(A) ** The Spanish
(B) The Cubans
(C) No one knows
(D) The Americans by accident
EXPLANATIONS BELOW
Concept note-1: -After the sinking of the Maine, the Hearst newspapers, with no evidence, unequivocally blamed the Spanish, and soon U.S. public opinion demanded intervention. Today, historians point to the Spanish-American War as the first press-driven war.
Concept note-2: -Led by newspaper owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, journalism of the 1890s used melodrama, romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers–a style that became known as yellow journalism.
Concept note-3: -Yellow journalism did not, ultimately, start the war on its own; it was the sinking of the USS Maine that provided the trigger, not some fabricated story created by Hearst of Pulitzer.
Concept note-4: -Yellow journalism marked by sensationalist stories, self-promotion. William Randolph Hearst, publisher of the New York Journal, and his arch-rival, Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World, are credited with the creation of yellow journalism.
Concept note-5: -In the 1890s Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst popularized a new style of journalism. This style was called “yellow journalism” and was used by newspapers to increase circulation and build a loyal following.