Too Little, Too Late: the Fight for the Carolines, 1898

Farmer, Ensign Tristram E. (1989). "Too Little, Too Late: the Fight for the Carolines, 1898". Naval History Magazine.

• Has attachment: File:PJ3S8ANG.pdf

Abstract: Few Americans are aware that our nation once had the opportunity of gaining strategically valuable base sites in the Western Pacific, the Caroline Islands. Following its defeat of the Spanish in 1898, the United States was given the option of annexing the Carolines, but despite the fervid pleas of naval officers and experts, President William McKinley, Secretary of State John Hay, and the American peace delegation to Paris balked and vacillated before finally deciding to pursue acquisition of the islands. Then the delegation followed through with too little vigor. The inexperience of the statesmen allowed an interloper—Germany—to enter into negotiations with Spain. Kaiser Wilhelm II actively sought the bases in the Carolines, realizing their intrinsic value to a navy. He succeeded, only to have Japan seize them in 1914. Today the value of these islands has not diminished. In fact, when considering the recent volatile situation in the Philippines, their worth has only increased over the years. If the United States had realized this 91 years ago, its position in the Western Pacific would have been improved.