were all mutilated and cut to pieces by machete. In response, General Jacob Hurd Smith ordered his men to kill everyone over ten years old. The burning out of entire villages was commonplace. A New York soldier wrote, "The town of Titatia [was surrendered to us a few days ago, and two companies occupy the same. Last night one of our boys was found shot and his stomach cut open. Immediately orders were received from General Wheaton to burn the town and kill every native in sight; which was done to a finish. About 1,000 men, women and children were reported killed. I am probably growing hard-hearted, for I am in my glory when I can sight my gun on some dark skin and pull the trigger." Letters that went to the press such as this were countered by Otis going to commanding officers and forcing soldiers to retract statements. Freedom of the press was yet another victim of these battles. Total casualties on the islands are politicized and hard gauge (as in Iraq), but estimates of population loss goes from 200,000 to well above 1,000,000 during the span of the war.

Though there were bursts of violence that went on for years, the war did wind down when Aquinaldo was captured in 1901 and the Second Philippine Commission established local governments. Some fighting did continue, though, even after the official end of the war in the Summer of 1902 when Roosevelt (who became President following McKinley's assassination by an unstable anarchist) pardoned all Filipinos who had fought against the U.S. Various groups would fight against the U.S. occupation until 1913. In 1916, the Jones Act passed by the U.S Congress promised eventual independence. The Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934 made this more concrete by promising independence after 10 years. Of course, the war intervened, and many Filipinos fought bravely to expel the Japanese just as they had fought originally to expel the Americans, and many Filipinos were executed by the Japanese government for spying for American and providing comfort to our prisoners of war. From a speculation standpoint, I have to wonder if our bases in the Philippines as continuation of this imperial experiment led to the deaths and suffering of so many American soldiers. Stuck on an island so far from support, our soldiers had no chance when the Japanese took over the islands. Would what these near 80,000 soldiers faced in the Bataan Death March had been avoided if America had just ceded the islands back to their inhabitants after perhaps keeping only a port or two? At what point do foreign outposts we hold for strategic purposes become liabilities in drawing us into regional conflicts or indefensible in global war? Maybe I come off as a small-minded isolationist in these last couple of posts, but, damn, I can't help myself...

But anyways on to the magazine scan to accompany my ramblings, an issue of Collier's from May 10, 1902. I'll blog some other time on the history of the magazine, but tonight I'm just going to put up the article by William Taft, who headed the Second Philippine Commission, a commission that actually had power unlike the first and went about improving the island and incorporating former insurgents into the government to try and get the Filipinos up to speed in Democracy. I really enjoy these turn-of-the-century Collier's. They are over-sized slicks on about 32 pages, well-printed, and feature the premiere authors, illustrators, and statesmen of the day. I'll put up the Taft article first but then I'll go ahead and put some other snippets from the mag up as well partly to maybe tie into some other ideas I've mentioned about the time period but also just to show how neat-o the magazine is. The scan is over 3 and a half years old. It'd look nicer if I were to re-edit it today, but with boxes and boxes of magazines to scan, there's no way I'm going to worry about do-overs any time soon.

The Western issue!
Collier's Illustrated Weekly v29n06 (1902-05-10.Collier's)(Darwination-DPP)
Cover by Frederick Coffay Yohn

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Get the full hi-res scan here.

It is the Western issue, and Collier's calls the Philippines "Our Very Farthest West." Preceding the Taft article is a pictorial of the Moro tribes, one of the groups that would fight against the U.S. for the longest.

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I like how the article begins with a picture of a couple of rebels "not yet pacified". The language is creepier than anything. Taft would next become Secretary of War in 1904, a role in which he could continue his involvement in the Philippines, and then serve as President for a single term following the 1908 election. His time in the Philippines made him popular with the American public. Whether it readied him for the position of U.S. President is another question.

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Note also the pictures on the bottom of the page on The West - Present and Passing

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Cool photographs of San Francisco and Honolulu

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Fellow Kansan William Allen White (the Journalism school at my Alma Mater, KU, is named after him) on how far The West has come and how it will drive growth in times to come. I love all the spot illustrations in this issue, they really add a lot of character.

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De Chillun in the West by Frank L. Stanton. This is supposedly black dialect (popular in songs of the day), but it sure doesn't sound like it to me. He did the lyrics for "Mighty 'Lak a Rose" which I know from Coleman Hawkins' At Ease album, one of my favorites that I've just about worn out in my record collection.

