Sinking of the Maine

Claire Haley
Period 2
Smith
Video 
Source



Prior to the explosion of the Maine, US president McKinley made it very clear that he did not want to intervene in the war against Spain, believing that it would cost too many lives and hurt the economy. On top of that, McKinley had been accused as "weak and a bidder for the admiration of the crowd,"(303) by the Spanish ambassador to the United States. Therefore, not only was McKinley under a great deal of pressure, but Americans were angry and desperately looking for a way to get revenge, (typical.)

When the USS Maine blew up in the Havana harbor, mass hysteria broke out, and the Spanish were immediately blamed. This was the turning moment for America. The press went crazy, rallying the people like never before. Congress then unanimously authorized the president to spend $50 million for war preparations. People crying"remember the Maine" echoed through the streets. Soon enough, constant pressure from the press and from the rest of his country, McKinley had no choice but to go to war.

One may think that Americans were blind when blaming the explosion of the Maine on the Spanish, and in some ways they were. However, there was some very concrete evidence supporting their beliefs. For example, the Spanish Ambassador had already blatantly insulted McKinley, therefore showing that Spain did not approve of or trust America. Also, the Maine was blown up in the Havana harbor in Cuba, which Spain was fighting to keep. It was the perfect place for them to do it. Lastly. when Congress declared Spain independent, the Spanish still refused to compromise and declared war on the US, which further proves that Spain had no interest in cooperation, just war.

Spain was guilty of the Maine explosion for nearly 80 years until 1976 when a new modern interpretation of this incident came into play. The H.G. Rickover team concluded that the physical state of the Maine did indeed show that there was an internal explosion, but it was not caused by a mine. They believe that the mines used in 1898 were incapable of igniting the Maine magazine. The most likely source was heat from a fire in the coal bunker adjacent to the 6-inch reserve magazine.