Reasons for the USA to go to war in a article in the national geographic
In 1898, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal were arguing for American intervention in Cuba. Hearst is reported to have dispatched a photographer to Cuba to photograph the coming war with Spain. When the photographer asked just what war that might be, Hearst is reported to have replied, "You take the photographs, and I will provide the war". Hearst was true to his word, as his newspaper published stories of great atrocities being committed against the Cuban people, most of which turned out to be complete fabrications.
On the night of February 15, 1898, the USS Maine, lying in Havana harbor in a show of US resolve to protect her interests, exploded violently. Captain Sigsbee, the commander of the Maine, urged that no assumptions of enemy attack be made until there was a full investigation of the cause of the explosion. For this, Captain Sigsbee was excoriated in the press for "refusing to see the obvious". The Atlantic Monthly declared flat out that to suppose the explosion to be anything other than a deliberate act by Spain was "completely at defiance of the laws of probability".
Under the slogan "Remember the Maine", Americans went to war with Spain, eventually winning the Philippines (and annexing Hawaii along the way).
In 1975, an investigation led by Admiral Hyman Rickover examined the data recovered from a 1911 examination of the wreck and concluded that there had been no evidence of an external explosion. The most likely cause of the sinking was a coal dust explosion in a coal bunker imprudently located next to the ship's magazines. Captain Sigsbee's caution had been well founded.
On the night of February 15, 1898, the USS Maine, lying in Havana harbor in a show of US resolve to protect her interests, exploded violently. Captain Sigsbee, the commander of the Maine, urged that no assumptions of enemy attack be made until there was a full investigation of the cause of the explosion. For this, Captain Sigsbee was excoriated in the press for "refusing to see the obvious". The Atlantic Monthly declared flat out that to suppose the explosion to be anything other than a deliberate act by Spain was "completely at defiance of the laws of probability".
Under the slogan "Remember the Maine", Americans went to war with Spain, eventually winning the Philippines (and annexing Hawaii along the way).
In 1975, an investigation led by Admiral Hyman Rickover examined the data recovered from a 1911 examination of the wreck and concluded that there had been no evidence of an external explosion. The most likely cause of the sinking was a coal dust explosion in a coal bunker imprudently located next to the ship's magazines. Captain Sigsbee's caution had been well founded.
The explosion on the USS Maine was caused by an internal explosion involving the spontaneous combustion of coal in bunker A16. The fire caused by the combustion detonated nearby magazines.
Evidence Presented:
spontaneous combustion of coal was a fairly frequent problem on ships built after the American Civil War. Coal was exposed to air, oxidized and began burning at 180 degrees. Heat transferred to magazines causing explosion.
bunker A16 had not been inspected since 8 a.m. The explosion occurred around
9:40 p.m. There was ample time (12 hours) for a coal bunker fire to smolder into a disaster.
several other ships sustained damage from coal bunker fires during the Spanish American war.
no one reported seeing a geyser of water thrown up during the explosion, acommon sight when mines explode underwater.
no one reported seeing any dead fish in the harbor and these would have been seen if there had been an external blast.
inward bending of the plates was caused by water displacement occurring at the same time the front of the ship was breaking away from the rear.
9:40 p.m. There was ample time (12 hours) for a coal bunker fire to smolder into a disaster.
several other ships sustained damage from coal bunker fires during the Spanish American war.
no one reported seeing a geyser of water thrown up during the explosion, acommon sight when mines explode underwater.
no one reported seeing any dead fish in the harbor and these would have been seen if there had been an external blast.
inward bending of the plates was caused by water displacement occurring at the same time the front of the ship was breaking away from the rear.
GO TO WHATHAPPENDNEXT.COM for the lies of the century
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