Basic Information
Name: George Dewey
Nickname: The Thrilla in Manila, The Stalwart Admiral, Ole' Salty, The Last Nail in Spain's Imperial Coffin.
Born: December 26, 1837
Died: January 16, 1917
Nationality: United States through and through
Hometown: Montpelier, Vermont—which is ironically nowhere near the ocean.
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: A military man all the way, he worked his way up the Navy's ranks from Midshipman to the Admiral of the Navy. The Admiral of the Navy would have been the equivalent of the General of the Armies, or the highest-ranking military officer in the United States.
In other words, he knew how to kick butt and take some names all while sporting the most stylish of handlebar moustaches.
Education: Norwich Military School and the Naval Academy
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: Ares the God of War and Poseidon the God of the Sea (A.k.a. Julius Yemans Dewey and Mary Perrin)
Siblings: Charles Dewey, Edward Dewey, and Mary Dewey
Spouse: The Sea…and Susan Boardman Goodwin
Children: George Goodwin Dewey and Henry Oscar Dewey
Friends: He had a bromance thing going on with Teddy Roosevelt, where the two of them would go off and do manly things together like horseback riding and shooting off guns. Otherwise, he was a big fan of William McKinley.
Foes: The Confederates, Spain, the Philippines, and probably seagulls. If you've ever been to the ocean, then you know what we're talking about.
Analysis
If William McKinley was accused of having "no more a backbone than a chocolate eclair" and William Bryan was made a mockery of as the Cowardly Lion, Admiral George Dewey was a guy with a backbone made of steel and the courage of at least two dozen real-life lions who shot laser beams from their eyes.
In other words, when all of these politicians were busy arguing about whether or not the United States should start doing the whole imperialist thing, Dewey was out there kicking Spain's imperial butt and maintaining an American presence in the Philippines.
Dewey had earned a name for himself during the Civil War, where he had participated in a number of naval sieges and blocking campaigns. But when the U.S. and Spain found themselves at war with one another, Dewey became a legend. He defeated Spain's Spanish fleet in a matter of hours, seizing Manila Bay for the U.S.
But he also symbolized the contradictions built into America's relationship with the Philippines. Like many decolonization efforts, the United States actually joined forces with the revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo. But once the U.S. decided that yeah, actually, they did want to do the imperial thing, Aguinaldo and Dewey (and therefore the Philippines and the U.S.) became enemies, starting a whole new imperial war.
Dewey was ultimately just following orders, but this whole situation characterized the entire imperial relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines—a kind of flip-floppy, I'll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine, I'll-stab-your-back-if-you-stab-mine sort of deal.
It's almost as harsh as the Game of Thrones. Almost.