The explosion and the consequent sinking of the USS Maine in 1898 is undeniably one of the greatest mysteries that would go down in the cannons of American history. In the Key West Cemetery on 701 Passover Lane stands the statue of a USS Maine sailor, looking into the horizon as if he is trying to find those left behind at Havana’s harbor. Like this sailor, we have attempted to look back at that fateful day to gain a better understanding of what caused the explosion, but also to understand what motivated the United States to invade Cuba thereafter. It had seemed to be a deliberate tactic on the part of the U.S. to declare war against Spain. The United States had an array of ulterior motives behind the dispatch of the USS Maine to Cuba, and …show more content…
However, the depression had not been the actual cause; it was more like the overly financing and speculation of land and protected industries that led to market bubbles, along with the coddling of the gold standard that could have possibly abbreviated the depression under reform, bimetallism, or free floating currency. Isolationist policy mandated the implementation of protective measures against outside forces that had the capacity to stifle the development of domestic industries. A deviation from pure, unfettered free market ideology, tariffs, subsidies, and convenient reciprocity treaties-that circumvented protectionism in certain commodities rather than abandoning tariffs altogether- were perceived to serve the greater good; they were not only amenable to industrial growth, but in developing the nation’s credibility as a force to be reckoned with. Growing the economy from the inside, outward had seemed to be desirable in theory, but looking to develop foreign markets in the midst of domestic crisis was more of a detraction from the state of affairs at home. Indeed, disinflationary measures in the Northeast had afforded industrialists cheap labor and allowed artificial protection to business in its infancy, but had also contributed to a false sense that production could be sustained at business as usual levels. For …show more content…
Naval might and economic prowess went hand in hand, forging new paths into foreign territories constituting nearby Latin America and the Caribbean, in addition to the far flung islands of the Pacific. In the late 1700s, the British had already paved the way in its brief occupation of Key West, removing Calusa Indians and Spanish settlers to Cuba. Although Spain had regained control over Florida, the southernmost island went unclaimed and became a strategic entryway to Cuba. Americans had invested largely in sugarcane production, to the tune of $50 million; trade conducted with Cuba was worth twice as much. With the pressing demand from American investors to produce, the insurrection of Cuban mambises put the foreign sugar cane industry in a constant state of flux until finally reaching near zero with the subsequent Spanish counterinsurgency that led to the reconcentración of the civilian population. It is this, along with the documented (some credible, others questionable) horrors that were reported that motivated the United States to send the USS Maine to the Havana harbor. Whether it was an act of intimidation or an attempt to mediate order between Cuba and Spain, remains uncertain. What is known, however, is that economic interests were just as