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117-536: John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War , and a prominent member of the Astor family . He was among the most prominent American passengers aboard RMS  Titanic and perished along with 1,495 others when the ship sank on her maiden voyage . Astor was the richest passenger aboard

234-669: A pneumatic road-improver, and he helped develop a turbine engine . Like generations of Astors before him, he also made millions in real estate. In 1897, Astor built the Astoria Hotel, "the world's most luxurious hotel", in New York City, adjoining the Waldorf Hotel owned by Astor's cousin and rival, William. The complex became known as the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel . The Waldorf-Astoria would later be

351-483: A "crusade" and a combination of "knight-errantry and national self- assertiveness." Osgood argued: In his War and Empire , Prof. Paul Atwood of the University of Massachusetts (Boston) writes: The Spanish–American War was fomented on outright lies and trumped up accusations against the intended enemy. ... War fever in the general population never reached a critical temperature until the accidental sinking of

468-493: A $ 10 million trust fund (US$ 316 million in 2023). Upon turning 21, John Jacob VI inherited the $ 3 million trust fund Astor had set aside for him (US$ 94.7 million in 2023). Spanish%E2%80%93American War U.S. victory [REDACTED]   United States [REDACTED] Cuban Liberation Army [REDACTED] Philippine Revolutionaries [REDACTED]   Spain Total: 339,783 (only 20–25 percent of

585-541: A $ 5 million trust fund (US$ 158 million in 2023) from which she was provided an income. Additionally, she was given the use of his New York City mansion ( 840 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan) and all its furnishings, his Newport mansion ( Beechwood ) and all its furnishings, the pick of whichever luxury limousine she wanted from his collection, and five of his prized horses—as long as she did not remarry. His daughter Ava (who lived with her mother, also named Ava) received

702-515: A Dutch-American socialite. His four elder sisters were Emily, Helen, Charlotte, and Carrie . John was a great-grandson of German–American fur-trader John Jacob Astor and Sarah Cox Todd, whose fortune made the Astor family one of the wealthiest in the United States. Astor's paternal grandfather William Backhouse Astor Sr. was a prominent real estate businessman. Through his paternal grandmother, Margaret Alida Rebecca Armstrong, Astor

819-727: A Spanish political system that was not stable and could not risk a blow to its prestige. The eruption of the Cuban revolt, Weyler's measures, and the popular fury these events whipped up proved to be a boon to the newspaper industry in New York City. Joseph Pulitzer of the New York World and William Randolph Hearst of the New York Journal recognized the potential for great headlines and stories that would sell copies. Both papers denounced Spain but had little influence outside New York. American opinion generally saw Spain as

936-572: A cigarette with Jacques Futrelle . When Second Officer Charles Lightoller later arrived on A Deck to finish loading Lifeboat 4, Astor helped his wife, with her maid and nurse, into it. He then asked if he might join his wife because she was in "a delicate condition;" however, Lightoller told him men were not to be allowed to board until all the women and children had been loaded. Astor did not protest, simply kissed his wife, telling her that he would follow in another boat. According to Titanic passenger Archibald Gracie IV who also helped Astor's wife into

1053-492: A hopelessly backward power that was unable to deal fairly with Cuba. American Catholics were divided before the war began but supported it enthusiastically once it started. The U.S. had important economic interests that were being harmed by the prolonged conflict and deepening uncertainty about Cuba's future. Shipping firms that had relied heavily on trade with Cuba now suffered losses as the conflict continued unresolved. These firms pressed Congress and McKinley to seek an end to

1170-512: A low point for Spanish colonialism. Liberal Spanish elites like Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and Emilio Castelar offered new interpretations of the concept of "empire" to dovetail with the emerging Spanish nationalism . Cánovas made clear in an address to the University of Madrid in 1882 his view of the Spanish nation as based on shared cultural and linguistic elements—on both sides of

1287-400: A pen knife to show his wife its contents, either to prove they were not of use or to reassure her that they were. He even declared: "We are safer here than in that little boat." At boat No.7, Astor and his wife were about to board when Astor drew back and pulled his wife back with him. Someone said something to Astor, but it is unknown what was said. On A Deck, Lily May Peel saw Astor smoking

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1404-606: A previous trip when she went missing in Egypt. Kitty did not survive the sinking. They had met up with Margaret "Molly" Brown traveling through Egypt. According to Edith Rosenbaum, Astor pointed out some vital statistics of the ship, and said, "She's unsinkable, a modern shipbuilding miracle." On April 14, when Captain Edward J. Smith attended a large dinner party in B Deck restaurant, Salon Steward Thomas Whiteley stated that Smith "talked and joked with Mr Astor. Shortly after Titanic hit

1521-518: A request to the U.S. State Department to send a U.S. warship to Cuba. This request led to the armored cruiser USS  Maine being sent to Cuba. While Maine was docked in Havana harbor, a spontaneous explosion sank the ship. The sinking of Maine was blamed on the Spanish and made the possibility of a negotiated peace very slim. Throughout the negotiation process, the major European powers, especially Britain, France, and Russia, generally supported

1638-468: A result of the explosion. Of the 94 survivors only 16 were uninjured. In total, 260 servicemen were killed in the initial explosion, six more died shortly thereafter from injuries, marking the greatest loss of life for the American military in a single day since the defeat at Little Bighorn twenty-one years prior. While McKinley urged patience and did not declare that Spain had caused the explosion,

