USS Maine: A Comparative Analysis

The Spanish American War was caused by many occasions. America strongly supported Cuba and disputed Spain’s actions. The main causes of The Spanish American war was the yellow journalism, the blowing up of “The maine”, and the de lome letter. This essay will be discussing the causes and effects of the Spanish American War.

On February 15th, 1898, at about 9:40 in the night, the USS Maine exploded in the Havana Harbor. It killed between 260 and 268 men, and it caused a major uproar or attention in the United States. Because it was only a few days after the public found out about the De Lome letter, many Americans, and newspapers especially, put the blame onto Spain. It would soon become a minor cause of the Spanish-American War. During the war, the chant “Remember the Maine!” was used because of this tragedy.

America’s support for the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule and the explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor are the major influences that led to the Spanish-American War. The Spanish-American War was a conflict between Spain and the United States in 1898. As Cuba was controlled by territorial expansion by the Spanish, Cubans fight for independence from Spain will arise. Cubans fight for Independence from Spain is what brought the U.S to intervene.

Stories writeen about women POW’s, starving women and children, and even executions but, the story written about the battleship Maine being sunk in Havana Harbor and blamed on the Spanish without sufficient evidence, pushed the Americans to demand intervention. (http://www.pbs.org/crucible/frames/_journalism.html , n.d.)

While public tensions before August 1898 were surely high, nothing turned the public against Spain like the tragic blowing up of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor. The lives of 260 American officers and men were lost. The yellow press and American investigators quickly blamed spanish officials in Cuba for the mysterious wreck. Although it is extremely unlikely that the spanish had anything to do with the Maine’s sinking, the War-Mad American public accepted this conclusion out of rage, overwhelmingly persuading President Mckinley to begin the war. McKinley personally did not want to fight a war against Spain, for he had seen enough bloodshed as a General in the Civil War. But the public, encouraged by the Cuban patriotic cause, yellow journalism, and the sinking of the Maine, clamored for a war. Finally, President McKinley yielded and gave the people what they wanted. He believed that the people should rule, even if they don’t know what’s best for themselves. Public pressure was the main reason we went to war with Spain, and the biggest cultivator of public unrest was the blowing up of “The Maine”.

A. sank the entire Spanish fleet in Manila without a single American loss of life

The Spanish-American War in 1898 was a point where American’s demonstrated their power and true colors. America wanted to free the Cubans from Spain, but it was not purely out of the interest of the Cubans. America was in it for the Philippines. Spain had control of the Philippines, and the Philippines were located in close proximity to China. The issue here was that the Philippines was not interested in having the U.S. around and rebelled against the American forces (47) .The U.S. wanted to capitalize on the economic struggles in China and the Philippines was

The Spanish-American war consisted of a series of influential battles that pitted America and many of Spain’s colonies against Spanish rule, and ended with Spain losing its colonies and America gaining control over more and more land. In 1898, America joined a war being pit against Spain to force the Spanish to relinquish all control of their colonies, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. This same war ended only a few months later, with Spain suffering huge losses and America gaining money and territories. The Spanish American war could be split into three main points of interest: How and why the Spanish American war started, The battles of Manila, Santiago de Cuba, Asomante, and Las Guasimas ( And the Rough Riders) , and the aftermath of the war. One of the most interesting territories was Cuba. Although the Spanish american war was not a long and costly war, it changed many people's lives indefinitely.

To protect the interests of the nation, the United States sent the USS Maine into Havana Harbor, but on February 15, 1898, the unthinkable happened. The battleship exploded, killing 260 members of the crew. Without a thorough investigation, the U.S. Naval Court of Inquiry stated the explosion was caused by Spain. Doubt from the public was virtually absent and the United States declared war on Spain, beginning the Spanish-American War. The war resulted in a swift American victory, leading to the addition of multiple territories. Although the explosion is now known to have been caused by an internal fire, it caused American intervention and imperialism in both Latin America and islands in the Pacific

Nationalism was another major factor in declaring war against Spain. Nationalism emerged in the United States and all of its people seemed to support the war. The “yellow press” printed multiple stories of scandals, including the explosion of the Maine in the Havana harbor. The yellow press printed that the Spanish were responsible for this action, which led to the slogan “Remember the Maine.” Nationalism and pride surged within the United States and war became imminent. The “rough riders,” who were volunteers from the United States, invaded the Santiago harbor in order to drive out Spanish ships. They paved the way for the American army and forced Spain to sign an armistice. After the war was over and the Cubans were free, The Platt Amendment was passed. It provided that Cuba had to state in its own constitution that the US might intervene with troops in Cuba in order to restore order and to provide mutual protection. It also promised to sell or lease naval stations to the US. The doctrine of Manifest Destiny also played a major part in the war. The US wanted to expand its country and spread its Anglo-Saxon culture. Imperialism was also part of this objective.

