Spanish-American war: a conflict motivated by the minority.

Juan Manuel Gatica

AMH 2042 RVC

Paper 1

2/21/2016

Spanish-American war: a conflict motivated by the minority.

About half past nine in the afternoon of Tuesday February 15, 1898 an explosion in the Cuban bay of Havana sank the American battleship U.S.S Maine. In the explosion three quarters of the crew perished. Before this incident, on January 9, the Spanish Ambassador in the United States sent a letter that was intercepted and reproduced by the American press, where the Spanish Ambassador described President McKinley as mentally weak. This publication produced indignation amongst many Americans, and the president itself. After the explosion, the American press started publishing articles motivating the American people to act against Spain claiming they were responsible for the Maine explosion. This event was the start of the Spanish-American war, which was triggered by a particular incident, and being motivated by a few that thought this was a cause for war.

The U.S.S. Maine, under the command of Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, arrived in Havana on January 25, 1898, in the vicinity of a “friendly visit” that occurred despite the tense moments, on the one hand, between Spain and America, and on the other hand, due to the confrontation independent Cubans were holding -successfully- against the Iberians. Sending the ship to the Havana bay was a clear message sent by the Americans saying that they were willing to participate in the Cuban conflicts because they had economic and political interests in the island. In the telegram sent by Fitzhugh Lee to Washington from Cuba on December 3, 1897, these interests were clearly reflected. The telegram stated that “two war ships at least should be at Key West, prepared to move here at short notice, and that more of them should be sent to Dry Tortugas, and a coal station be established there.”^[1] Installing a coal station in Dry Tortugas was a clear sign of American commercial interest in the area.

Unexpectedly, 21 days after the arrival of the U.S.S. Maine to the Havana Bay, an explosion sank the ship, killing 266 American Navy soldiers and 2 officers. Rumors started flowing in the American society about who the responsible of the explosion was, if the Spaniards, Cubans or the American themselves. Immediately after the sinking of the Maine, the American press, mostly the New York Journal owned by Mr. Hearst and the New York World, own by the famous Joseph Pulitzer, started to make “yellow press” against the Spanish government, blaming them for what happened with the battleship. The “yellow press” was a type of journalism started by Hearst and Pulitzer at this time. This type of journalism consists of “presenting little or no legitimate well-researched news, and instead use eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers”^[2]. On February 17, 1898, the headline of the New York Journal stated “Destruction of the war ship Maine was the work of an enemy”^[3]. The Journal didn’t have enough evidence to support such accusation, but this was a way to start a complaint against the Spaniards. They even offered a “$50,000 reward for the conviction of the criminals who sent 258 American sailors to their death.”^[4] This is a clear evidence that they did not know who the offender was, so they offered money to whoever found the causer.

Faced with the political events that could become as a result of the explosion of the Maine, the Spanish authorities began the process of investigation. The US government did the same and appointed a commission inquiring identical purposes with the slogan that its work should be to act independently, thus denying any possibility of establishing a joint investigation to clarify the circumstances of the outbreak of the American ship.

In March 21, 1898, the US government received a summary of his commission. The report stated that the Maine explosion was caused by a mine placed under the frame 18 of the vessel. So the commission determined that the cause of the explosion "was caused from the outside", that is to say due to sabotage. On the other hand, the report that came from Spanish researchers said that the cause of the explosion was rooted in an "internal cause", hinting that the explosion of the Maine was fortuitous or a consequence of some irresponsible crew. Thus, those who advocated military action against Spain, found in this circumstance the reason for their warlike desires, which would allow them to appropriate Cuba, displacing for this purpose, the Spaniards from the largest island of the Antilles.

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