February 15th, 1898, the USS Maine was hit with a mine as it sat in the Havana Harbor. There is large speculation to whether that is the truth or not. Over the years it is still a topic of debate as of what caused the explosion. Some believe that the Spaniards did it, others believe it was a clumsy mistake of misplaced ammo, others believe it was a spontaneous coal fire that caught a box of ammunition on fire. No matter the cause, the loss of the ship and 260 of her crew was devastating to America at the time and led to strong feelings of dislike towards the Spaniards, leading to the Spanish-American war of 1898. The theories behind the explosion of the USS Maine is mainly focused around two ideas, there are many angles that can be viewed for the cause of this disaster and its fueling of the war that will be examined in this paper.
The Spanish-American war was a short war in which America won in three months, two weeks and four days. The fights were extremely unbalanced as America dominated Spain in all of the battles. At Manila Bay in the Philippines the American fleet, under command of Commodore Dewey, destroyed the Spanish fleet and took over the Philippines on May 1st, in which total America only had several wounded soldiers at the end of the battle. In June, American forces landed outside of the Cuban city of Santiago where their heavy woolen winter uniforms caused them to sweat profusely in the intense Spanish heat. Amidst the heat they’re provisions consisted of
“The Spanish-American War was the defining moment in modern U.S. history. It began the process by which the U.S. would establish itself as a world super power”.
The Spanish-American War began as a humanitarian effort to free Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp and ended with the United States itself acquiring territory overseas and fighting a dirty guerrilla war with Filipino nationalists who, like the Cubans, sought independence. Behind the contradiction stood the twin pillars of American foreign policy: The Monroe Doctrine made Spain’s presence in Cuba unacceptable, and U.S. determination to keep open the door to Asia made the Philippines attractive as a stepping-stone to China.
Have you ever heard about the USS Maine explosion? It was the thing that caused the Spanish-American war to begin. The ship was blown up and ended up sinking while in Havana Harbor in Cuba on February 15,1898. Tensions were already large and so their main theory was that a terrorist snuck onto the ship and blew it up. There are many theories of why the ship blew up and sank.
What was the Spanish-American war? The Spanish-American war was a short time period war that left a huge impact in America. They had no idea what it would led it or never thought that it would killing more than 500 lives. In Chapter twenty in the text book “Out of the Many “and the article “American Manhood and Declaring war on Spain”, discusses about the main parts of events that led to the Spanish-American war. The United States became involved with many foreign affairs in the late nineteen centuries.
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
Indeed, contemporaries frequently pointed to violations of U.S. neutrality at sea as the most shocking hostility of belligerents. The sensationalist newspapers of the 1890s quickly published dramatized accounts of Spain’s alleged involvement in the sinking of the USS Maine, which resulted in the deaths of 261 American crewmembers. The battleship had been sent to Havana Harbor in order to monitor the
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
It all started the morning of December 7, 1941 when Japanese leaders decided to bomb the United States. Families were then broke apart and things became much more complex in the lives of Americans. Pearl Harbor was not “just a bombing,” but in reality it is so much more. This bombing had a great impact on the whole world for World War II. The bombing of Pearl Harbor had many situations before the bombing, during the bombing, and after the bombing.
The Spanish American War started in 1898 and lasted about four months. Although the war might have seemed focused on freeing Cuba from Spain and gaining independence for Cuba and the Philippines, it was actually stimulated by nationalism and commercialism. Commercialism was a major factor when declaring war because the United States depended on Cuba and the Philippines for trade and business with other countries, especially in Asia and Latin America. Another major factor for the war was that the United States wanted to spread its Anglo-Saxon culture around the world and emerge as a world-wide power. Other minor motives for the war include the United States coming to the aid of the Cubans in their revolt against Spain and the feeling that
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.
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”.
December 7, 1941 was one of America’s darkest days. This was the day of the famous pearl harbor bombing. This attack came from the Japanese attacking the American Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack had been in the planning for many years to attack and weaken the United States Naval force. Japan wanted to do this to gain more superiority in the Atlantic and to grow their ties with European nations. In this paper I will talk about the people, the planning, the attack, and the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombing.
The past 120 years have brought many changes, as well as surprises, to the United States of America. There have been inventions such as the automobile, the airplane, the television and even travel in space. There have been changes like the World Wars, Prohibition, the Great Depression and the cold war. Through the years, the American people have encountered joy, peace, and tragedy. One of the greatest tragedies experienced by Americans occurred on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor Naval Base. One could consider this incident the first act of terrorism against America. The attack and defeat of the United States at Pearl Harbor forced America into World War II. This single act left a tremendous impact on society and is
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).
However, in Spain there was a belief of the United States planning the explosion to began a war. With all of the tension between the two countries, about two months after the attack, there was an outbreak of warfare known as the Spanish-American War. The attack on the ship was in February of 1898 and the war began in April of the same year. It ended in August, 1898 when both countries signed the Treaty of Paris guaranteeing Cuban independence, and forcing Spain to sign Guam and Puerto Rico over to the United States.