1755-416: A single Gatling Gun detachment for fire support, American troops successfully stormed and occupied both El Caney and San Juan Heights. The next task for Shafter was the investment and siege of the city of Santiago and its garrison. However, the extent of the American losses were becoming known at Shafter's headquarters back at Sevilla (his gout, poor physical condition, and huge bulk did not allow him to go to

1872-538: A three-pronged invasion of the island. The plan called for one group from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic led by Máximo Gómez , one group from Costa Rica led by Antonio Maceo Grajales , and another from the United States (preemptively thwarted by U.S. officials in Florida) to land in different places on the island and provoke an uprising. While their call for revolution, the grito de Baire ,

1989-446: A training ground for its army. Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo announced that "the Spanish nation is disposed to sacrifice to the last peseta of its treasure and to the last drop of blood of the last Spaniard before consenting that anyone snatch from it even one piece of its territory". He had long dominated and stabilized Spanish politics. He was assassinated in 1897 by Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo , leaving

2106-427: A united European stand against the United States but took no action. The U.S. Navy's investigation, made public on March 28, concluded that the ship's powder magazines were ignited when an external explosion was set off under the ship's hull. This report poured fuel on popular indignation in the U.S., making war virtually inevitable. Spain's investigation came to the opposite conclusion: the explosion originated within

2223-638: A war. On April 19, while Congress was considering joint resolutions supporting Cuban independence, Republican Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado proposed the Teller Amendment to ensure that the U.S. would not establish permanent control over Cuba after the war. The amendment, disclaiming any intention to annex Cuba, passed the Senate 42 to 35; the House concurred the same day, 311 to 6. The amended resolution demanded Spanish withdrawal and authorized

2340-492: The 1898 Treaty of Paris , signed on December 10 with terms favorable to the U.S. The treaty ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S., and set Cuba up to become independent state in 1901, although in practice became a U.S. protectorate. The cession of the Philippines involved payment of $ 20 million ($ 730 million today) to Spain by the U.S. to cover infrastructure owned by Spain. In Spain,

2457-614: The Americas or to interfere with the newly independent states in the hemisphere. The U.S. would, however, respect the status of the existing European colonies. Before the American Civil War (1861–1865), Southern interests attempted to have the United States purchase Cuba and convert it into a new slave state . The pro-slavery element proposed the Ostend Manifesto of 1854. Anti-slavery forces rejected it. After

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2574-564: The Fifth Army Corps being assembled in Tampa, Florida. One possible reason for his being given this command was his lack of political ambitions. Shafter appeared to maintain a very loose control over the expedition to Cuba from the beginning, commencing with a very disorganized landing at Daiquiri on the southern coast of Cuba. Confusion prevailed over landing priorities and the chain of command . When General Sumner refused to allow

2691-471: The Mackay-Bennett , reported that Astor's "face was swollen, one jaw was injured." Author Tim Maltin writes that Astor’s jaw injury was relatively slight and could have been caused by his lifebelt, if he jumped from Titanic, or by other drowning passengers or debris as the ship sank. Among the more dubious accounts, Dr. Washington Dodge says he saw Astor standing with Archibald Butt near the bridge as

2808-740: The Philippines , and its domination of Cuba. It represented U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence and Philippine Revolution , with the latter later leading to the Philippine–American War . The Spanish–American War brought an end to almost four centuries of Spanish presence in the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific; the United States meanwhile not only became a major world power, but also gained several island possessions spanning

2925-595: The USS Maine was deliberately, and falsely, attributed to Spanish villainy. ... In a cryptic message ... Senator Lodge wrote that 'There may be an explosion any day in Cuba which would settle a great many things. We have got a battleship in the harbor of Havana, and our fleet, which overmatches anything the Spanish have, is masked at the Dry Tortugas. In his autobiography, Theodore Roosevelt gave his views of

3042-582: The regular army when the war ended. During his subsequent service in the Indian Wars , he received his "Pecos Bill" nickname. He led the 24th Infantry, another United States Colored Troops regiment, in campaigns against the Cheyenne , Comanche , Kickapoo and Kiowa Indian warriors in Texas . While commander of Fort Davis , he started a controversial court-martial of second lieutenant Henry Flipper ,

3159-682: The 1880s and 1890s. Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1897 to 1898 and was an aggressive supporter of an American war with Spain over Cuban interests. Meanwhile, the "Cuba Libre" movement, led by Cuban intellectual José Martí until he died in 1895, had established offices in Florida. The face of the Cuban revolution in the U.S. was the " Cuban Junta ", under the leadership of Tomás Estrada Palma , who in 1902 became Cuba's first president. The Junta dealt with leading newspapers and Washington officials and held fund-raising events across

3276-543: The 333 years of Spanish rule, the Philippines developed from a small overseas colony governed from the Mexico-based Viceroyalty of New Spain to a land with modern elements in the cities. The Spanish-speaking middle classes of the 19th century were mostly educated in the liberal ideas coming from Europe. Among these Ilustrados was the Filipino national hero José Rizal , who demanded larger reforms from

3393-488: The American Civil War and Cuba's Ten Years' War , U.S. businessmen began monopolizing the devalued sugar markets in Cuba. In 1894, 90% of Cuba's total exports went to the United States, which also provided 40% of Cuba's imports. Cuba's total exports to the U.S. were almost twelve times larger than the export to Spain. U.S. business interests indicated that while Spain still held political authority over Cuba, it

