Spanish- American War 1898

1. Spanish- American War 1898 Aim:How do the media impact society? Motivation:How did newspapers help to cause the Spanish-American War?

2. Yellow Journalism • Sensational newspaper stories that were often biased and untrue.

3. Causes of Spanish American War • Cubans rebelled against Spain for Cuban independence, but failed. • The U.S. government wanted to protect American business interests in Cuba. • Yellow Journalism-U.S. newspapers sensationalized news from Cuba with stories of atrocities. Americans felt obligated to help the Cubans against Spanish brutality.

4. Causes continued • The U.S. battleship Maine was blown up in Cuban harbor. Yellow journalists blamed the Spanish, leading to the U.S. declaring war on Spain. Still don’t know for sure who blew up the Maine. • War between U.S. and Spain lasted for four months.

5. Results of Spanish American War • U.S. won and took over Philippines, Guam, Wake Island and Puerto Rico from Spain. • Cuba became independent. Platt Amendment-allowed the U.S. to intervene in Cuba.

6. Your Assignment • Pretend that you are a reporter for the New York Journal. • Your assignment is to write a newspaper article about the explosion on the Maine. • The requirements of the assignment: • A catchy title that will grab the reader’s attention (the original New York Journal used: “Warship Maine Split in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal Machine”) • Use Yellow Journalism in your article to persuade the Americans to go to war with Spain. • Your article should be approximately 3-4 paragraphs