Journal of Southern History

In this extensive monograph, Richard L. Kagan examines how Spain became a site of elite fascination throughout the United States between 1779 and 1939. The book opens with vivid medical terminology, such as fever, disease, epidemic, ailment, and affliction, to describe the Spanish craze. Kagan defines hispanophilia as “a seemingly insatiable appetite for the art and culture of Spain,” including “art and architecture . . . music, theater, cinema, and literature,” which began in the nineteenth century and reached its fever pitch [End Page 141] after the Spanish-American War in 1898 (pp. 3, 4). Hispanophilia was part of a larger development in which, according to Kagan, “the United States, in the process of formulating a national culture . . . regularly looked abroad for inspiration” (p. 15).

The first three chapters trace the movement from the Black Legend to the White Legend in American culture. Chapter 1 analyzes print culture, literature, and political discussions, demonstrating how many elites of the early republic felt that Spain was the “natural enemy of the United States” (p. 34). In chapters 2 and 3 Kagan explains the development of “sunny” and “sturdy” views of Spain that reflected a romanticized nostalgia for a past way of life (pp. 22, 21). Anglo-Americans indulged in Spain by consuming travelogues, paintings, and artistic performances or by traveling there. Boosters depicted the two nations as allies because they “shared a mutual endeavor—to foster the spread of both Christianity and civilization” (p. 131). Kagan skillfully outlines how intellectuals debated the role of Spain in the United States—some still subscribed to the Black Legend while others romanticized Spain—which adds to the scholarship on the memory of the Spanish past by scholars such as Lisbeth Haas, Phoebe S. Kropp, Charles H. Montgomery, John M. Nieto-Phillips, Vincent Pérez, and Chris Wilson.

Chapters 4 through 7 examine how the Spanish craze was manifested in education, architecture, and art. Chapter 4 explores the growth in research and education in Spanish language and literature in elite U.S. universities after 1898. Future research is needed that compares and contrasts differences between the embrace of language and literature from Spain and Latin America. In chapters 5 and 7 Kagan engages with Kristin L. Hoganson’s idea of cosmopolitanism by suggesting that consuming travel books, listening to lectures about Spain, and attending Spanish theater, music, or dance performances were also forms of cosmopolitanism. Chapter 6, Kagan’s strongest chapter, explores how Spanish-style architecture spread throughout the United States to the point of becoming seen by some as a symbol of “‘our national type of architecture’” (p. 331). By explaining how Spanish-style architecture was a result of pan-Americanism, Kagan adds nuance to this craze as both Latin American and Spanish. These chapters demonstrate how a romanticized Spain became part of the daily cultural consumption of U.S. elites.

Kagan describes the craze as a “fever” because it hit regions differently and did not infect everyone (p. 6). The Spanish craze mostly infected the “moneyed elite” of cities such as New York and Chicago, as well as states previously under Spanish possession (p. 11). Kagan does not address mass, rural, or working-class cultural consumption. This is especially clear in his source base, which includes novels, travelogues, artwork, architectural photographs, promotional materials, and personal papers of boosters, politicians, and collectors. Some interesting sources allow him to dig deeper into who consumed Spanish culture, such as the guestbook from the Alhambra palace in Spain. While Kagan’s coverage is 1779 to 1939, the bulk of his analysis focuses on the period after the Spanish-American War. Kagan starts his analysis in 1779 to demonstrate the transformation of American opinion toward Spain from the Black Legend to the White Legend by 1898. This longue-durée approach allows the reader to grasp the fever’s impact more clearly. The [End Page 142] Spanish Craze: America’s Fascination with the Hispanic World, 1779–1939 makes an important argument for understanding the influence of Spain, beyond Britain, France, and Germany, in shaping American cultural identity.