3510-402: The American position and urged Spain to give in. Spain repeatedly promised specific reforms that would pacify Cuba but failed to deliver; American patience ran out. McKinley sent USS Maine to Havana to ensure the safety of American citizens and interests, and to underscore the urgent need for reform. Naval forces were moved in position to attack simultaneously on several fronts if the war

3627-514: The Army's Gatling Gun Detachment - which had priority - to disembark from the transport Cherokee on the grounds that the lieutenant commanding the detachment did not have the rank to enforce his priority, Shafter had to personally intervene, returning to the ship in a steam launch to enforce his demand that the guns come off immediately. During the disembarkation, Shafter sent forward Fifth Corps' Cavalry Division under Joseph Wheeler to reconnoiter

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3744-581: The Army's expedition to the Philippines, which escalated into the Philippine–American War during the last years of Shafter's career. Hostilities broke out on February 4, 1899, and the war lasted through July 2, 1902, past Shafter's retirement. When the war was three months old, the Commander shared his views with the Chicago News: It may be necessary to kill half the Filipinos in order that

3861-544: The Astors to Egypt and France . After receiving a call to return to the United States, Brown accompanied the couple back home aboard RMS  Titanic . Astor's country estate, Ferncliff , was north of the town center in Rhinebeck, New York , with 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (2.5 kilometers) of Hudson River frontage in the picturesque Lower Hudson River Valley . The land had been purchased piecemeal by his father during

3978-614: The Atlantic—that tied Spain's territories together. Cánovas saw Spanish colonialism as more "benevolent" than that of other European colonial powers. The prevalent opinion in Spain before the war regarded the spreading of " civilization " and Christianity as Spain's main objective and contribution to the New World . The concept of cultural unity bestowed special significance on Cuba, which had been Spanish for almost four hundred years, and

4095-785: The Caribbean, or of the Philippines or Guam . Historians note that there was no popular demand in the United States for an overseas colonial empire. The first serious bid for Cuban independence, the Ten Years' War, erupted in 1868 and was subdued by the authorities a decade later. Neither the fighting nor the reforms in the Pact of Zanjón (February 1878) quelled the desire of some revolutionaries for wider autonomy and, ultimately, independence. One such revolutionary, José Martí, continued to promote Cuban financial and political freedom in exile. In early 1895, after years of organizing, Martí launched

4212-555: The Cavalry Division would attack the heights south of El Caney known as San Juan Hill. Originally, Shafter planned to lead his forces from the front, but he suffered greatly from the tropical heat and was confined to his headquarters far to the rear and out of sight of the fighting. Unable to see the battle firsthand, he never developed a coherent chain of command. Shafter's offensive battle plans were both simplistic and extremely vague. He seemed to be unaware or unconcerned about

4329-710: The Loyal Legion of the United States , the Military Order of Foreign Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution . Shafter retired in 1901 to a 60 acres (24 ha) farm next to his daughter's land in Bakersfield, California. He died there in 1906 and is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery . Shafter was portrayed by Rodger Boyce in the 1997 film Rough Riders . Shafter appeared in

4446-601: The Philippines on June 1, 1896, known as "the Kimball Plan". On April 23, 1898, a document from Governor General Basilio Augustín appeared in the Manila Gazette newspaper warning of the impending war and calling for Filipinos to participate on the side of Spain. Roosevelt, who was at that time Assistant Secretary of the Navy, ordered Commodore George Dewey , commanding the Asiatic Squadron of

4563-476: The President to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuba gain independence from Spain. President McKinley signed the joint resolution on April 20, 1898, and the ultimatum was sent to Spain. In response, Spain severed diplomatic relations with the United States on April 21. On the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba. On April 23, Spain reacted to the blockade by declaring war on

4680-552: The RMS Titanic and was thought to be among the richest people in the world at that time, with a net worth of roughly $ 87 million (equivalent to $ 2.75 billion in 2023) when he died. John Jacob Astor IV was born on July 13, 1864, at his parents' country estate of Ferncliff in Rhinebeck, New York . He was the youngest of five children and only son of William Backhouse Astor Jr. , a businessman, collector, and racehorse breeder/owner, and Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn ,

4797-512: The South. The prospect of a naval war gave anxiety to those in the South. The financial security of those working and living in the cotton belt relied heavily upon trade across the Atlantic which would be disrupted by a nautical war, the prospect of which fostered a reluctance to enlist. Potential volunteers were also not financially incentivized, with pay per month initially being $ 13.00 which then

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4914-580: The Spanish and the Cubans, but promised the U.S. it would give the Cubans more autonomy. However, with the election of a more liberal Spanish government in November, Spain began to change its policies in Cuba. First, the new Spanish government told the United States that it was willing to offer a change in the Reconcentration policies if the Cuban rebels agreed to a cessation of hostilities. This time

5031-562: The Spanish authorities. This movement eventually led to the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule. The revolution had been in a state of truce since the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897, with revolutionary leaders having accepted exile outside of the country. Lt. William Warren Kimball, Staff Intelligence Officer with the Naval War College prepared a plan for war with Spain including

5148-483: The Spanish government as a tyrannical oppressor. Historian Louis Pérez notes that "The proposition of war in behalf of Cuban independence took hold immediately and held on thereafter. Such was the sense of the public mood." Many poems and songs were written in the United States to express support of the "Cuba Libre" movement. At the same time, many African Americans , facing growing racial discrimination and increasing retardation of their civil rights, wanted to take part in

