How and Why the U.S.S Maine became involved in a war with Spain

How and Why the U.S.S Maine became involved in a war with Spain

The U.S.S Maine was a Navy Ship owned by the USA, and it sank in 1898 at Havana Harbor, taking with it ¾ of the people inside it. The ship had been sent to guard the interests of USA during Cuba’s war for independence. The sinking of the USS Maine played a crucial role in catalyzing the start of the Spanish – American War of April 1898. This essay will discuss how and why the USS Maine became involved in a war with Spain.

The USS Maine was not the direct cause of the war between Spain and the USA. However, as mentioned earlier, the sinking of the ship became a catalyst for the events that eventually resulted in the Spanish – American War. When the ship sank at Havana Harbor, two US newspapers, the New York World and the New York Journal, started spreading unfounded rumors regarding the reason that led to the sinking of the USS Maine and the massive loss of its crew. These rumors became the foundation of what got labeled as Yellow Journalism.

Under Yellow Journalism, any information concerning the sinking of the ship was greatly exaggerated and highly distorted. Propagandas and fabricated lies were spread, claiming the USS Maine had been strategically mined or intentionally bombed. Every newspaper and journalist came up with a link between Spain and the bombing of the USS Maine. In response to this news, the world started demanded that Spain atones for its murder and destruction of the US ship through granting Cuba its independence. Spain was consequently labeled as treacherous and needed to be dealt with.

The USA, which was already agitated by Spain’s cruelty and inhumanity in Cuba, became even more hysterical. William Randolph, a newspaper publisher, when reporting on the USS Maine, strongly argued that there was no way that the sinking of the ship was an accident. He strongly disagreed that the sinking of the ship could have been as a result of an internal mistake or accident by the ship’s crew. He cited similar reports from other high ranking naval officers and even used historical performance to prove that no such mistake had ever occurred in any other American or British ships. He ended up convincing the USA that Spain was behind the sinking of the Mine.

However, the Spanish-American war did not begin immediately after the USS Maine sank. What followed was an agitated atmosphere, as though America was waiting for the smallest trigger from Spain to go to war with them. Spain, to clear its name, sent an investigator who concluded that the USS Maine sank as a result of spontaneous combustion of coal dust within the ship itself. The USA Sampson board was quick to investigate the claims, later reporting the ship’s sinking was due to a torpedo that caused an external explosion.

The world’s attention became refocused on the Cuban war and how much crisis the country was in. Spain was blamed for the crisis, being accused of losing control and letting atrocities thrive in Cuba.  Spain’s leaders in Cuba, Weyler, was indicted the deaths of over 100, 000 Cubans. Individuals and groups with war fever and desiring Cuba’s independence and Spain’s fall begun using the Slogan, “Remember Maine! To hell with Spain!” An already triggered USA took advantage of the situation, passed a resolution demanding Spanish evacuation from Cuba, and declared war on Spain on 21st April 1898. The Spanish-American war thus started two months after the sinking of the USS Maine, with the US claiming to aid Cuba in attaining its independence from Spain.