Review of “The War Lovers” by Evan Thomas

At the end of the 19th Century, men came of age who were too young to have fought in the Civil War, but not too young to have forgotten the excitement and bravado of the soldiers who did go. And they wanted their own war. The quest for independence from Spain by Cuban nationals provided the perfect opportunity for these “war lovers.”

This story of the Spanish American War of 1898 is told from the perspective of five men: Teddy Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, William Randolph Hearst, Thomas Brackett Reed, and William James. Teddy Roosevelt looms larger than the rest, just as he did in life.

The end of the 19th Century was a time when racial theories were all the rage in Europe and in America, and wholly subscribed to by young men like Roosevelt, who thought dark-skinned peoples were inferior, and had no business holding land that Aryan stock could populate. Furthermore, like the racial movements sweeping Germany, Roosevelt saw an inherent value in proving one’s “manliness” by conquering such people, as well as by staying in the wilderness and hunting and risking one’s life for one’s country. It all helped make the race strong. Taking charge of Cuba seemed like the perfect exercise.

Henry Cabot Lodge

Congressman, later Senator, Henry Cabot Lodge was Roosevelt’s best friend. And while he was not quite the “bull moose” that Roosevelt was, he too was an adherent of the concept of “manifest destiny,” the belief that the Anglo-Saxon race was rightfully destined to expand across America, and across the world. He wanted a war against Spain because it would help America become one of the big powers.

William Randolph Hearst was another of the “warmongers.” He longed to be the brave and tough man he perceived Roosevelt to be, but it wasn’t in him. What he could do, though, was stir up public opinion like nobody else could, and he wanted that war in Cuba. His incitement and coverage of the war would translate into thousands of subscribers, thousands of dollars, and with luck, thousands of votes for his own bids for political power.

Two players resisted the war fever. Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed comes off as a lonely hero, as he, virtually alone, tried to resist pulling the United States into a war with Spain on phony, trumped up charges. He saw “manifest destiny” and “imperialism” as racist and presumptuous, but he was far too ahead of his time. Roosevelt and Lodge, once good friends, broke off with him, and other House members started treating him as anathema. He finally gave up and resigned. Disheartened and friendless, he died not long after.

House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed

William James was a psychologist and philosopher who studied the war urge among men (criticizing it even while feeling its appeal). His inclusion in this story is a bit forced – he is not really connected to the others, and it seems that the author can’t decide what to do with him.

The first part of the book is mainly biographical. In the second part, the author goes into some detail about the fighting in Cuba of the Spanish-American War (allegedly for Cubans, although the white Americans disparaged them as fighters and eschewed contact with them as much as possible). This was the setting for Roosevelt’s self-described “crowded hour” when he charged Kettle Hill with his Rough Riders. After the short war in Cuba, the U.S. then moved to take the Philippines. (President McKinley, not really a war monger like the others but pressured into it, justified the battle in Southeast Asia as benevolently inspired by the desire to “educate the Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them.” The Filipinos had long since been converted to Catholicism but nobody seemed much interested in that detail.) And of course, when it looked like the U.S. would win both battles against the crumbling Spanish Empire, second thoughts came rolling in as these Aryan Crusaders contemplated the possible burdens of dealing with all these dark people.

Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders in Cuba

Discussion: Thomas has two stories to tell: one is the surge of war lust and imperialist yearnings at the end of the 19th Century, and the other is a portrait of the men who were the biggest prime movers of the Era and how they supported, or strove against, the seemingly inexorable drive toward war. If your primary interest is either with Teddy Roosevelt or the Spanish-American War, you won’t be disappointed; they dominate the story. It’s a tale that’s interesting and sobering, and will give you a new perspective on who were actually the heroes and who were actually the villains at that time in American history.

Evaluation: Entertaining history.

Rating: 4/5

Published by Little, Brown and Company, 2010