Spanish American War History Channel Discussion Questions

1. What was this movie about? How did it relate to other material in this module? Did you know about this topic prior to learning about it in HIST 101? While watching, “The Spanish American War | History Channel Documentary” it was clear that this movie was about the USS Maine, and how its destruction resulted in war. The movie paints a vivid picture of the turmoil in Cuba during 1897 when they were trying to win independence from Spain. As a result of this, the president at the time, William McKinley sent the USS Maine to the Cuban capital. While the USS Maine was in Cuba, a mysterious explosion occurred and destroyed the ship and many crewmembers aboard the ship. This was a devastating moment in history, which caused a war between the

The Americans believed that the explosion of the ship was an act of sabotage from Spain, so they retaliated and started a war. This movie related to this week’s module because it spoke on the Spanish American War and how it essentially started from the destruction of the USS Maine. The book has a specific section dedicated to the war and why it changed America’s role in the World. Also, the book relates to the movie because they both mention how the American people were so demanding of war, that they denied looking further into the reason behind the explosion of the USS Maine. Additionally, the lectures and chapters in this week’s module also relate to the movie because they both focus on the result of the war and how the occurrence was “A splendid little War”. This event in U.S. history regarding the USS Maine was unfamiliar to me. I knew of the Spanish American War, but never

The textbook noted that “the Maine mysteriously exploded” and added that it was later an accident that was caused inside of the ship. The movie added to the text by explaining how the evidence behind the explosion led to the actual determination that the devastation was an accident, not sabotage. This was helpful because I was able to see the entire story and understand why the explosion was later ruled to be unintentional. Also, the movie gave great detail on the moments leading up to the war, which the war is then discussed in the textbook. The textbook focuses mainly on the Spanish American War, whereas the movie focuses specifically on the reason why the war began. So, the movie was definitely beneficial in understanding the full story behind the war. Additionally, the lecture speaks on the entirety of the story, and mention the press just like the movie does. I remember reading in the lecture that, “Newspaper publishers like William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer worked up war fever among the public with reports of Spanish atrocities against Cuban rebels”. The movie also touches on this topic and gives further examples of the press and the headlines that encouraged Americans to demand war. This helped me understand the true power that the press had during this time. The lecture also mentioned further evidence behind the explosion