"Remember The Maine" is a terrible rallying cry. The incident of the Maine blowing up was a pretense for declaring war on Spain and was our first war of imperialism. The Phillippine 'Insurrection' following the US's annexation of the islands was particularly bloody and estimates of Filipino dead range up to over a million.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The number of Filipino casualties was at the time, and still is, intensely debated and politicized.[citation needed] It is estimated that some 34,000 Filipino soldiers lost their lives and that as many as 200,000 civilians may have died directly or indirectly as a result of the war, most due to a major cholera epidemic that broke out near its end.[84]
In 1908 Manuel Arellano Remondo, in General Geography of the Philippine Islands, wrote: “The population decreased due to the wars, in the five-year period from 1895 to 1900, since, at the start of the first insurrection, the population was estimated at 9,000,000, and at present (1908), the inhabitants of the Archipelago do not exceed 8,000,000 in number.”[85] In light of the massive casualties suffered by the civilian population, Filipino historian E. San Juan, Jr., alleges that the death of 1.4 million Filipinos constitutes an act of genocide on the part of the United States.[86]
Atrocities were committed on both sides.[87] United States attacks into the countryside often included scorched earth campaigns[71] in which entire villages were burned and destroyed, the use of torture (water cure[88]) and the concentration of civilians into "protected zones".[89] In November 1901, the Manila correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger reported:"The present war is no bloodless, opera bouffe engagement; our men have been relentless, have killed to exterminate men, women, children, prisoners and captives, active insurgents and suspected people from lads of ten up, the idea prevailing that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog...."[90]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine–American_War
about the Maine....
A minor revolt in Cuba against the Spanish colonial government provided a colorful topic. For months now the papers had been painting in lurid detail the horrors of Cuban life under oppressive Spanish rule. The Spanish had confined many Cubans to concentration camps. The press called them "death camps." Wild stories with screaming headlines -- Spanish Cannibalism, Inhuman Torture, Amazon Warriors Fight For Rebels -- flooded the newsstands. Newspapers sent hundreds of reporters, artists, and photographers south to recount Spanish atrocities. The correspondents, including such notables as author Stephen Crane and artist Frederick Remington, found little to report on when they arrived.
"There is no war," Remington wrote to his boss. "Request to be recalled."
Remington's boss, William Randolph Hearst, sent a cable in reply: "Please remain. You furnish the pictures, I'll furnish the war." Hearst was true to his word. For weeks after the Maine disaster, the Journal devoted more than eight pages a day to the story. Not to be outdone, other papers followed Hearst's lead. Hundreds of editorials demanded that the Maine and American honor be avenged. Many Americans agreed. Soon a rallying cry could be heard everywhere -- in the papers, on the streets, and in the halls of Congress: "Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain."
http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/remember.html
More links....
http://www.iowanationalguard.com/Museum/IA_History/SA_War_Phil_Insurrection.htm
http://opmanong.ssc.hawaii.edu/filipino/benevolent.html
Didn't mean to go on so, but "Remember The Maine"? I don't think so.
How about "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"?
My message isn't about any particular historical event.
I don't want Dr. Paul's message to end because I believe our nation is at a tipping point.
Last edited: