Power and progress: Debating American national identity during the Spanish-American War

This dissertation not only demonstrates that the norms constitutive of American national identity were important in shaping the goals of U.S. foreign policy surrounding the Spanish-American War, but it also explains the nature and sources of those norms. American nationalism in 1898 was characterized by a commitment to the ideals of "power" and "progress," and it was comprised of beliefs derived from Social Darwinism, liberal Protestantism, an ideology of racial hierarchy, and a nationalist construction of liberal democracy. This complex rubric of values structured Americans' interpretations of their international circumstances and legitimated to them the courses of action---engagement with Spain in war and colonial expansionism---that they ultimately took. Americans were also motivated in 1898 by an impatience with their international status, which manifested itself in a quest to increase American power relative to other states on the world stage. This impulse meshed naturally with the cultural constructs noted above. The dissertation argues Anther that America's military triumph and subsequent expansion confirmed Americans' belief that theirs was the chosen, universal nation; success inspired the United States to re-conceive its mission to include international obligations. American tradition, culture, and foreign policy were thus conjoined in a reconstituted national identity that incorporated a more explicitly global role for the nation. The Spanish-American War therefore represents both an archetypical moment and a radical transformation of both American nationalism and U.S. foreign policy.