As stipulated at the Jimaguayú Assembly two years earlier, a second Constituent Assembly met in La Yaya, Camagüey, on 10 October 1897. The newly-adopted constitution decreed that a military command be subordinated to civilian rule. The government was confirmed, naming Bartolomé Masó as president and Dr. Domingo Méndez Capote vice as president.

Madrid decided to change its policy toward Cuba, replacing Weyler, drawing up a colonial constitution for Cuba and Puerto Rico, and installing a new government in Havana. But with half the country out of its control, and the other half in arms, the new government was powerless and rejected by the rebels.

Eleven days after the Cuban autonomous government took power, a small riot erupted in Havana.

The riot was thought to be ignited by Spanish officers who were offended by the persistent newspaper criticism of General Valeriano Weyler’s policies.

US President McKinley sent the USS Maine to Havana to ensure the safety of American citizens and interests. The need for the U.S. to send Maine to Havana had been expected for months, but the Spanish government was notified just 18 hours before its arrival, which was contrary to diplomatic convention. Preparations for the possible conflict started in October 1897, when President McKinley arranged for Maine to be deployed to Key West, Florida, as a part of a larger, global deployment of U.S. naval power to attack simultaneously on several fronts if the war was not avoided. As Maine left Florida, a large part of the North Atlantic Squadron was moved to Key West and the Gulf of Mexico. Others were also moved just off the shore of Lisbon, and still others were moved to Hong Kong.

At 9:40 pm on February 15, 1898, Maine sank in Havana harbor after suffering a massive explosion. While McKinley preached patience, the news of the explosion and the death of 266 sailors stirred popular American opinion into demanding a swift belligerent response. McKinley asked Congress to appropriate $50 million for defense, and Congress unanimously obliged. Most American leaders took the position that the cause of the explosion was unknown, but public attention was now riveted on the situation and Spain could not find a diplomatic solution to avoid war. It appealed to the European powers, all of whom advised Spain to back down and avoid war.

The U.S. Navy’s investigation, made public on March 28, concluded that the ship’s powder magazines were ignited when an external explosion was set off under the ship’s hull. This report poured fuel on popular indignation in the U.S., making the war inevitable. Spain’s investigation came to the opposite conclusion: the explosion originated within the ship. Other investigations in later years came to various contradictory conclusions, but had no bearing on the coming of the war. In 1974, Admiral Hyman George Rickover had his staff look at the documents and decided there was an internal explosion. A study commissioned by National Geographic magazine in 1999, using AME computer modelling, stated that the explosion could have been caused by a mine, but no definitive evidence was found.

Propaganda of the Spanish–American War

After the Maine was destroyed, newspaper publishers Hearst and Pulitzer decided that the Spanish were to blame, and they publicized this theory as fact in their New York City papers using sensationalistic and astonishing accounts of “atrocities” committed by the Spanish in Cuba. Their press exaggerated what was happening and how the Spanish were treating the Cuban prisoners. The stories were based on truth but written with incendiary language causing emotional and often heated responses among readers. A common myth states, to the opinion of his illustrator Frederic Remington, that conditions in Cuba were not bad enough to warrant hostilities, Hearst responded: “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” This new “yellow journalism” was, however, uncommon outside New York City, and historians no longer consider it the major force shaping the national mood. Public opinion nationwide did demand immediate action, overwhelming the efforts of President McKinley, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed, and the business community to find a negotiated solution.

A speech delivered by Senator Redfield Proctor of Vermont on March 17, 1898 thoroughly analyzed the situation, concluding that war was the only answer. The speech helped provide one final push for the United States to declare war. Many in the business and religious communities, which had, until then, opposed war, switched sides, leaving McKinley and Speaker Reed almost alone in their resistance to a war. On April 11, McKinley ended his resistance and asked Congress for authority to send American troops to Cuba to end the civil war there, knowing that Congress would force a war.

On April 19, while Congress was considering joint resolutions supporting Cuban independence, Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado proposed the Teller Amendment to ensure that the U.S. would not establish permanent control over Cuba after the war. The amendment, disclaiming any intention to annex Cuba, passed the Senate 42 to 35; the House concurred the same day, 311 to 6. The amended resolution demanded Spanish withdrawal and authorized the President to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuba gain independence from Spain. President McKinley signed the joint resolution on April 20, 1898, and the ultimatum was sent to Spain.

In response, Spain broke off diplomatic relations with the United States on April 21. On the same day, the U.S. Navy began a blockade of Cuba. Spain declared war on April 23. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21, the day the blockade of Cuba had begun.

The Navy was ready, but the Army was not well-prepared for the war and made radical changes in plans and quickly purchased supplies. In the spring of 1898, the strength of the Regular U.S. Army was just 28,000 men. The Army wanted 50,000 new men but received over 220,000, through volunteers and the mobilization of state National Guard units.

The destruction of the Maine sparked a wave of indignation in the US. Newspaper owners such as William R. Hearst leapt to the conclusion that Spanish officials in Cuba were to blame, and they widely publicized the conspiracy although Spain could have had no interest in getting the US involved in the conflict. Yellow journalism fuelled American anger by publishing “atrocities” committed by Spain in Cuba. Hearst, when informed by Frederic Remington, whom he had hired to furnish illustrations for his newspaper, that conditions in Cuba were not bad enough to warrant hostilities, allegedly replied, “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.”[46] McKinley, Speaker of the House Thomas Brackett Reed, and the business community opposed the growing public demand for war, which was lashed to fury by yellow journalism. The American cry of the hour became, Remember the Maine , To Hell with Spain!

