Who Sunk the USS Maine?

Which Account Do you find more believable?

Directions: After reading through the given newspaper articles, complete the graphic organizer
below
Document Publication Date According to this What information is Write a quotation that
article, what happened included to support contrasts with
to the Maine? this version of the something written in the
story? other article.

A: Journal February 17, 1898 According to journal A, It was believed that Assistant Secretary of the
it was believed that the the Spaniards Navy Theodore Roosevelt
war ship USS Maine arranged to have says he is convinced that
was destroyed by a the Maine drop the destruction of the
mine and her crew of anchor over the Maine in Havana Harbor
258 men were killed on harbor mine. Wires was not an accident.
purpose by the Spanish. connected the mine
to the magazines of
the ship. The
Spaniards waited to
explode the mine
until all the men had
gone to sleep.

$B: Times February 17, 1989 According to journal B, Its known that fires Captain Schuley, who
it was believed that would start from knows a great deal about
there was an accident time to time in the war ships, did not
on the USS Maine-that coal bunkers, and it entertain the idea that
the magazines was also known that the Maine had been
exploded. a similar situation destroyed on purpose.
have happened on
another warship
which the fire
started near the
magazine clips. The
fire became so hot
that the heat
blistered the steel
wall between the
fire and the
ammunition before
the bunker and
magazines were
flooded with water
to prevent a deadly
 accident.

Compare the evidence used by both newspapers to support their claims about what happened to the
Maine. Which newspaper uses stronger evidence? Explain.

I think journal 2 uses stronger evidence to support its claim that the sinking of the USS Maine was an
accident, as it contains credible sources like (Captain Schuely) and his thoughts on the incident plus it
also uses credible government organizations like (Navy Department). While journal 1 evidence is
unreliable as the facts stated in the journal is merely based on many rumors passed around and it’s also
reported by a journalist (George Bryson). George Bryson can be bias towards the event depending on
which country he supported. Overall, journal 2 uses stronger evidence and its more reliable.

Group Discussion Questions

Use these questions to guide the discussions in your group.

 Do you know what happened to the Maine?

 What evidence do you have for your answer? Give an example where the reporter uses solid
evidence to support a claim made in the article.
 Do you think these articles would have been received differently by their readers in 1898? How
so?
 What effect might the Journal article have had on its readers?
 What effect might the Times article have had on its readers?
 How significant do you think the Maine explosion was to the American people at that time?
Why?