USS Maine Is To Blame

The USS Maine was one of the first ships to be built by the United States for the navy. It was the second battleship to be designed and built in the United States. Other battleships from this time were designed based on foreign ships, and were contracted to be built in other countries. The USS Maine was an item of the pride for the United States, and it was used in many ceremonies. It was taken up and down the east coast to be shown to the American people. It even took part in the Mardi Gras festival in 1897. In December of 1897, the Maine went south to Florida and then toward Cuba. The USS Maine arrived in Havana’s harbor in January of 1898. The reason it was sent to Cuba was because the United States did not know what the status of the Cuban …show more content…
The navy concluded that the explosion was caused by a mine, which put a hole in the bottom of the ship and sank it. The mine caused the ammunition inside the ship to explode while the ship was sinking. While the navy was not quick to blame anyone, the United States newspapers used the sinking of the USS Maine as propaganda. The newspapers blamed Spain, and many of the people of the United States became in favor of war with Spain. Even though he didn’t want to, President McKinley finally decided to intervene in the conflict. On April 19, 1898, the United States declared Cuba an independent nation and told Spain to leave Cuba. Spain rejected this declaration and declared war on the United States on April 24, 1898. Congress then voted to go to war on April 25. The USS Maine remained on the bottom of Havana’s harbor until 1911. A cofferdam was built to remove the water surrounding the ship. The bottom hull of the ship was repaired enough for it to float again. The ship was then towed out of the harbor to the open ocean and sunk to its final resting