Uss Maine

USS Maine

At 9:40 P.M. on xv Feb 1898, the USS Maine, moored inwards Havana Harbor, Cuba, exploded, killing 266 men. The devastation took house inwards an already tense province of affairs betwixt Spain, which had purplish command over Cuba, in addition to the United States, where sympathy for Cuban independence was strong.

The crusade of the explosion was non similar a shot apparent, in addition to inwards the the States speculation that it was perpetrated past times the Castilian was rife, a theory that was actively promoted past times the sensationalist press.

Although state of war betwixt Espana in addition to the the States was in all likelihood inevitable, the sinking of the Maine in addition to the theory that Espana had caused it led to an overwhelming world sentiment inwards favor of state of war in addition to the avenging of the Maine. The Spanish-American War began on 24 Apr 1898, after Congress recognized Cuban independence on twenty April. The slogan “Remember the Maine!” was to live on a pop 1 inwards rallying U.S. back upwardly for the war.


The the States had taken an involvement inwards Republic of Cuba since the middle of the nineteenth century when Cuban nationalists began to struggle for independence. Motivations for this involvement were numerous: sympathy for the destination of independence in addition to liberty from a corrupt Old World ability (a long cherished American ideal); humanitarian involvement inwards the Earth of the Cuban people; in addition to economical interests inwards merchandise with, in addition to assets in, Cuba.

The U.S. people supported the Cubans’ struggle in addition to provided them amongst money, guns, in addition to supplies. The Cleveland direction was reluctant to intervene, but when William McKinley assumed the presidency inwards 1897, the force for intervention became stronger.

Diplomatic events inwards 1898 revealed Spain’s unwillingness to negotiate amongst the the States over the Cuban situation. It was also unclear simply what the U.S. demanded from Spain—many inwards the direction were unsure whether Cubans were capable of governing themselves.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 alphabetic quality from the Castilian ambassador, Dupuy de Lôme, was published inwards the William Randolph Hearst paper the New York Journal on nine February. In the alphabetic quality de Lôme insulted President McKinley, outraging the American public. Only half dozen days later, word came that the Maine, which had been sent to Havana inwards Jan every bit an ostensibly friendly gesture, had been sunk.

The Maine had been commissioned every bit a battleship (although it was originally classified every bit an armored cruiser) on 17 September 1895. Her captain inwards 1898 was Charles D. Sigsbee, who sent the regime annotation to Washington informing them of the disaster. In role it read: “Maine blown upwardly inwards Havana Harbor in addition to destroyed.

Many wounded in addition to doubtless to a greater extent than killed in addition to drowned .... Public persuasion should live on suspended until farther report” (March, 316). Despite Sigsbee’s plea against jumping to conclusions in addition to the refusal of the U.S. regime to speculate on the crusade of the explosion, world persuasion began to brand its ain judgment, inflamed past times the “yellow press” of Hearst in addition to his rival, Joseph Pulitzer.

Pulitzer’s New York World of 17 Feb 1898 ran the headline, “Maine Explosion Caused past times Bomb or Torpedo?” amongst a graphic example of the Maine exploding (complete amongst bodies beingness thrown from the ship) beneath.

Articles quoted “experts” speculating that “a torpedo was used,” in addition to the wounded survivors of the Maine expressed their persuasion that it was “a deep pose plot of Spaniards.” Three days later, Sigsbee himself was quoted every bit believing “a submarine mine blew upwardly the Maine” (New York World, twenty Feb 1898).

By 24 February, non fifty-fifty 10 days after the explosion, headlines ran inwards the World that left no uncertainty that the papers believed that it had been no accident: “Experts at Havana Say Some Great Exterior Force Rent in addition to Sunk the Ship” in addition to “Fifty Physical Proofs that Maine Was Blown Up past times a Mine or Torpedo.”

The speculation inwards the press inwards the commencement days after the explosion was based on piddling actual evidence, but fed into the growing world clamor for activeness against the Spanish.

