Changes

Historians have debated whether American public opinion was deliberately inflamed by the sensationalist "[[Yellow Journalism]]" of Hearst and Pulitzer in New York City. Early 20th-century historian [[James Ford Rhodes]] concluded that the press “had manipulated the real news, spread unfounded reports, putting all before their readers with scare headlines."  By contrast historian John Offner has insisted, "there is no evidence" to indicate that the "sensational press" influenced McKinley's policy, suggesting that "its impact on changing public opinion may have been limited."  The Hearst and Pulitzer papers were not widely read outside of New York City, where the public demand for war originated.

Historians have debated whether American public opinion was deliberately inflamed by the sensationalist "[[Yellow Journalism]]" of Hearst and Pulitzer in New York City. Early 20th-century historian [[James Ford Rhodes]] concluded that the press “had manipulated the real news, spread unfounded reports, putting all before their readers with scare headlines."  By contrast historian John Offner has insisted, "there is no evidence" to indicate that the "sensational press" influenced McKinley's policy, suggesting that "its impact on changing public opinion may have been limited."  The Hearst and Pulitzer papers were not widely read outside of New York City, where the public demand for war originated.

==Impact on U.S.==

==Impact on U.S.==

When the war came –"a splendid little war," one official called it--it lasted only six months and drew Americans together, especially the Southerners whose patriotism had been in doubt since the Civil War a generation earlier. The [[Spanish-American War]] represented a significant turning point in America's position in the world. Besides acquiring Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific, territorial possessions that created new defensive responsibilities, the United States demonstrated that it had built up its naval capacity sufficiently to defeat an established European power.  

When the war came –"a splendid little war," one official called it—it lasted only six months and drew Americans together, especially the Southerners whose patriotism had been in doubt since the Civil War a generation earlier. The [[Spanish-American War]] represented a significant turning point in America's position in the world. Besides acquiring Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific, territorial possessions that created new defensive responsibilities, the United States demonstrated that it had built up its naval capacity sufficiently to defeat an established European power.  

==Bibliography==  

==Bibliography==  

* Allen, Thomas B. "What Really Sank the Maine?." ''Naval History'', April 1998 [http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/articles98/nhallen.htm online]

* Allen, Thomas B. "What Really Sank the Maine?." ''Naval History'', April 1998 [http://www.usni.org/navalhistory/articles98/nhallen.htm online]