The Spanish-American War in 1898 represented what many historians describe as a shift in American foreign policy. The war, perhaps more appropriately called the Spanish-Cuban-American War, occurred in 1898 due to tensions between the Cuban colony and Spain. When War broke out between Spain and Cuba in 1895, Americans rallied behind the idea of Cuba’s right to self-determination and the sentiment of “Cuba Libre!” After the unexplained sinking of the USS Maine, which was sent to Havana harbor to protect American business interests in Cuba, President McKinley asked Congress to declare war against Spain. The war lasted from April to August 1898 and ended with the Spanish defeat at the 1898 Treaty of Paris, largely due to the Cuban efforts before the United States entered the war. The United States had been, until this point in history, a relatively isolated nation in contrast to the imperialist European powers. Following the defeat of the Spanish, the United States annexed Puerto Rico and the Philippines and demanded the passing of the Platt Amendment to the Cuban Constitution to insure American political oversight of Cuban foreign policy. The 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, henceforth referred to as the Rough Riders, was the volunteer regiment for which former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and future President Theodore Roosevelt served as Lieutenant Colonel. The Rough Riders were one of the volunteer regiments called

The Spanish-American war began when an unknown ship sank the USS Maine in Havana, which was sent to protect U.S. citizens and property after the anti-Spanish riots. Yellow journalism contributed to the U.S. declaring war by using “sensational stories that tugged at readers’ heartstrings to sell papers.” These papers blamed Spain for the sinking of the ship, even though they had no evidence to prove it. Spain declared war on April 24, 1898 and the U.S. declared war the next day. These declarations of war began the Spanish-American war. It lasted only four months.

America’s imperial moment arrived when they freed Cuba from Spanish rule. America had to do what was necessary to keep Spain at Bay. President McKinley cautiously lobbied to Spain that they stop destroying American property in Cuba. Since Spain was unwilling to compromise, in 1898, McKinley sent over the battleship Maine, to show that the United

This letter, written by the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Enrique Dupuy De Lome, criticized American President William McKinley by calling him weak and concerned only with gaining the favor of the crowd.” By publicizing the letter it helped move forward the public support for a war with Spain over the issue of independence for the Spanish Colony of Cuba. This letter basically has its own opinion over the spanish having to do with Cuba and the diplomacy of President Mckinley. The United States came on top as a world power as symbolizing victory over Spain in the Spanish - American War. Cuba, however, became and independent country instead of being a us territory. For most Americans their main focus of the war was Cuba. The most famous battles of the Spanish- American War took place at El Caney and San Juan Hill. Most American troops in Cuba were quickly returned to the United States after Spain gave up Puerto Rico. Battle casualties were relatively light during the Spanish- American War. Only 379 U.S. soldiers died in combat. More than ten times that number would be killed during the philippine insurrection. In addition, there was a very high death rate due to disease, especially typhoid fever, in both places. The total number of deaths caused by the diseases and “other causes” during the Spanish - American War was about 5,000. Most of these deaths happened in the training areas in the southeastern United

The battleship, USS Marine was stationed in Havana’s harbor to protect American interest in Cuba. An explosion destroyed the vessel on February 15, 1898. “A naval court of inquiry blamed the explosion on a mine, further inflaming public sentiment against Spain” (HIS104 U.S. History Since 1877 30-Jun-2008, OL20). Again, the press stirred up the public with stories and headlines of a Spanish conspiracy. American now demanded revenge for the deaths of 266 sailors (Faragher, J., 2008, Out of Many). President McKinley demanded that Spanish government end brutality of the Cuban people, engage in armistice, and promise the eventual independence of Cuba. Upon Spain’s refusal, McKinley asked for a declaration of war. (HIS104 U.S. History, Lecture, 30-Jun-2008, OL20). “In order to assure the world that it was fighting only for the good of Cuba and not for colonial gain, the US passed the Teller Amendment, which promised to make Cuba independent after the war was over” (SparkNotes: The Spanish American War, 1898-1901: Summary).