1898: The Spanish-American War Context Cubans fought several wars to free themselves from Spanish colonial rule, including 1868-1878, 1879-1880 and 1895-1898.12 In 1898, Cubans were on the brink of finally winning their inde- pendence. The U.S. government agreed to respect Cuba’s sovereignty and promised they would not step in. “On January 24, [1898] on the pretext of protecting the life and safety of Mr. Lee, U.S. con- sul in Havana, and other U.S. citizens in the face of street disturbances provoked by Spanish extrem- ists, the Maine battleship entered the bay of Ha- vana.”13 Pretext Incident On February 15, 1898, a huge explosion sank the U.S.S Maine killing 266 of its crew.14 In 1975, U.S. Admiral Hyman Rickover’s investigation concluded that there was no evidence of any external explosion. The explosion was in- ternal, probably caused by a coal dust explosion. nish the pictures, I’ll furnish the The ship’s weapons and explosives were danger- war.” For weeks, Hearst’s Jour- ously stored right next to its coal bunker.15 nal dedicated eight pages a day to the explosion.19 Follow Up Through ceaseless repetition, a The Maine’s captain cautioned against assump- rallying cry for retaliation grew tions of an enemy attack. The press denounced into a roar. “In the papers, on him for “refusing to see the obvious.” The Atlan- the streets and in…Congress. tic Monthly said anyone thinking this was not a The slogan was ‘Remember the premeditated, Spanish act of war was “completely Maine! To hell with Spain.’”20 at defiance of the laws of probability.”16 News- With the U.S. public and gov- papers ran wild headlines: “Spanish Cannibal- ernment safely onboard, the U.S. ism,” “Inhuman Torture,” “Amazon Warriors set sail for war and launched an Fight for Rebels.”17 Guillermo Jimpnez Soler era of ‘gunboat diplomacy.’ notes: “U.S. intervention in the war was preceded Anti-war sentiments were by intensive press campaigns which incited jin- drowned out by the cries for war. goism, pandering to the most shameless tales and William Randolph Hearst On April 25, 1898, the U.S. sensationalism and exacerbated cheap sentimen- Congress declared war on Spain. tality. Joseph Pulitzer of The World and William Randolph Real Reasons Hearst from The Journal, the two largest U.S. papers... car- Within four months “the U.S. replaced Spain as the colo- ried their rivalry to a paroxysm of inflaming public opin- nial power in the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico, and ion with scandalous, provocative and imaginary stories de- devised a special status for Cuba. Never again would the signed to win acceptance of U.S. participation in the first U.S. achieve so much…as in that ‘splendid little war,’ as… of its holy wars beyond its maritime borders.”18 described at the time by John Hay, future secretary of state.”21 U.S. papers sent hundreds of reporters and photog- Historian Howard Zinn says that 1898 heralded “the raphers to cover the apparent Spanish attacks. Upon ar- most dramatic entrance onto the world scene of American rival, many were disappointed. Frederick Remington wrote military and economic power.… The war ushered in what to Hearst saying: “There is no war .... Request to be re- Henry Luce later referred to as the American Century, which called.” Hearst’s cable replied: “Please remain. You fur- really meant a century of American domination.”22 Footnotes: War,” Oct.16, 2000. 18. Soler 12. Ed Elizondo, “History of the Cuban 15. Michael Rivero, “Dictatorship through 19. Buschini Liberation Wars,” Oct.2, 2001. Deception,” New Republic Forum, 20. Buschini 13. “Emergence of the U.S. as a world Dec. 24, 1999. 21. Soler power,” Granma, Aug.7, 1998. 16. Rivero 22. Howard Zinn, “History as a Political 14. Bill Sardi, “Remember the Maine! 17. J. Buschini, “Spanish-American War,” Act,” Revolutionary Worker, Decem- And the Other Ships Sunk to Start a Small Planet Communications, 2000. ber 20, 1998. 6 Press for Conversion! Issue # 50 January 2003 What Happened Aboard the U.S.S Maine?
