The cause of civilization: The United States experience with nation -building in Cuba, 1898--1909.

Abstract

From 1898 to 1909, the United States sought to create a stable nation-state on the island of Cuba, following the so-called Spanish-American War. While some historians have celebrated this commitment as an example of American selflessness, others have been much less sanguine. These historians, writing primarily after the Cuban Revolution, have argued that this nation-building effort was the beginning of the process by which the United States turned Cuba into a political and economic dependency. American leaders, however, were neither wholly selfless nor completely exploitative in their assumption or their policies. Instead, policymakers acted out of a set of assumptions collectively called the ideology of civilization. According to this ideology, the United States had, along with the British, come closest to achieving the ideal of civilization. For American policymakers, civilization meant public order, respect for foreign investment, extensive public health measures, public education, semi-representative, constitutional self-government, and consistent material progress within a capitalist system. According to American leaders, other races, such as the Cubans, had come much less close to achieving this ideal. This assumption not only rationalized the United States nation-building project, but also the subordinate status assigned to the Cubans. Within the framework of the ideology of civilization, it seemed only reasonable for America to guide Cuba's progress, first through a military occupation and, subsequently, through the Platt Amendment. Such a policy also fit nicely with American interests in the Caribbean. An emerging power, the United States wanted no instability or economic competition in the region. Though the ideology of civilization influenced policymakers, this dissertation does not argue that ideological assumptions compelled American leaders to undertake a nation-building project; rather, policymakers responded to circumstances, allowing their ideology to define acceptable policy options. Ultimately, America's nation-building effort in Cuba failed. Rather than bringing stability and progress, it brought only more instability and more intervention, increasing anti-American sentiment in Cuba. American leaders, however, did not consider Cuban nation-building a failure. From their perspective, the nation-building effort was a success. Only the Cubans, an immature, volatile people, had failed.