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Among other bits from the magazine I didn't put up - an ad for stock offering in the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Co. - get in on the ground floor, more on empire - England in India and Ireland, foods effect on beauty, the latest designs in Spring hosiery and footwear, a pictorial on Idaho gold miners, the Long Island Automobile Club's One Hundred Mile Endurance Run, and fiction in "The Western Boom Town" by E. Hough and part of "Ranson's Folly" by Richard Harding Davis - Hearst's prize reporter during the Cuba Conflict, the story is illustrated by Frederic Remington who also supplies the centerfold which I'll close with (the entire story is available at Project Gutenberg here btw). Enjoy the issue! Soon - Stolen Sweets and La Vie Parisienne. Next, a quick post of three varied pocket mags.


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Illustrated War News, July 1898 / The Spanish-American War

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Illustrated War News v01n03 (1898-07.Tousey) (M&D).cbr
Get the full hi-res scan here

I'd meant to get this Illustrated War News posted last weekend, but life (or perhaps football) intervened, and today I've decided to join it with an issue of Collier's in an examination of a couple of artifacts from the Spanish-American War which is largely a glanced over period in American History yet a very valuable experience regarding the lessons of foreign intervention, lessons which America seems to need to learn over and over, as many of our trials Cuba and the Philippines are being reiterated in the Middle East today.

The American intervention in Cuba and concurrent war against Spain is often marked as America's emergence onto the world stage or as the beginning of American efforts at empire or colonialism, concepts many at the time found to rub against the grain of a country that began as rebellious colony itself. Marking too great of a line in the sand here might be a bad idea, as our method of settling the frontier might be regarded as a colonial system itself. Sending out settlers into the foreign wilds of America to form outposts with strong ties of feeling and commerce that would later be fully annexed into the country proper and which were protected by the American military certainly seems like a colonial system to me, but I suppose you could split hairs on this. And certainly America had defended its interests on the world stage before and had many confrontations on the American continent with the governments of Central and South America and with the European powers that had entanglements on this side of the globe (the Mexican-American War stands out as the largest example).

Here, I'll give an unabashed plug for my Kansas cousin's new book where much of this History is discussed, The Monroe Doctrine: Empire and Nation in Nineteenth-Century America, a concise and even-handed examination of the competing interpretations and uses of the Monroe Doctrine in the 19th century.


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I'm awfully proud of my little cousin's academic exploits and success as a professor at Oxford (though I fear what that his children will talk funny and prefer tea to coffee), and I learned much from his latest book about politics in the 19th Century both foreign and domestic. It's plainly written and appeals to any with an interest in America's evolving place on the world stage and perhaps a path not taken in American foreign policy. The Spanish-American War and the issuance of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine (which many might argue was in opposition to the original doctrine and rights of self-determination in the Americas) acts as the bookend to Jay's discussion, as America's appropriation of Spanish holdings meant a new level of American involvement far from its own shores. You can get the book and see some glowing reviews at Amazon here, or I recall that Jay mentioned it was available as book of the month through some History book clubs, so check it out.

I had some great History teachers in High School, but I remember very little regarding The Spanish-American War. In fact, all I really remember is the term "Yellow Journalism" and the murky facts surrounding the sinking of the Maine. Lately, I've learned more about the conflict, and it is indeed a fascinating History with many reverberations.

America's war with Spain to many scholars seems almost inevitable for two reasons. Firstly, America of the 1890s was in a sense bursting at the seams. In my recent post on Argosy and the birth of the pulp, I gave a number of statistics showing how the economy of America was rapidly expanding with an emphasis on developing infrastructure and new markets. Historian Frederick Jackson Turner's oft-cited Frontier Thesis caused a stir in that it points out that, per the census of 1890, there was no longer an American Frontier, a concept he argued is central to the American character. Although, we would (and do) perpetuate the idea of the wild west, in fact our population was so well distributed that a frontier had ceased to exist. Panicked that America had expanded as far as it might at home, America began to look elsewhere for markets in which to expand, particularly to the East. There was a rush on to exploit China and Japan and all points in the East, and America did not even have a base to replenish coal supplies for its Navy, a key instrument America would use for opening closed markets in the East. I do not think it is cynical to say that this was one reason why America was happy to fight Spain. Spain's holdings in the Philippines and Guam suited this need nicely, and I suspect this is one reason why America would stay in the Philippines for so long despite the hardships (more on that later). Theodore Roosevelt, who would play such a large part in the war, had reviewed Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan's The Influence of Sea Power Upon History for The Atlantic Monthly in 1890 and came to believe a strong Navy is key to realizing world power. You can read his review here. As an aside -Roosevelt was very active and made much of his living and earned much of his popularity from writing for the magazines (I'll put up my scan of his "The Home Ranch" with Frederic Remington illustrations one of these days from The Century in 1888). In his role as Assistant Secretary of the Navy to John D. Long, Roosevelt went about modernizing our Naval infrastructure, and, indeed, it was Roosevelt working while Long was on Summer vacation that had readied Admiral Dewey to attack the Spanish fleet in The Philippines if war were to break out in Cuba.

