Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Historical Question: “Did Terrorists Sink the Maine?”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. Which person or group of people convinced many Americans that an enemy had sunk the Maine?

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. Despite Captain Sigsbee’s terse report, the yellow press—particularly the New York Journal—quickly ran headlines that unequivocally declared the battleship was sunk by an enemy, not by accident. For example, one headline claimed, “The War Ship Maine Was Split in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal Machine!” Headlines like this strongly influenced public opinion, making many Americans believe that there was foul play involved in the explosion.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Despite Captain Sigsbee’s terse report, the yellow press—particularly the New York Journal—quickly ran headlines that unequivocally declared the battleship was sunk by an enemy, not by accident. For example, one headline claimed, “The War Ship Maine Was Split in Two by an Enemy’s Secret Infernal Machine!” Headlines like this strongly influenced public opinion, making many Americans believe that there was foul play involved in the explosion.

Question

2. Why was the government of Spain one of the strongest proponents of the theory that the American battleship Maine sank accidentally, not intentionally?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Among those Americans who thought that the Maine had been sunk intentionally, including Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, most believed that Spain was responsible. In 1898, Spain was battling Cuban revolutionaries, and the American government supported the Cubans’ fight, even sending the Maine to the Havana Harbor to show the United States' ability to intervene if necessary. This context made many Americans suspect that Spain had sunk the Maine as retribution.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Among those Americans who thought that the Maine had been sunk intentionally, including Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, most believed that Spain was responsible. In 1898, Spain was battling Cuban revolutionaries, and the American government supported the Cubans’ fight, even sending the Maine to the Havana Harbor to show the United States' ability to intervene if necessary. This context made many Americans suspect that Spain had sunk the Maine as retribution.

Question

3. How did public opinion about the reason the battleship Maine sank in 1898 change between 1898 and 1910?

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. In 1910, Congressman William Sultzer illustrated how much American public opinion had changed since 1898, when “you could hardly find an American who did not believe that [the Maine] had been foully done to death by a treacherous enemy.” By contrast, in 1910 virtually no Americans still blamed Spain. In the span of just twelve years, public opinion had changed dramatically.
Incorrect. The answer is b. In 1910, Congressman William Sultzer illustrated how much American public opinion had changed since 1898, when “you could hardly find an American who did not believe that [the Maine] had been foully done to death by a treacherous enemy.” By contrast, in 1910 virtually no Americans still blamed Spain. In the span of just twelve years, public opinion had changed dramatically.

Question

4. Admiral Hyman Rickover’s 1976 reinvestigation of why the battleship Maine sank—in which he concluded that the government had covered up the real reason in its 1913 report—reflected the sentiments of

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B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. When Admiral Rickover decided to conduct a new investigation of the Maine in the 1970s, his suspicions about the motives of the military and the U.S. government reflect a common sentiment of the era: a suspicion about the military. This suspicion was the product of the Vietnam War (1956–1975), which had included many false reports by the government, and treatment of the Vietnamese people by American soldiers that the public found deplorable.
Incorrect. The answer is a. When Admiral Rickover decided to conduct a new investigation of the Maine in the 1970s, his suspicions about the motives of the military and the U.S. government reflect a common sentiment of the era: a suspicion about the military. This suspicion was the product of the Vietnam War (1956–1975), which had included many false reports by the government, and treatment of the Vietnamese people by American soldiers that the public found deplorable.

Question

5. Since the 1990s, what has been the prevailing public opinion regarding what caused the battleship Maine to sink in 1898?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. In 1995, the Smithsonian Institution conducted another investigation into the cause of the explosion on the Maine, and its report concluded that General Weyler’s followers had “the opportunity, the means, and the motivation” to sink the Maine, and had done so “with a small low-strength bomb they made themselves.” National Geographic followed up this report with a computer simulation that showed such a scenario was physically possible.
Incorrect. The answer is d. In 1995, the Smithsonian Institution conducted another investigation into the cause of the explosion on the Maine, and its report concluded that General Weyler’s followers had “the opportunity, the means, and the motivation” to sink the Maine, and had done so “with a small low-strength bomb they made themselves.” National Geographic followed up this report with a computer simulation that showed such a scenario was physically possible.