USS MAINE EXPLODES IN HAVANA
Havana, Cuba (JFK+50) On the evening of February 15, 1898, five tons of gunpowder detonated aboard the U.S.S. Maine* docked here Havana. The explosion destroyed the forward third of the vessel and cost the lives of 260 American sailors.
The American "yellow press," led by William Randolph Hearst** and Joseph Pulitzer***, had published accounts of oppression against Cubans by Spanish forces. Under pressure for U.S. intervention, President William McKinley dispatched a battleship to Havana. U.S.S. Maine arrived on January 24, 1898.
The headline in the New York World two days after the explosion read...
"MAINE EXPLOSION CAUSED BY BOMB OR TORPEDO"
In March, President McKinley called for full independence of Cuba from Spain. An armistice followed but on April 19th Congress passed a resolution asserting Cuba's independence and authorized U.S. military forces to assure Spain's withdrawal. A formal declaration of war on Spain was approved on April 25th.
Three investigations were conducted involving the incident. The first two determined the explosion to be caused by a naval mine presumably planted in the harbor by the Spanish. The last investigation (1976) determined the explosion to be caused by an internal coal dust fire.
Patrick McSherry argues that available evidence does NOT support the cause of the explosion to be from a "coal-bunker fire." He writes that the "mine theory" remains the most reliable.
*U.S.S. Maine (ACR-1) was launched on November 18, 1889 after 9 years of construction at the U.S. Naval Yard in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was one of the 1st U.S. battleships & a showpiece of the U.S. Navy. Her loss was a shock for the American people.
**William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) was born in San Francisco to a mining magnate & U.S. Senator. WRH took over the SF Examiner & in 1895 bought the NY Journal. WRS served in the U.S. House of Representatives 1903-1907. In 1909, he founded the International News Service.
***Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) was born in Mako, Hungary & came to the U.S. as a recruit for the Union army in the U.S. Civil War. He settled in St. Louis & became a news reporter. JP served in the Missouri House of Representatives & bought the New York World (1883) which became the newspaper with the nation's largest circulation.
SOURCES
"How Likely was a Coal Bunker Fire Aboard the Battleship Maine?," by Patrick McSherry, www.spanamwar.com/
"Spanish-American War," The World Book Encyclopedia 1988 Edition, Chicago, World Book Inc.
"The Spanish-American War: The U.S.S. Maine Explosion", ThoughtCo., www.thoughtco.com/
U.S.S. Maine
Aftermath of the Explosion