5265-419: The Spanish tyranny in Cuba. Historian Nick Kapur argues that McKinley's actions as he moved toward war were rooted not in various pressure groups but in his deeply held "Victorian" values, especially arbitration, pacifism, humanitarianism, and manly self-restraint. A speech delivered by Republican Senator Redfield Proctor of Vermont on March 17, 1898, thoroughly analyzed the situation and greatly strengthened

5382-553: The U.S. On April 25, the U.S. Congress responded in kind , declaring that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had de facto existed since April 21, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun. It was the embodiment of the naval plan created by Lieutenant Commander Charles Train four years ago, stating once the US enacted a proclamation of war against Spain, it would mobilize its N.A. (North Atlantic) squadron to form an efficient blockade in Havana, Matanzas and Sagua La Grande . The Navy

5499-435: The U.S. It funded and smuggled weapons. It mounted an extensive propaganda campaign that generated enormous popular support in the U.S. in favor of the Cubans. Protestant churches and most Democrats were supportive, but business interests called on Washington to negotiate a settlement and avoid war. Cuba attracted enormous American attention, but almost no discussion involved the other Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico , also in

5616-414: The U.S. began a blockade of Cuba, and soon after Spain and the U.S. declared war. The war was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific, where American war advocates correctly anticipated that U.S. naval power would prove decisive. On May 1, a squadron of U.S warships destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in the Philippines and captured the harbor. The first U.S. Marines landed in Cuba on June 10 in

5733-545: The U.S. government. He appeared in the films President McKinley's Inspection of Camp Wikoff (1898) and Col. John Jacob Astor, Staff and Veterans of the Spanish–American War (1899). As a result of his military service, Astor was entitled to the Spanish Campaign Medal . After the war, Astor was often referred to as "Colonel Astor." Astor was a member of several military and hereditary societies. He

5850-604: The United States Navy: "Order the squadron ...to Hong Kong. Keep full of coal. In the event of declaration of war with Spain, your duty will be to see that the Spanish squadron does not leave the Asiatic coast, and then offensive operations in Philippine Islands." Dewey's squadron departed on April 27 for the Philippines, reaching Manila Bay on the evening of April 30. William Shafter Shafter

5967-403: The United States and soften support for war with Spain. An attempt was made to negotiate a peace before McKinley took office. However, the Spanish refused to take part in the negotiations. In 1897 McKinley appointed Stewart L. Woodford as the new minister to Spain, who again offered to negotiate a peace. In October 1897, the Spanish government refused the United States' offer to negotiate between

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6084-464: The United States would see "a duty imposed by our obligations to ourselves, to civilization and humanity to intervene with force". Intervention in terms of negotiating a settlement proved impossible—neither Spain nor the insurgents would agree. Louis Perez states, "Certainly the moralistic determinants of war in 1898 has been accorded preponderant explanatory weight in the historiography." By the 1950s, however, American political scientists began attacking

6201-434: The United States, wrote that S=Cuba was entirely dependent on the outside world for food supplies, coal, and maritime supplies and that Spain would not be able to resupply a naval expeditionary force locally. While tension increased among the Cubans and Spanish government, popular support of intervention began to spring up in the United States. Many Americans likened the Cuban revolt to the American Revolution, and they viewed

6318-428: The aftermath, ships were sent out to retrieve the bodies from the site of the sinking; of the 1,517 passengers and crew who perished in the sinking, only 333 bodies were ever recovered. Astor's body was recovered on April 22 by the cable ship Mackay-Bennett . Astor was identified by the initials sewn on the label of his jacket. Among the items found on him was a gold pocket watch , which his son Vincent claimed and wore

6435-576: The army capable of field operations) [REDACTED] 288,452 (Caribbean) Total: 4,119 American: Total: 56,400–56,600 Spanish: The Spanish–American War (April 21 – December 10, 1898) was fought between Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba , and resulted in the U.S. acquisitions of Puerto Rico , Guam , and

6552-467: The available roads and were unable maneuver, suffered heavy losses from Spanish troops equipped with modern repeating smokeless powder rifles and breech-loading artillery, while the short-ranged black-powder guns of U.S. artillery units were unable to respond effectively. Additional casualties were incurred in the actual assault, which was marked by a series of brave but disorganized and uncoordinated advances. After suffering some 1,400 casualties, and aided by

6669-513: The battles of Ball's Bluff and Fair Oaks . He was wounded at the Battle of Fair Oaks and later received the Medal of Honor for heroism during the battle. He led a charge on the first day of the battle and was wounded towards the close of that day's fighting. In order to stay with his regiment he concealed his wounds, fighting on the second day of the battle. On August 22, 1862, he was mustered out of

6786-414: The boat, stating that Astor turned to help other passengers into the boat, including Yarred and his sister. After Lifeboat 4 was lowered at 1:55 am, Astor is said to have stood with John Thayer, Harry Widner and Arthur Ryerson, waving. Titanic sank at 2:20 a.m, on April 15. Madeleine Force Astor, her nurse, and her maid survived. Colonel Astor, his valet, Victor Robbins, Kitty and Futrelle did not. In

6903-400: The boat; She was lifted up through the window, and her husband helped her on the other side, and when she got in, her husband was on one side of this window and I was on the other side, at the next window. I heard Mr Astor ask the second officer whether he would not be allowed to go aboard this boat to protect his wife. He said, "No, sir, no man is allowed on this boat or any of the boats until

7020-462: The business community to find a negotiated solution. Wall Street, big business, high finance and Main Street businesses across the country were vocally opposed to war and demanded peace. After years of severe depression, the economic outlook for the domestic economy was suddenly bright again in 1897. However, the uncertainties of warfare posed a serious threat to full economic recovery. "War would impede

