What was the "Splendid Little War" that John Hay referred to when speaking to President Theodore Roosevelt?

The ¨Splendid Little War¨ was a term used by John Hay referring to the Spanish-American war (1898).

He called the event that way basically for all the positive results the US had after the conflict.

Based on national reports it was a short, cheap (money and lives), and the most important part, it was a really popular war, that allowed the US to start to be considered as a world power, between all the nations of the globe.

So making a little syntax, when he mentioned ¨splendid¨ was referring to the excellent results America had after the war and, ¨little¨ highlighting the duration and expenses of it.