What really happened to the battleship U.S.S Maine?
As George McClellan says below, she blew up.As for why she blew up, nobody really knows. The leading theory is that one of her coal bunkers caught fire, which could and did happen in coal-fired ships. Coal can emit methane or hydrogen sulfide gas, either of which is explosive, and coal dust itself can burn pretty good if it’s heated up enough. If a fire in the coal bunker burned hot enough, enough heat could have transferred to the adjacent powder magazine to set off the charges there.Thing is, in this case “leading theory” just means “theory with the fewest holes in it.” Coal fires were a well-known danger and everyone knew to be on the lookout for them. Maine was equipped with a temperature-based alarm system for detecting coal fires, and ship’s engineers had inspected nearby bunkers shortly before the explosion and seen nothing amiss. That could just mean warning signs were missed, but it does raise questions. Other theories I’ve heard that sound at least somewhat plausible are an accident in the magazine itself, fire in something else like a paint locker, or even a loose mine from the Havana harbor defenses accidentally striking the ship. It’s been over a hundred years and the wreckage of the Maine has been moved and dumped into deeper water, so I don’t think I’d hold out much hope for new evidence at this point.I would say that most observers consider the likelihood that Maine was deliberately sunk to be very low.
What were people in American thinking about the Spanish-American War?
I am making a magazine for my history class and I cannot find anything on what the Americans were thinking during the Spanish-American War.. Can anyone help me out?
What events led up to the Spanish-American War?
Please give me SIX events and causes that led to the Spanish_American War. Please explain how those events were connected and led to this war. In addition, i would also like to learn some more about the war. Thank you and have an alluringly wonderful day/night. PS: I want serious answers, not " a taco or a plate or rice and beans.." kind of answer. Real answers!
Did the American public support the Spanish-American War and taking the colonies of Spain upon winning?
The American public was in the grip of imperialism, something the European nations were in fierce competition over, and with “yellow journalism” in its heyday, the flames of war were blazing. The accidental explosion of the second-class battleship Maine in Havana Harbour was only the spark that touched off the war.USS Oregon, a battleship that played a key role in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, a US naval victory that preceded the conquest of Cuba and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea.The land campaign was closely attended by the press, who lionised Teddy Roosevelt and his “Rough Riders” for their famed charge up San Juan Hill. Likewise, the US naval victories in the two sea battles of the war were on the front page of every newspaper for weeks.An advertisement for a reenactment of the charge that helped make Teddy Roosevelt a household name, governor of New York, and president in 1901.The public welcomed the addition of a selection of islands to America’s “empire” overseas; such pearls as Guam, the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico were prizes that validated America’s desire to be numbered among the Great Powers of the day.A suitably lurid print of the Battle of Manila Bay, Philippines. The Spanish Far East Squadron was in such poor condition that the defenders essentially towed their ships into position and anchored them in place. The Americans sailed up and down the bay, firing on each pass, until all the stationary targets were on fire. Naturally, the press