7137-597: The child born in the U.S., the Astors boarded Titanic on her maiden voyage to New York. They embarked in Cherbourg , France via the SS Nomadic , in first class and were the wealthiest passengers aboard. Accompanying the Astors were Astor's valet, Victor Robbins; Mrs. Astor's maid, Rosalie Bidois; and her nurse, Caroline Louise Endres. They also took their pet dog, an Airedale Terrier named Kitty. The Astors were deeply fond of their dog and had come close to losing her on

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7254-422: The city. 'Campaigning in Cuba' by George Kennan, 1899 (available on Gutenberg) presents a totally damning account of Shafter's command in the Cuba campaign by a gifted correspondent who was with the troops from Tampa to return: Morbidly obese at 300 lbs with gout and probably diabetes at 63, Shafter should have been in a hospice, not a tropical hellhole where malaria, yellow fever and dysentery annihilated most of

7371-406: The collision but told her the damage did not appear to be serious. He and his wife and other passengers talked about the collision with the iceberg. Some time later, as the ship's lifeboats for first class were being manned, Astor remained unperturbed; he and his wife played with the mechanical horses in the gymnasium. At some point Astor is thought to have sliced the lining of an extra lifebelt with

7488-561: The deaths of hundreds of American sailors held the public's attention. McKinley asked Congress to appropriate $ 50 million for defense, and Congress unanimously obliged. Most American leaders believed that the cause of the explosion was unknown. Still, public attention was now riveted on the situation and Spain could not find a diplomatic solution to avoid war. Spain appealed to the European powers, most of whom advised it to accept U.S. conditions for Cuba in order to avoid war. Germany urged

7605-537: The defeat in the war was a profound shock to the national psyche and provoked a thorough philosophical and artistic reevaluation of Spanish society known as the Generation of '98 . The combined problems arising from the Peninsular War (1807–1814), the loss of most of its colonies in the Americas in the early 19th-century Spanish American wars of independence , and three Carlist Wars (1832–1876) marked

7722-445: The destruction could have been caused by a mine." After Maine was destroyed, New York City newspaper publishers Hearst and Pulitzer decided that the Spanish were to blame, and they publicized this theory as fact in their papers. Even prior to the explosion, both had published sensationalistic accounts of "atrocities" committed by the Spanish in Cuba; headlines such as "Spanish Murderers" were commonplace in their newspapers. Following

7839-563: The explosion of USS Maine . President McKinley issued two calls for volunteers, the first on April 23 which called for 125,000 men to enlist, followed by a second appeal for a further 75,000 volunteers. States in the Northeast, Midwest, and the West quickly filled their volunteer quota. In response to the surplus influx of volunteers, several Northern states had their quotas increased. Contrastingly, some Southern states struggled to fulfil even

7956-511: The explosion, this tone escalated with the headline "Remember The Maine, To Hell with Spain!", quickly appearing. Their press exaggerated what was happening and how the Spanish were treating the Cuban prisoners. The stories were based on factual accounts, but most of the time, the articles that were published were embellished and written with incendiary language causing emotional and often heated responses among readers. A common myth falsely states that when illustrator Frederic Remington said there

8073-499: The family's Newport, Rhode Island , mansion. There was also much controversy over their 29-year age difference. His son Vincent despised Force, yet he served as best man at his father's wedding. The couple took an extended honeymoon in Europe and Egypt to wait for the gossip to calm down. Among the few Americans who did not spurn him at this time was Margaret Brown , later fictionalized as The Unsinkable Molly Brown . She accompanied

8190-507: The first black cadet to graduate from West Point. In May 1897 he was appointed as a brigadier general . Just before the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, Shafter was commander of the Department of California . Shafter was an unlikely candidate for command of the expedition to Cuba. He was approaching 63, weighed over 300 pounds and suffered from gout . Nevertheless, he received a promotion to Major General of Volunteers and command of

8307-504: The first mandated quota, namely Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The majority of states did not allow African American men to volunteer which impeded recruitment in Southern states, especially those with large African American populations. Quota requirements, based on total population, were unmanageable, as they were disproportionate compared to the actual population permitted to volunteer. This

8424-410: The first residential indoor swimming pool in the U.S., an indoor tennis court with vaulting of Guastavino tile , two squash courts, and guest bedrooms. On the lower level, there was a bowling alley and a shooting range. The estate was reduced to 50 acres (200,000 m) and was renamed "Astor Courts", eventually becoming a wedding venue. While traveling, Madeleine Force Astor became pregnant. Wanting

8541-406: The front). The casualties were delivered not only by messenger report, but also by "meat wagons" delivering the wounded and dying to the hospital. Viewing the carnage, Shafter began to waver in his determination to defeat the Spanish at Santiago. He knew his troops' position was tenuous, but again had little intelligence on the hardships of the Spanish inside beleaguered Santiago. Shafter felt the Navy

8658-573: The globe, which provoked rancorous debate over the wisdom of expansionism . The 19th century represented a clear decline for the Spanish Empire , while the United States went from a newly founded country to a rising power. In 1895, Cuban nationalists began a revolt against Spanish rule, which was brutally suppressed by the colonial authorities. Yellow journalism in the U.S. exaggerated the atrocities in Cuba to sell more newspapers and magazines, which swayed American public opinion in support of