On 11 April McKinley asked Congress for authority to send American troops to Cuba for the purpose of ending the civil war there. On 19 April Congress passed joint resolutions (by a vote of 311 to 6 in the House and 42 to 35 in the Senate) supporting Cuban independence and disclaiming any intention to annex Cuba, demanding Spanish withdrawal, and authorizing the president to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuban patriots gain independence from Spain.

This was adopted by resolution of Congress and included from Senator Henry Teller the Teller Amendment, which passed unanimously, stipulating that “the island of Cuba is, and by right should be, free and independent”. The amendment disclaimed any intention on the part of the US to exercise jurisdiction or control over Cuba for other than pacification reasons, and confirmed that the armed forces would be removed once the war is over. Senate and Congress passed the amendment on 19 April, McKinley signed the joint resolution on 20 April and the ultimatum was forwarded to Spain. War was declared on 20/21 April 1898.

Sources: Wiki/ RemeberTheMaine/InternetPhotos/youtube/TheCubanHistory.com
Remember The Maine
The Cuban History, Arnoldo Varona, Editor

RECUERDEN EL “MAINE”

En 1897, el Ejército de Liberación de Cuba mantiene una posición privilegiada en Camagüey y Oriente, donde los españoles sólo controla unas pocas ciudades. Española líder liberal Práxedes Sagasta admitió en mayo de 1897: “Después de haber enviado 200.000 hombres y derramó tanta sangre, no somos dueños de más tierras en la isla de lo que nuestros soldados están pisando”. La fuerza rebelde de 3000 derrotó a los españoles en varios encuentros, como la batalla de La Reforma y la entrega de Las Tunas el 30 de agosto, y los españoles se mantuvieron a la defensiva. Las Tunas se había guardado por más de 1.000 hombres bien armados y bien abastecido.

Conforme a lo estipulado en la Asamblea de Jimaguayú, dos años antes, una segunda Asamblea Constituyente se reunió en La Yaya, La Habana, el 10 de octubre de 1897. La recién aprobada Constitución decretó que un comando militar se subordina al poder civil. El gobierno se confirmó, nombrando a Bartolomé Masó como presidente y el Dr. Domingo Méndez Capote Vicepresidente como presidente.

Madrid, decidió cambiar su política hacia Cuba, en sustitución de Weyler, la elaboración de una constitución colonial para Cuba y Puerto Rico, y la instalación de un nuevo gobierno en La Habana. Pero con la media del país fuera de su control y la otra mitad en los brazos, el nuevo gobierno era impotente y rechazado por los rebeldes.

Once días después de que el gobierno autónomo de Cuba tomó el poder, estalló un pequeño motín en La Habana.

El motín fue pensado para ser encendida por los oficiales españoles que se sintieron ofendidos por las críticas persistentes periódico de las políticas del general Valeriano Weyler.

EE.UU. El presidente McKinley envió el USS Maine a La Habana para garantizar la seguridad de los ciudadanos e intereses estadounidenses. La necesidad de los EE.UU. para enviar Maine a La Habana que se esperaba desde hace meses, pero el gobierno español se le notificó sólo 18 horas antes de su llegada, lo cual era contrario a la convención diplomática. Los preparativos para el posible conflicto se inició en octubre de 1897, cuando el presidente McKinley organizó Maine para ser desplegados en Key West, Florida, como parte de una más grande, despliegue global de los EE.UU. el poder naval para atacar simultáneamente en varios frentes si la guerra no se evitó . En Maine, la izquierda de la Florida, una gran parte de la Escuadra del Atlántico Norte, se mudó a Key West y el Golfo de México. Otros fueron trasladados también al lado de la orilla de Lisboa, y aún otros se trasladaron a Hong Kong.

A las 9:40 pm el 15 de febrero de 1898, Maine se hundió en el puerto de La Habana después de sufrir una explosión masiva. Mientras McKinley predicaba la paciencia, la noticia de la explosión y la muerte de 266 marineros agita la opinión popular estadounidense en exigir una respuesta rápida beligerante. McKinley pidió al Congreso asignar $ 50 millones para la defensa, y el Congreso obligados por unanimidad. Mayoría de los líderes estadounidenses adoptaron la posición de que la causa de la explosión era desconocida, pero la atención del público estaba pendiente ahora de la situación y España no podía encontrar una solución diplomática para evitar la guerra. Hizo un llamamiento a las potencias europeas, todos los cuales aconseja a España a dar marcha atrás y evitar la guerra.

La investigación de la Marina de los EE.UU., hecha pública el 28 de marzo, llegó a la conclusión de que las revistas de a bordo en polvo se enciende cuando una explosión externa fue puesto en marcha en el casco del buque. Este informe sirvió de combustible de la indignación popular en los EE.UU., lo que hace la guerra inevitable. De investigación de España llegó a la conclusión contraria: la explosión se originó dentro de la nave. Otras investigaciones en años posteriores llegó a varias conclusiones contradictorias, pero no tenía nada que ver con la llegada de la guerra. En 1974, el almirante Hyman George Rickover tenía su mirada personal en los documentos y decidió que no había una explosión interna. Un estudio encargado por la revista National Geographic en 1999, utilizando modelos de ordenador de AME, dijo que la explosión podría haber sido causado por una mina, pero no hay evidencia definitiva fue encontrado.

la propaganda de la Guerra Española-Americana