The Sinking of the Maine

1) The Sinking of the Maine

Event overview:
          Worried about the fragile state of Cuba (and its sugarcane farms), the United States sent the U.S.S Maine to Havana harbor to act as a protector, watcher, and warning. On February 15th, 2898, an explosion sunk the Maine and killed 266 Americans. Spanish-American tensions had already been high, but the explosion caused immediate alarm. A Court of Inquiry was sent out to investigate the cause of the explosion, but many Americans and officials were quick to point fingers at Spain. The investigation found the explosion to have come from outside the Maine, which suggested that Spain could have done something to cause it. Well, despite a heavy lack of evidence, Spain was declared the perpetrator and a war began that would secure America's position as world power and help it begin an Imperialist empire.

          A quote from Commander George A. Converse during the 1898 inquiry into the cause of the explosion in the Maine: "Indications are than an underwater explosion produced the conditions..."
          A quote from Admiral H.G. Rickover's conclusion during the 1976 re-examination: "The mines available in 1898 are believed to have been incapable of igniting the Maine...It is most unlikely that the Maine explosion was indeed initiated by a mine... The available evidence is consisten with an internal explosion alone..."
           To summarize the Admiral, the investigation in 1976 found that the explosion happened inside the Maine, and was likely due to a fire in a coal bunker.

           Pros and Cons - Spanish Sinking Maine
Pros:                                                                                      
Allowed America to intervene in Cuba
Gave Americans an excuse to go to war with Spain
Let U.S claim Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines
Cuba freed of Spanish rule
Established America as Imperialist World Power                                                                                                
Cons:
War  and camps killed thousands
Filipinos in concentration camps again
Cuba on a short American leash
Rebels in each country are backstabbed by Americans
Began American Imperialism (Can be seen as a con in modern context)
         
        Pros and Cons - Modern Investigation Findings
Pros:                                                                          
History won't show Spain as the aggressor                          
Spanish don't need to feel bad                                                

Cons:
USA did not have a viable reason for war
Makes the USA look bad

USS Maine prior to sinking:

USS Maine after sinking:

Sources:
 The American Vision, Pages: 303-307, 308 - 309, http://www.spanamwar.com/maine.htm, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Maine_h60255a.jpg,