During the last years of the nineteenth century, the United States would find itself involved in what John Jay, the American secretary of state, later referred to as a "splendid little war; begun with highest motives, carried on with magnificent intelligence and spirit, favored by that fortune which loves the brave." From an American standpoint, because there were few negative results, and so many significantly positive consequences, John Jay was correct in calling the Spanish-American War a "splendid little war." The defeat of the Spanish forces marked the end of their rule in the Americas and also marked the rise of the United States as a global mili