By Shannon Jones Was the explosion a deliberate provocation by U.S. militarists or their agents to foment war with Spain? y 1897, large sections of big William Chanler, of the U.S. House of Representatives, business were clamoring for claimed responsibility for the explosion in a conversation Bwar with Spain. In October, with U.S. ambassador William Bullitt in the early 1930s. Theodore Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy for President (3) There were no dead fish in the William McKinley, sent a wire to Ad- harbor, as would be expected if an miral George Dewey advising him to external explosion had occurred. prepare for an attack on the Spanish Further, the Maine entered Ha- fleet in the Philippines pending devel- vana with virtually no advance notice, opments in Cuba. making it unlikely that anyone could On the pretext of protecting have planted a mine in the ship’s berth. U.S. citizens, in fact there was no such If the explosion was not caused threat, the President ordered the Bat- by a mine, then it was triggered by tleship Maine to Key West, Florida, something inside the ship. One hypoth- where it could sail to Cuba at a mo- esis raised by the U.S. Navy, but soon ments notice. When conservative discarded in light of war hysteria, was Spaniards attacked a Havana newspa- that a coal bunker fire detonated a re- per office on Jan. 12, McKinley pro- Button with battle cry for serve magazine. Many in the navy had vocatively sent the Maine to Havana. the Spanish-American War questioned the wisdom of placing am- The Spanish bent over back- munition next to the coal, given the wards to avert war and accepted U.S. cede sovereignty over Cuba. Despite significant danger of accidental fire. explanations that the powerful warship the fact that Spain capitulated to most In 1976, U.S. Admiral Hyman was on a “courtesy call.” Its officers U.S. demands, McKinley received au- Rickover published a report asserting were treated with all due respect. thorization from Congress to use mili- that a fire in the coal bunker most likely On February 15, just as the tary force. On April 23, Congress had caused the explosion on the Maine. Maine prepared to leave, a huge ex- adopted a resolution declaring that a However, there is another pos- plosion tore apart the ship. Two offic- state of war existed with Spain. sibility that deserves consideration. ers and 266, of the 354, crew died. The Within months, Spain was de- Was the explosion on the Maine a de- Spanish helped rescue the survivors feated. The U.S. obtained virtually all liberate provocation by U.S. militarists and expressed shock at the tragedy. of Spain’s colonies, including Cuba, or their agents to foment war with To this day, no one knows for the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Spain? If accidental, the blast was ex- sure what caused the explosion. The Rico. The U.S. next turned against its tremely fortuitous for the U.S. With- Spanish had no motive for provoking supposed allies, the Philippine insur- out an overt act on the part of Spain, a war, given the huge military and in- rectionists. After crushing their revo- McKinley would have been hard dustrial preponderance of the U.S. lutionary movement, the U.S. estab- pressed to justify military action. Without one shred of evidence, lished a brutal colonial administration British historian Hugh Tho- the U.S. press assumed the Spanish to rival the Spaniards. mas, in his book Cuba: The Pursuit of were to blame. When Hearst heard of What did happen aboard the Freedom (1971), cites William Astor the explosion he declared, “This means Maine? The facts all but rule out an Chanler, a member of the U.S. House war.” His New York Journal headline attack by the Spanish. Not only did the of Representatives, who had connec- read, “The War Ship Maine was Split Spanish have no motive, but circum- tions to Roosevelt, as a suspect in the in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal stantial evidence makes it highly un- bombing of the Maine. Chanler and Machine.” The front page carried a likely that an external device such as his brothers were involved in smug- drawing of the ship riding atop mines a mine or a torpedo destroyed the ship. gling arms to the Cuba insurrection- and showed wires leading to a Span- An independent report con- ists. He reportedly claimed responsi- ish fort guarding the harbor. ducted by the Spanish made the fol- bility for the explosion in a conversa- A commission hastily assem- lowing significant points: tion with the U.S. ambassador William bled by the U.S. concluded that a mine (1) A mine would almost certainly had Bullitt in the early 1930’s. Chanler had destroyed the ship. The assump- to be detonated by electricity since died shortly afterwards in Paris. tion, though not explicitly stated, was the Maine was stationary and did that the Spanish were responsible. not run into an explosive device. Source: Excerpt, “The press and U.S. The slogan “Remember the However, no wires were found. militarism — a lesson from history,” Maine” became the battle cry of U.S. (2) No column of water was seen, World Socialist Web Site, August 21, militarists. The U.S. issued a series of though one would have been likely 1998.