Spanish-American War: Death, Taxes, and Incompetence Incompetent
Generals, Lazy Bureaucrats, and a Confused Secretary of War Are
the Stuff of Most Wars DECEMBER 01, 1998 by BURTON FOLSOM
Remember the Maine!” was the battle cry that led America into
the Spanish-American War in 1898. The mysterious explosion of
the U.S.S. Maine in Havana harbor killed 260 Americans and
triggered hostility toward Spain, the suspected culprit. Spain
was no threat to U.S. interests, but some Americans wanted to
help the Cubans, who were struggling under Spanish rule, and
others had visions of creating an American empire. Exactly one
hundred years ago, on December 10, 1898, the United States
signed the peace treaty ending its short and victorious war with
Spain. What is not widely known is, first, how inept the U.S.
government was in organizing the war, and second, how the tax
code changed as a result of the war. Those changes—higher
taxes—became part of American life ever after. The war was
expensive, and taxpayers were squeezed.