The regime continued to turn down to comment, instead waiting for the results of the official investigation that had been launched similar a shot after the disaster. Divers in addition to armor experts were sent to investigate the physical testify of the wreck, in addition to a Naval Court of Inquiry was held.

The world believed that it would furnish concrete testify of Castilian guilt. At the same time, the Castilian conducted their ain investigation (as the Maine had blown upwardly inwards their territorial waters) in addition to concluded that it was caused past times an internal explosion.

On 28 March, the official study was submitted. It concluded that 2 explosions had occurred: “In the persuasion of the Court, the Maine was destroyed past times the explosion of a submarine mine, which caused the partial explosion of 2 or to a greater extent than of her frontwards magazines.

The Court has been unable to obtain evidence, fixing the responsibleness for the devastation of the Maine upon whatever mortal or persons” (March, 327). While it was clear that Espana had most to lose inwards going to war, the world was to a greater extent than than willing to attribute the guilt for this to them.

The neutral findings of the courtroom opened the agency to this. The press jumped at the lead a opportunity to inflame the issue. Hearst’s slogan was “Remember the Maine, in addition to to hell amongst Spain!” On 22 April, the the States blockaded Cuba, in addition to a hateful solar daytime after volunteers were called for.

The theory that the Castilian had sunk the Maine clearly contributed to a potent world persuasion encouraged past times the press favoring war. While it was non the exclusively element introduce inwards a complicated diplomatic situation, it was a meaning one. The Maine remained a patriotic symbol around which back upwardly for the state of war cohered.

What, then, was the “true” story? Admiral H. G. Rickover conducted a novel exam into the explosion inwards 1976. He noted the problems of the master copy 1898 U.S. inquiry: limited expertise, piteous diving weather inwards the harbor, in addition to inadequate questioning during the hearings all contributed to an research that was non every bit comprehensive every bit it should receive got been, given the import of its result. Even contemporary experts questioned the likelihood of a mine having been the crusade of the disaster.

Public pressure level to produce something amongst the Maine wreck led to Congress appropriating $650,000 inwards 1910 to take the wreck in addition to recover the bodies soundless at that topographic point for burial inwards Arlington Cemetery. The Army Corps of Engineers were given primary responsibleness for the endeavor. In 1911, a novel board of investigation arrived inwards Havana amongst to a greater extent than expertise than 1898.

They took detailed records of the harm in addition to many photographs in addition to diagrams. Nevertheless, their ultimate decision (while differing from 1898 inwards technical detail) was that the primary explosion was soundless due to the placing of a mine, which had pose off some other explosion inwards the magazines.

For the purposes of Rickover’s study, 2 experts reexamined all the testify in addition to concluded that inwards fact the primary explosion had been an internal one, mayhap caused past times burn inwards a bunker setting off explosions inwards the magazines.

The story of the sinking of the USSMaine is clearly fundamental to the story of the Spanish-American War; but it also raises issues that receive got to produce amongst the role of the press inwards creating “conspiracy theories” to adapt their purposes (increased circulation in addition to jingoism), every bit good every bit the number of scientific testify in addition to its role inwards establishing “truth.” In this story, technical testify is fundamental inwards determining the “true” story of the Maine in addition to whether a state of war was started over an accident.

Certainly the role of technical or scientific testify continues to live on fundamental to society’s ask to create upwardly one's hear the “truth” of events, but this story also reveals that technical testify (which is non infallible) tin live on given also much power. Rickover speculates whether a dissimilar consequence powerfulness receive got occurred if the 1898 research had come upwardly to a dissimilar conclusion.

While that tin exclusively e'er live on hypothesis, it withal raises the number of simply how of import the “conspiracy theory” most the Maine—reinforced past times the “truth” of a scientific research in addition to the inflammatory actions of the press—was inwards shaping the course of study of history.