Question

a splendid little war? (cont) senator redfield proctor, speech to the us senate on march 17, 1898 senator redfield proctor served as the governor of vermont from 1878 - 1880, secretary of war from 1889 - 1893, and as a republican senator from 1895 - 1908. he visited cuba in march 1898 to observe conditions there during the insurrection and war. as return to washington, d.c. delivered a speech to the us senate describing what he witnessed. it is not within the narrow limits of my vocabulary to portray it. i went to cuba with a strong conviction that the picture had been overdrawn; that a few cases of starvation and suffering had inspired and cultivated imagination. i could not believe that out of a population of one million six hundred thousand, 200,000 had died within these spanish forts, practically prison walls, within a few months past, from actual starvation and disease caused by insufficient and improper food.... to me the strongest appeal is...the spectacle of a million and a half of people, the entire native population of cuba, struggling for freedom and deliverance from the worst misgovernment of which i ever had knowledge. reading questions 1. did the author expect to see the conditions he saws in cuba or was he surprised? 2. why did so many cubans die in the spanish forts? 3. one outcome of the spanish - american war was that cuba gained its independence from spain. based on this outcome, do you think this author would have supported the united states going to war? why or why not?

Explanation:

1. The author mentions going to Cuba with the belief that the reports were over - drawn, so he was surprised.
2. The text states they died from actual starvation and disease caused by insufficient and improper food.
3. The author was moved by the Cuban struggle for freedom from a bad government. Since the war led to Cuban independence from Spain, it is likely he would have supported the US going to war.

Answer:

1. He was surprised. He went to Cuba thinking the reports of suffering were over - exaggerated.
2. They died from starvation and disease caused by insufficient and improper food.
3. Yes, he would have supported it. He saw the Cubans struggling for freedom from a bad government, and the war led to Cuban independence from Spain.