USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -But after pro-Spanish demonstrators rioted in Havana in January 1898 to protest Spain’s more conciliatory policies, McKinley ordered the U.S. battleship Maine to Havana harbor, both to protect American citizens and property and to demonstrate that the United States still valued Spain’s friendship.

Detailed explanation-2: -President William McKinley, an Ohioan, had dispatched the USS Maine to Cuba, purportedly to protect American citizens in Cuba in case a war erupted between the Spanish and the Cubans.

Detailed explanation-3: -During the month of December in 1897, reports of horrific famine and disease in Cuba prompted a response from the United States government. President McKinley was deeply disturbed by the 1897 effects of Spain’s reconcentration policy and appealed for humanitarian aid for starving Cubans.

Detailed explanation-4: -In mid-1898, during the Spanish–American War, McKinley and his congressional allies made another attempt to win congressional approval of an annexation measure. With McKinley’s support, Democratic Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada introduced a joint resolution that provided for the annexation of Hawaii.

Detailed explanation-5: -On April 11, 1898, two months after the battleship U.S.S. Maine was destroyed by an explosion in Havana harbor, President McKinley sent a message to Congress requesting authority to use the U.S. armed forces to end a brutal civil war in the Spanish colony of Cuba.