Materials

• Documents related to the explosion on the USS Maine
• “Remember the Maine!” worksheet (Attachment A)
• “Sample Grading Rubric: The USS Maine” (Attachment B)

Instructional Activities

1. Explain to students reasons the United States was interested in Cuba before the Spanish American War:
   • The U.S. was concerned about protection of American business interests in Cuba (specifically sugar).
   • The U.S. was concerned about human rights abuses by the Spanish in Cuba.
   • The U.S. supported Cuban rebels trying to gain Cuban independence from Spain.
         Explain that many in the United States were looking for a reason to go to war with Spain, and the explosion on the USS Maine provided this reason. In this session, students will use primary and secondary documents to discover what actually happened to the USS Maine.
   
   
2. Place students in groups of four or five, depending on class size. Give each member of a group a different first-hand account of what happened on the USS Maine. Accounts of the incident can be found at The Spanish American War Centennial Website <http://www.spanamwar.com/>, which offers accounts from Lt. George Blow, Captain Charles D. Sigsbee, and others.
   
   
3. Distribute the “Remember the Maine!” worksheets (Attachment A), and have each student read his/her account and answer a set of questions on the worksheet. Warn students that they may not be able to find some answers because little was actually known at the time and much in the newspaper accounts was conjecture.
   
   
4. After students have completed the work on their accounts, have the groups work together to write an account of what really happened, based only on the facts presented. Challenge them to write in the most objective way possible and not make any assumptions.
   
   
5. As a whole group, discuss with students what they discovered regarding the incident on the USS Maine. Write their answers on the board, using an outline similar to the one below:
              
   What happened on the USS Maine?
   • Who:                                                                                                                                 
   • What:                                                                                                                                
   • When:                                                                                                                                
   • Where:                                                                                                                              
   • Results and consequences:                                                                                              
   
   
6. Share with students the actual cause of the explosion. Then share with them how the event was reported in newspapers at the time. Help students realize the enormous impact of inflammatory newspaper reporting — how it led to war. Is such reporting responsible? Why, or why not? Are there examples of such reporting going on today? If so, what are some examples?
   
   
7. Assessment: A sample grading rubric for this session is found at Attachment B.