In fact, it was U.S. entanglements in Cuba that helped expose this need for modernization of the Navy. America had long had its eyes on Cuba. The island being so close to Florida, this is only natural, and there were many times where "annexation" of Cuba was considered going all the way back to Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps the most notable argument for the taking Cuba was the 1954 Ostend Manifesto a document arguing that America should offer to buy Cuba from Spain and take it by force if refused. Southern slave holders believed that Cuba would naturally come into the U.S. as a slave territory or that Cuban independence might mean the abolition of slavery on the island and the creation of another island like Haiti, always a Southern bugaboo, ruled by others than the white man where slaves might escape to or gather forces for a revolt. The Ostend Manifesto angered northerners, and arguments for Cuban annexation or independence were often formed due to shifting positions on both sides on how a free or American Cuba would affect the slavery question. Maybe the Cubans thought that after the Civil War America might more readily lend aid to rebels and independence with the slavery issue out of the way. 1868 marked the beginning of the Ten Year's War, Cuba's first war for liberation from Spain. And America did almost go to war with Spain at this time. Joseph Fry, former officer in both the Federal and Confederate navies, commanded the Virginius, manned by a mix crew of Americans and Britons and owned by Cuban revolutionaries, in running supplies through Spanish blockades to rebels. In 1973, the Spanish captured the Virginius and quickly courts-martialed and executed Frye and over 50 passenger and crew members. On the brink of war, Spain surrendered the Virginius back to the Americans, who had decided that the ship was not eligible to be flying the stars and stripes being Cuban owned, and Spain agreed to pay Americans damages for our slain citizens. During the tensions, a Spanish ironclad was at rest in NY Harbor, and America realized that the U.S. Navy had no ship capable of sinking it. The Navy ordered up five modern vessels, all of which were used in the Spanish-American War.

Beyond America's desire for new markets, the war in Cuba was fueled by the American press. In 1896, William Randolph Hearst, 33 years old and son of a successful CA goldminer, bought The New York Journal. Hearst, who would shape the face of the American media for decades to come, saw the atrocities being perpetrated by the Spanish against the Cuban population as a way to sell papers. It is probably unfair to simplify it to only that, as Hearst seemed to have a genuine concern for the plight of the Cubans and an actual desire for America to step in. The Spanish, who had for decades failed to completely "pacify" Cuba, sent in Valeraino Weyler, called by the U.S. press "the Butcher," as a strong man to get the job done. Tools he used included public executions, mass exile, and finally the use of what can only be called concentration camps. 300,000 Cubans were moved into camps with terrible conditions and farms outside of the camp areas were burned as any outside of camp areas were summarily killed to put an end to the rebels guerrilla tactics. Up to a third of the islands population died during the period of rebellion. It's understandable, then, that Hearst and others sensationalized the plight of the Cubans. In fact, the papers of the day sensationalized everything. Hysterics, unnamed sources, ginormous headlines, etc. were used in the escalating fight for a growing readership. With the war, there was an issue that united a broad spectrum of Americans. The younger generation had not seen the horrors of the Civil War and were anxious to fight. Roosevelt supposedly wrote (though I'm not sure where) that, ""I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one." When the fighting did break out, almost one million Americans volunteered. Old Confederate veterans were appointed leadership positions alongside the Federals they fought against.

Though there was a united fervor for the war, it must be noted that the war also had opponents. President McKinley, who had been at Antietam and knew first hand the realities of conflict, was very hesitant to commit. American business interests as well favored stability in Cuba as much as anything. The sugar industry was very profitable there. It was Spain's prized possession, and America had many interests in stopping the fighting. In fact, America had pressured Spain to make peace by threatening to allow U.S. firms to rearm the guerrillas, and Spain transferred suposed autonomy to Cuba on January 1, 1998. Eleven days later, riots were sparked by Spanish troops in Havana, and the U.S. sent in the USS Maine to ensure the safety of American interests. At the same time the Maine shipped, the rest of the Navy was made ready to attack on all fronts if war were to break out. The Spanish were indignant about being given short notice of the arrival of the Maine. On February 15th, the spark that started the war was ignited when the Maine exploded in Havana Harbor. The cause of the explosion is unknown. At the time, the likely suspect was a Spanish mine. Much later, investigations pointed to an internal explosion in the coal room. Computer modeling is inconclusive. Conspiracy theorists point to it as a possible false flag operation. Whatever the cause, 266 American sailors died, and many who had opposed the war ceased their opposition. By mid-April, McKinley asked Congress for the authority to send troops to make peace in Cuba. Added to the resolution by Senator Henry Teller was the Teller Amendment, passed 42-35, disclaiming any intention to annex Cuba. The Teller amendment was later weakened by the Platt Amendment which allowed the U.S. the right to intervene militarily and granted us lease of Guantanamo Bay. Who knows when we'll let that go.