8775-400: The host location to the U.S. inquiries into the sinking of the RMS Titanic , on which Astor died. From 1894 to 1896, he was a colonel on the military staff of New York Governor Levi P. Morton . Shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Astor personally financed a volunteer artillery unit known as the "Astor Battery", which served in the Philippines. In May 1898, Astor

8892-551: The iceberg, Isaac Frauenthal saw Astor approach Captain Smith and tell him, "Captain, my wife is not in good health. She has gone to bed, and I don't want to get her up unless it is absolutely necessary. What is the situation?" Smith advised Astor to awaken his wife, as they might have to take to the boats. Astor "never changed expression...thanked the Captain courteously and walked rapidly, but composedly away". Astor informed his wife of

9009-469: The invasion force within three weeks. Shafter himself was a basket case. Complete planning /logistical incompetence in Washington meant troops had virtually no medical supplies, or adequate rations or means to boil drinking water, and were forced to sleep on the wet ground in wet winter-weight uniforms as no shelters of hammocks were available. One of the most shameful events in US armed forces history for

9126-489: The island's southeast, moving west and engaging in at the Battles of El Caney and San Juan Hill on July 1 and the destroying the fleet at and capturing Santiago de Cuba on July 17. On June 20, the island of Guam surrendered without resistance, and on July 25, U.S. troops landed on Puerto Rico , which a blockade had begun on May 8 and where fighting continued until an armistice was signed on August 13. The war ended with

9243-575: The ladies are off." Mr. Astor then said (something to the effect of) "Well, tell me the number of this boat so I may find her afterwards" and was told "Number 4." A news article posted in the Chicago Record Herald tells of Astor placing his wife into the final lifeboat then ordering Ida Sophia Hippach and her 17-year-old daughter Jean Gertrude to take the final two places before the boat was lowered away. 11-year old Master Elias Nicola-Yarred and his 14-year old sister Jamilia also made it to

9360-575: The march of prosperity and put the country back many years," warned the New Jersey Trade Review. The leading railroad magazine editorialized, "From a commercial and mercenary standpoint it seems peculiarly bitter that this war should come when the country had already suffered so much and so needed rest and peace." McKinley paid close attention to the strong antiwar consensus of the business community, and strengthened his resolve to use diplomacy and negotiation rather than brute force to end

9477-454: The mass killing effect of modern military weapons technology possessed by the Spanish. Further, his intelligence-gathering efforts on Spanish troop dispositions and equipment was extremely meager, though he had a number of sources available to him, including reconnaissance reports by Cuban rebel forces as well as espionage obtained from indigenous Cubans. During the hurried attack on El Caney and San Juan Heights , American forces, who had packed

9594-488: The mid 19th century. Astor was born there. His father's Italianate mansion of 1864 was partly rebuilt in 1904 to designs by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White . The house retained its conservative exterior, and a separate sports pavilion in the Louis XVI style was built. This was Stanford White's last project before he died. The "Ferncliff Casino" sports pavilion (later called "Astor Courts") reportedly housed

9711-516: The name "Jack". His ungainly appearance and the perception that he was an aimless dilettante led one newspaper to give him the name "Jack Ass-tor". Among Astor's accomplishments was A Journey in Other Worlds (1894), a science-fiction novel about life in the year 2000 on the planets Saturn and Jupiter . He also patented several inventions, including a bicycle brake in 1898, a "vibratory disintegrator" used to produce gas from peat moss , and

9828-468: The origins of the war: Our own direct interests were great, because of the Cuban tobacco and sugar, and especially because of Cuba's relation to the projected Isthmian [Panama] Canal. But even greater were our interests from the standpoint of humanity. ... It was our duty, even more from the standpoint of National honor than from the standpoint of National interest, to stop the devastation and destruction. Because of these considerations I favored war. In

9945-414: The pro-war cause. Proctor concluded that war was the only answer. Many in the business and religious communities which had until then opposed war, switched sides, leaving McKinley and Speaker Reed almost alone in their resistance to a war. On April 11, McKinley ended his resistance and asked Congress for authority to send American troops to Cuba to end the civil war there, knowing that Congress would force

10062-587: The rebels refused the terms in hopes that continued conflict would lead to U.S. intervention and the creation of an independent Cuba. The liberal Spanish government also recalled the Spanish Governor-General Valeriano Weyler from Cuba. This action alarmed many Cubans loyal to Spain. The Cubans loyal to Weyler began planning large demonstrations to take place when the next Governor General, Ramón Blanco , arrived in Cuba. U.S. consul Fitzhugh Lee learned of these plans and sent

10179-579: The rebels. President Grover Cleveland resisted mounting demands for U.S. intervention, as did his successor William McKinley . Though not seeking a war, McKinley made preparations in readiness for one. In January 1898, the U.S. Navy armored cruiser USS Maine was sent to Havana to provide protection for U.S. citizens. After the Maine was sunk by a mysterious explosion in the harbor on February 15, 1898, political pressures pushed McKinley to receive congressional authority to use military force. On April 21,

10296-456: The remaining half of the population may be advanced to a higher plane of life than their present semi-barbarous state affords. Shafter reiterated his opinion in January 1900: "My plan would be to disarm the natives of the Philippine Islands, even if I have to kill half of them to do it. Then I would treat the rest of them with perfect justice." Shafter was a member of the Military Order of

10413-481: The residents of some Cuban districts to move to reconcentration areas near the military headquarters. This strategy was effective in slowing the spread of rebellion. In the United States, this fueled the fire of anti-Spanish propaganda. In a political speech, President William McKinley used this to ram Spanish actions against armed rebels. He even said this "was not civilized warfare" but "extermination". Spain depended on Cuba for prestige and trade, and used it as

