WI/AHC - In the Spanish American War, America prioritizes the Atlantic over the Pacific?

In our timeline, it's very clear the US wanted Spain's Pacific holding [Taking Guam and the Philippines]. What if the US choose Spain's holding bordering the Atlantic instead [The Canary Islands and Spanish Guinea for example]. How can I achieve this outcome? If the American truly want Pacific holdings, perhaps they take the Mariana Island chain and ignore the Philippines for Africa? How close can I come to this?

If this did happen, what effects can I expect it to bring on? Would these Territories eventually gain independence, become states, or remain territories?
 
The Asiatic Fleet under Dewey is going to take the PI, they aren't going to sail halfway around the world to take Atlantic possessions. Likewise Guam was taken by one ship, it had a garrison of maybe 20-40 Spanish military. The USA is taking Hawaii at this time so interest in Guam at least is obvious. As far as the Canaries and anything in Africa, why? I suppose the Atlantic Fleet, after Cuba is dealt with, could take the Canaries but the US has zero interests that would be served by that. As far as anything in Africa, you need Skippy the ASB to get the US interested in that.
 
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We DID focus on the Atlantic! Dewey and Roosevelt just went nuts!

This. Roosevelt, as Secretary of the Navy, issued legally questionable orders to Dewey regarding the Philippines. The US Pacific actions were very nearly the work of Roosevelt and Dewey alone. That they were so successful was a complete surprise to almost everybody. The British Navy for example thought the US Navy was sailing to their deaths when they headed for the Philippines.

The US' focus was almost entirely on the Atlantic, the Pacific was a unexpectedly successful sideshow.
 
This. Roosevelt, as Secretary of the Navy, issued legally questionable orders to Dewey regarding the Philippines. The US Pacific actions were very nearly the work of Roosevelt and Dewey alone. That they were so successful was a complete surprise to almost everybody. The British Navy for example thought the US Navy was sailing to their deaths when they headed for the Philippines.

The US' focus was almost entirely on the Atlantic, the Pacific was a unexpectedly successful sideshow.

I have read and heard that the Secretary was out of town on vacation so Roosevelt, as Assistant Secretary (he wasn't even top dog), ordered Dewey and in so doing perfectly positioned the Navy to just absolute annihilate the Spanish at the beginning of hostilities.

As EZ has said, though, the impetus of the war and its focus in the public mind (and militarily) was Cuba and the eastern theater
 
The US focus on the Atlantic was taking Cuba, and concern about the Spanish Fleet raiding/attacking the US east coast. It was not about seizing the Canary Islands (of no value in themselves and not on the way to anywhere), and Africa was never happening. had the Spanish not sued for peace there was discussion of the US Fleet bombarding Spanish ports, but that never really had any traction as by the time the US Fleet was done with supporting Cuban efforts and eliminating the Spanish naval threat to the US (and this was way overblown) the war was over.

It took the Oregon, an almost brand new battleship, 66 days to go from San Francisco to join the North Atlantic Squadron. For the Asiatic Fleet, or significant elements of it, to go from the Chinese coast to the Eastern Atlantic to be useful for an assault of the Canaries for example, would have taken much, much longer. The logistic requirements for coaling, food, etc that would need to be made would be huge, and dealing with maintenance would be a nightmare. Just look at the Russian experience in 1905. If the Asiatic Fleet is not dealing with Spanish possessions in the Pacific, it is most certainly not dealing with anything in the Atlantic. In any case, once the US fleet has dealt with the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba, the US forces already in the Caribbean/Atlantic are more than adequate to deal with whatever the US wants to do in the Atlantic if the war goes on as the Spanish Navy is now reduced to very little indeed.

Even if the USA wants to grab Spanish possessions in the Atlantic, the US MUST deal with Cuba and Puerto Rico first, so you need to postulate a totally insane Spanish government that having lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and much of its navy, decides to fight on with no allies. Not that even if the USA does not grab Guam and the PI, germany, Japan, and the British all have desires.
 
If the Asiatic Fleet is not dealing with Spanish possessions in the Pacific, it is most certainly not dealing with anything in the Atlantic.

The Asiatic Fleet must stay in the Pacific if for no other reason than to prevent the Spanish Pacific fleet from bombarding the West Coast.
 
The US focus on the Atlantic was taking Cuba, and concern about the Spanish Fleet raiding/attacking the US east coast. It was not about seizing the Canary Islands (of no value in themselves and not on the way to anywhere), and Africa was never happening. had the Spanish not sued for peace there was discussion of the US Fleet bombarding Spanish ports, but that never really had any traction as by the time the US Fleet was done with supporting Cuban efforts and eliminating the Spanish naval threat to the US (and this was way overblown) the war was over.

It took the Oregon, an almost brand new battleship, 66 days to go from San Francisco to join the North Atlantic Squadron. For the Asiatic Fleet, or significant elements of it, to go from the Chinese coast to the Eastern Atlantic to be useful for an assault of the Canaries for example, would have taken much, much longer. The logistic requirements for coaling, food, etc that would need to be made would be huge, and dealing with maintenance would be a nightmare. Just look at the Russian experience in 1905. If the Asiatic Fleet is not dealing with Spanish possessions in the Pacific, it is most certainly not dealing with anything in the Atlantic. In any case, once the US fleet has dealt with the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba, the US forces already in the Caribbean/Atlantic are more than adequate to deal with whatever the US wants to do in the Atlantic if the war goes on as the Spanish Navy is now reduced to very little indeed.

Even if the USA wants to grab Spanish possessions in the Atlantic, the US MUST deal with Cuba and Puerto Rico first, so you need to postulate a totally insane Spanish government that having lost Cuba, Puerto Rico, and much of its navy, decides to fight on with no allies. Not that even if the USA does not grab Guam and the PI, germany, Japan, and the British all have desires.

Okay, so if conquest is out of the question, maybe instead of bargaining for the Philippines, the US ask for the canaries. They would be a good East Atlantic port.
 
Okay, so if conquest is out of the question, maybe instead of bargaining for the Philippines, the US ask for the canaries. They would be a good East Atlantic port.
We had no need for an east Atlantic port at this point.

Further but the US had made good progress as a result of the Venezuela crisis with advancing the notion of what the Monroe Doctrine meant. If America crossed into what was clearly the European sphere suddenly all that is up in the air as it has announced itself as an old world player.
 
Basically, the US had no interests in Africa or Europe; try to alter the geopolitical landscape in either to make the US interested in either of the possessions shown. At the same time, the US viewed the Caribbean and the Pacific as its backyards in that particular order.
 
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