The war, in Cuba at least, proceeded fairly smoothly. At sea, America's modern navy made short work of the Spanish ships that were operating with inferior coal. On land, Americans employed superior numbers and brash tactics to defeat a Spanish force that fought well with modern rifles. In the end, disease was the biggest threat that faced the Americans, and we sped up the withdrawal of the bulk of our troops because of the hazards of the tropical climate. I will go ahead and today's first scan tell the tale, a newspaper from a man most known for his dime novels today, Frank Tousey. Tousey sells this issue as giving the readers what they want, more pictures. Pictures tell the tale, he writes, far better than any correspondent. If the last paper I presented, The Days' Doings shows the move towards engravings, today's first issue shows the move towards the use of photographs. The paper is 16 pages long with a colored poster insert. I'm going to go ahead and post the whole thing up here, but, as I so constantly harp, remember - the images in the scan are superior to what you get filtered through the image hosting service. And before I forget - big thanks to my main man McCoy for sending me the raws for this issue from his collection for me to edit. Page 1 is at the top of the post as the cover, the rest follow...


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The philosophy of the paper is given in the bottom right hand corner.

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I don't know exactly what type of gun this is/ I'd say it's a Gatling but I'm unsure how useful that would be mounted on a deck like this. The Gatling gun was key in finally winning The Battle of San Juan Hill, the battle which forever cemented Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders as American icons.

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New York volunteers, Michigan volunteers, in camp.

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Battleship Texas, Battleship Indiana

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Cruiser New Orleans, Cruiser Yankee

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The centerfold, artist's (Hoppe?) depiction of Rough Riders at Santiago. Many great American artists depicted the war including Frederic Remington and Howard Chandler Christy.

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Commander Cole and sailors of Cruiser Topeka

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Foldout poster in color of the Bombardment of Santiago. The artist (W. Schattner?) did a series of color paintings of the war, some of which I think you can see digitally at the LOC (no name listed, though). I swear I've seen a printed collection of paintings by the artist from the war, but I'm unable to track down any particulars. I left this at a whopping 8000 pixel width in the scan since it is four pages wide, so you could probably print up a fairly nice sized image without losing quality (though I'm not terribly fond of the thing myself).

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Marines on Cruiser Topeka, swabbing the guns on Monitor Nahant.

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Two pages for the Hospital Ship Solace. Before hostilities, I take it.

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These two pages have generated the most commentary when I've shared this scan previously. John P. Holland and the Holland Submarine Torpedo Boat.

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Again by Schattner, the sinking of the Collier Merrimac by Lieutenant Hobson. The idea was to scuttle the hobbled ship in a fashion that would block the channel. See here for details.

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Next time, hopefully tonight, I'll continue a discussion of the Spanish-American War and turn to the action and aftermath in the Philippines - where the war did not go so smoothly - and present an issue of Collier's. If I've glossed over the after-effects of the Spanish-American War in Cuba in saying it went "smoothly," I'd better also point out American involvement did not end with the war. Under the Platt Amendment, Cuba could not sell land to any other country than the U.S., could take on no foreign debt that could not be met by guaranteed revenues, solidified trade agreements whereby the U.S. would support Cuban sugar and U.S. goods would be favored in the market, and stated the U.S could intervene in Cuban affairs when it deemed fit. U.S. troops returned as early as 1906. The Platt Amendment remained in place until F.D.R.'s good neighbor policy removed it in 1934, though the lease of Guantanamo Bay was solidified. Cubans did appreciate America's help in the revolution but resented a "big brother" relationship. By the time of Batista, America and American business and crime interests were seen as co-conspirators in supporting a corrupt regime. How would Cuba be different today if America had not assisted in its liberation? I can't really hazard an answer to this question to be honest. Cuba had struggled against the Spanish for so long and had just barely been granted some autonomy right as the war broke out. Could Cuba have eventually cast Spain out without our help? Were we destined to intervene in Cuba no matter what? If human beings have the right of self-determination, do they also have they also have a corresponding responsibility? Is self-determination really possible when foreign powers are constantly meddling in a country's affairs? These are tough questions with no easy solutions, and over 110 years later, America does not seem very much closer to the answers. But more of this next post on the Philippines when America quickly learns that empire ain't all it's cracked up to be.