ANALYSIS
If the conflict in Korea from 1950-1953 is America’s “forgotten war,” then what can be said of the war against Spain in 1898, a war few Americans give much thought to today despite its enduring consequences?
A new exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery intends to fill the gaps in our knowledge. By vanquishing Spain’s colonial empire, the U.S. “itself became an empire” by occupying Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, according to the exhibit. At the same time, Congress voted to annex the independent kingdom of Hawaii, making it a U.S. territory. Statehood followed in 1959.
The first American expansion via war to non-contiguous territory contains the roots of U.S. global hegemony in the 21st century. In this episode of History As It Happens, co-curator and art historian Kate LeMay discusses how the exhibit portrays the contentious domestic debate concerning overseas expansion – the American Anti-Imperialist League had 30,000 members including Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie – and the responses by indigenous peoples to their new U.S. occupiers.
“We wanted to make sure the art was the focus, but that through the art people would learn something new…. It’s an episode that’s been very much overlooked,” said Ms. LeMay, who curated the exhibit with the Smithsonian’s Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture and Latino art and history. “We want to serve the U.S. public … a compelling narrative about U.S. history and get people excited about how art might tell this history.”
Among the exhibit’s most stunning portraits is that of Queen Lili-uokalani, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii who unsuccessfully resisted the U.S. annexation. Ms. LeMay said it took years of negotiations with native Hawaiians to secure the loan of the portrait. The Hawaiians were hesitant to release the painting out of concern the Smithsonian would not adequately convey the story of resistance to the U.S. takeover. The exhibit succeeds not only in telling the story of Hawaii’s journey from an independent kingdom to U.S. possession, but it also will challenge visitors to reflect upon the origins of their nation’s sprawling military footprint, still global in reach despite the embarrassing withdrawals from the Greater Middle East.
History As It Happens is available at washingtontimes.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of the Smithsonian’s Taína Caragol, curator of painting, sculpture and Latino art and history.
