Three months, two weeks, and four days. A total of 3,289 American lives were lost. What other tragic occurrence could this be besides a war? The Spanish- American war was fought over yellow journalism, De Lôme letter, and a malfunction .
The first cause of the Spanish- American war was yellow journalism. A group of journalists had been presenting stories, based on fact, in a sort of way that played on the emotions of the American people. The journalists exaggerated beyond the facts of how the Spanish were treating the Cubans. United States citizens felt a need, a moral conscious if you will, to help the Cuba get its freedom from Spain. When Spain denied it, Americans urged McKinley to proceed with force. The yellow journalism swayed the mindset of our citizens to want to wage a war against Spain.
On top of the yellow journalism that was taking place in America, the next event that happened pushed us more towards a war. The De Lôme letter which caused major chaos. A personal letter, written by a Spanish diplomat was stolen and published. The contents of the letter included calling the President of the United States “weak and catering to the rabble and, besides, a low politician who desires to leave a door open to himself and to stand well with the jingos of his party." All and all along with the yellow journalism it was too much for the American people. First we find out about horrible treatment of Cubans (a little over exaggerated though), and then a Spanish diplomat who had ties to Cuba insults the President so fiercely, anything could push America into a war with Spain. Sure enough, one week later an even like that occurred.
Lastly, the malfunction. On February 15, 1898, a famous event known as “Remember the Maine!”. It was an explosion that occurred in the Havana Harbor on the USS Maine, where a few hundred Americans lost their lives. The United States thought it was sabotage by Spain and there for an act of war. It wasn’t until much later the United States found out it was just a malfunction in the boiler room. Prior to this explosion there was much tension between America and Spain, so we weren’t completely crazy in assuming it was foul play.
After yellow journalism, the De Lôme letter, and the sinking of the USS Maine. The United States couldn’t bare to sit around anymore. They encouraged our president to pursue a war against Spain. Our President at the the time was William McKinley. He made a list of demands for the Spanish people, the most important being give Cuba it’s independence. Spain did not comply therefor we took up arms. We waged a war that went down in history as the Spanish- American war.
Here are my sources:
"Spanish-American War." Spanish-American War. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.
"De Lôme Letter." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 July 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.
"Spanish American War Essentials." About.com American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013.
The first picture I have on the left is of the USS Maine after the explosion and the picture on the bottom right is a photo of the De Lôme letter.
Comments
Well done Emma!