USA HISTORY

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM(1890 1919)

THE SPANISH AMERICAN WAR

[SOURCES]
Which of the following is not a reason the US participated in the Spanish American War?

(A) American businesses were being destroyed.

(B) Yellow Journalism

(C) Sinking of the USS Maine

(D) ** Sinking of the Lusitania

EXPLANATIONS BELOW

Concept note-1: -The reasons for war were many, but there were two immediate ones: America’s support the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule, and the mysterious explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor.

Concept note-2: -The ship sank within 20 minutes of being hit by a German torpedo. There has been much speculation about its quick demise, many pointing to the second explosion that occurred after the initial torpedo strike. Some believe damage to the steam room and pipes caused the latter blast, hastening the Lusitania’s sinking.

Concept note-3: -The U.S. Readies for War The sinking of Lusitania didn’t directly cause the United States to enter the war. It did, however, fuel virulent anti-German sentiment in Britain and the United States and hinder diplomatic relations between Germany and the United States.