10530-848: The rest of his life. It was later reported that "in 1935, Vincent gave the watch as a christening gift to the infant son of William Dobbyn IV, John Jacob Astor’s executive secretary". The pocket watch was sold for £1.175 million at auction on April 27, 2024. NO. 124 – MALE – ESTIMATED AGE 50 – LIGHT HAIR & MOUSTACHE. CLOTHING – Blue serge suit; blue handkerchief with "A.V."; belt with gold buckle; brown boots with red rubber soles; brown flannel shirt; "J.J.A." on back of collar. EFFECTS – Gold watch; cuff links, gold with diamond; diamond ring with three stones; £225 in English notes; $ 2440 in notes; £5 in gold; 7s. in silver; 5 ten franc pieces; gold pencil; pocketbook. FIRST CLASS. NAME- J.J. ASTOR IV In his memoir, Gracie claimed that he heard Astor's body

10647-451: The revolt. Campos's reluctance to accept his new assignment and his method of containing the revolt to the province of Oriente earned him criticism in the Spanish press. The mounting pressure forced Cánovas to replace General Campos with General Valeriano Weyler , a soldier who had experience in quelling rebellions in overseas provinces and the Spanish metropole. Weyler deprived the insurgency of weaponry, supplies, and assistance by ordering

10764-446: The revolt. Other American business concerns, specifically those who had invested in Cuban sugar, looked to the Spanish to restore order. Stability, not war, was the goal of both interests. How stability would be achieved would depend largely on the ability of Spain and the U.S. to work out their issues diplomatically. Lieutenant Commander Charles Train, in 1894, in his preparatory notes in an outlook of an armed conflict between Spain and

10881-494: The road to Santiago de Cuba . Apparently disregarding orders, Wheeler brought on a fight which escalated into the Battle of Las Guasimas . Shafter apparently did not realize the battle was even underway nor did he say anything to Wheeler about it afterward. A plan was finally developed for the attack on Santiago. Shafter would send his 1st Division (at the time, brigade and division numbers were not unique outside their parent formation) to attack El Caney while his 2nd Division and

10998-399: The scandal of their divorce was Astor's announcement that he would remarry. On September 9, 1911, the 47-year-old Astor married 18-year-old socialite Madeleine Talmage Force , the sister of real estate businesswoman and socialite Katherine Emmons Force . Their parents were William Hurlbut Force and Katherine Arvilla Talmage. Astor and Force were married in his mother's ballroom at Beechwood ,

11115-758: The ship in Boat No.11. Astor was buried in Trinity Church Cemetery in Manhattan, New York City. Four months after Titanic sank, Madeleine Astor gave birth to his second son, John Jacob "Jakey" Astor VI . Astor left $ 69 million of his $ 85 million estate (US$ 2.68 billion in 2023) to Vincent. This value included his Ferncliff country estate in Rhinebeck, New York , and his yacht, the Noma . To Madeleine Force Astor, he left $ 100,000 (US$ 3.16 million in 2023) as an outright bequest, as well as

11232-416: The ship went down. Dodge's account is highly unlikely, as his lifeboat was more than 0.5 miles (0.80 km) away from the ship at the time it sank. Survivor Philip Mock was quoted as claiming to have seen Astor in the water clinging to a raft with William Thomas Stead . "Their feet became frozen," said Mock, "and they were forced to release their hold. Both were drowned." Mock's account is unlikely as he left

11349-453: The ship. Other investigations in later years came to various contradictory conclusions, but had no bearing on the coming of the war. In 1974, Admiral Hyman George Rickover had his staff look at the documents and decided there was an internal explosion. A study commissioned by National Geographic magazine in 1999, using AME computer modeling, reported: "By examining the bottom plating of the ship and how it bent and folded, AME concluded that

11466-420: The time this message reached Washington, Shafter changed his mind, and instead renewed siege operations after demanding the Spanish surrender the city and garrison of Santiago. With the victory of the U.S. Navy at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba , by Admirals William T. Sampson and Winfield Scott Schley , the fate of the Spanish position at Santiago was sealed. Shortly afterward, the Spanish commander surrendered

11583-475: The volunteer service but returned to the field as major in the 19th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment . He was captured at the Battle of Thompson's Station and spent three months in a Confederate prison. In April 1864 after his release he was appointed colonel of the 17th United States Colored Infantry and led the regiment at the Battle of Nashville . By the end of the war, he had been promoted to brevet brigadier general of volunteers . He stayed in

11700-401: The war as a mistake based on idealism, arguing that a better policy would be realism. They discredited the idealism by suggesting the people were deliberately misled by propaganda and sensationalist yellow journalism. Political scientist Robert Osgood, writing in 1953, led the attack on the American decision process as a confused mix of "self-righteousness and genuine moral fervor," in the form of

11817-399: The war. They saw it as a way to advance the cause of equality, service to country hopefully helping to gain political and public respect amongst the wider population. President McKinley, well aware of the political complexity surrounding the conflict, wanted to end the revolt peacefully. He began to negotiate with the Spanish government, hoping that the talks would dampen yellow journalism in

11934-515: The waste of enlisted men. With disease rampant in the American army in Cuba, Shafter and many of his officers favored a quick withdrawal from Cuba. Shafter personally left Cuba in September 1898. And after a stay in quarantine at Camp Wikoff , Shafter returned to serve as Commander of the Department of California from May 1897 through February 1901. As Commander he oversaw the supplying of

12051-553: Was a noted philanthropist and the wife of Marshall Orme Wilson (brother of banker Richard Thornton Wilson Jr. and socialite Grace (née Wilson) Vanderbilt ). Astor was also a first cousin of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor , with whom his mother had a notorious feud resulting in William's removal to England. Astor attended St Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire , and later attended Harvard College . He went by

12168-598: Was also a great-grandson of Senator John Armstrong Jr. and Alida Livingston of the Livingston family . His maternal grandparents were Abraham Schermerhorn , a wealthy merchant, and socialite Helen Van Courtlandt White. His sister Helen's husband was diplomat James Roosevelt "Rosey" Roosevelt , half-brother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the Roosevelt family . Another sister, named Carrie,

12285-663: Was an early member of the New York Society of Colonial Wars and was assigned membership number 138. He was also a member of the Military Order of Foreign Wars , Society of the Army of Santiago de Cuba , and the Society of the American Wars of the United States. On February 17, 1891, Astor married socialite Ava Lowle Willing , a daughter of Edward Shippen Willing and Alice Barton. The couple had two children: Astor and Willing divorced in November 1909. Compounding

12402-531: Was appointed a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Volunteers and served as an officer on the staff of Major General William Shafter in Cuba , during the Santiago Campaign . He was later given a brevet (war/temporary promotion) to colonel in recognition of his services. He was mustered out of the Volunteer Army in November 1898. During the war, he allowed his yacht Nourmahal to be used by

12519-740: Was born in Galesburg, Michigan on October 16, 1835. His ancestors were of Scots-Irish descent and originally were settlers in Vermont . On his father's side, the family was of Scots-Irish descent, as his ancestor came from Northern Ireland and Scotland, arriving in Massachusetts in the year 1670. Subsequently, the Shafters later settled in Vermont. Shafter served as a 1st lieutenant the U.S. Army 's 7th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment at

12636-433: Was doing little to relieve the pressure on his forces. Supplies could not be delivered to the front, leaving his men in want of necessities, particularly food rations. Shafter himself was ill, and very weak. With this view of events, Shafter sent a dramatic message to Washington. He suggested that the army should give up its attack and all its gains for the day, and withdraw to safer ground about five miles away. Fortunately, by

12753-575: Was especially evident in some states, such as Kentucky and Mississippi, which accepted out-of-state volunteers to aid in meeting their quotas. This Southern apprehension towards enlistment can also be attributed to "a war weariness derived from the Confederacy's defeat in the Civil War." Many in the South were still recuperating financially after their losses in the Civil War, and the upcoming war did not provide much hope for economic prosperity in

12870-532: Was in a crushed condition; this led to popular belief that Astor may have been one of the swimmers killed by the first funnel falling from the ship. This is disputed by John Snow, an undertaker aboard the ship, who said that the body was in an ‘excellent state of preservation’, and Captain Richard Roberts, the commander of Astor's yacht, who said that apart from some slight discolouration by water, Astor's features were unharmed. Gerald Ross, an electrician on

12987-492: Was no war brewing in Cuba, Hearst responded: "You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war." However, this new " yellow journalism " was uncommon outside New York City, and historians no longer consider it the major force shaping the national mood. Public opinion nationwide did demand immediate action, overwhelming the efforts of President McKinley, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed , and

13104-540: Was not avoided. As Maine left Florida, a large part of the North Atlantic Squadron was moved to Key West and the Gulf of Mexico . Others were also moved just off the shore of Lisbon, and others were moved to Hong Kong too. At 9:40 P.M. on February 15, 1898, Maine sank in Havana Harbor after suffering a massive explosion. More than 3/4 of the ship's crew of 355 sailors, officers and Marines died as

13221-400: Was ready, but the Army was not well-prepared for the war and made radical changes in plans and quickly purchased supplies. In the spring of 1898, the strength of the U.S. Regular Army was just 24,593 soldiers. The Army wanted 50,000 new men but received over 220,000 through volunteers and the mobilization of state National Guard units , even gaining nearly 100,000 men on the first night after

13338-435: Was successful, the result was not the grand show of force Martí had expected. With a quick victory effectively lost, the revolutionaries settled in to fight a protracted guerrilla campaign. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, the architect of Spain's Restoration constitution and the prime minister at the time, ordered General Arsenio Martínez-Campos , a distinguished veteran of the war against the previous uprising in Cuba, to quell

13455-470: Was the U.S. that held economic power over Cuba. The U.S. became interested in a trans-isthmus canal in either Nicaragua or Panama and realized the need for naval protection. Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan was an exceptionally influential theorist; his ideas were much admired by future 26th President Theodore Roosevelt , as the U.S. rapidly built a powerful naval fleet of steel warships in

13572-466: Was then raised to $ 15.60 for combat pay. It was more economically promising for most southern men to continue in their own enterprises rather than enlist. The overwhelming consensus of observers in the 1890s, and historians ever since, is that an upsurge of humanitarian concern with the plight of the Cubans was the main motivating force that caused the war with Spain in 1898. McKinley put it succinctly in late 1897 that if Spain failed to resolve its crisis,

13689-518: Was viewed as an integral part of the Spanish nation. The focus on preserving the empire would have negative consequences for Spain's national pride in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War. In 1823, the fifth American President James Monroe (1758–1831, served 1817–25) enunciated the Monroe Doctrine , which stated that the United States would not tolerate further efforts by European governments to retake or expand their colonial holdings in

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