Holowicki
US History
Name __________________________
Hour ________
YELLOW JOURNALISM AND THE
SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR!
Directions: For this activity, you will be examining key facts and primary sources related to
Yellow Journalism and the beginning of the Spanish-American War. Please follow the steps
below to complete the activity. You will work with your group members (3 people) and rotate
through each source to complete the activity.
Yellow Journalism
Read the information in the source titled, “Yellow Journalism!” and answer the questions below.
1. What does the word “sensationalized” mean? Look it up!
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2. In ten words or less, describe what Yellow Journalism is.
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3. How would newspaper tycoons like Pulitzer and Hearst benefit from a war with Cuba?
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4. How did Yellow Journalists turn public opinion toward favor for a war with Cuba?
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Headline Gallery
Read the source titled, “Headline Gallery” then answer the questions below.
5. How does the headline font grab a potential reader’s attention?
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6. What words used in the headlines might be considered “sensationalist” or overexaggerated? List 3-4 words.
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7. What affect does the look and language of the headlines have on the reader regarding
their feelings towards U.S. relations with Cuba and war?
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Battle Ship U.S.S. Maine Explodes
Read the source titled, “FEBRUARY 16, 1898: BATTLESHIP U.S.S. MAINE EXPLODES”
and answer the following questions.
8. What about the newspaper headlines and location of U.S.S. Maine would make people
think that Spain was responsible for the explosion? (If you don’t know where Havana is,
look it up)
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9. Even though the U.S. government never officially blamed Spain for the explosion, who
did?
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10. How would the sinking of the Maine shape public opinion about the Spanish presence in
Cuba?
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11. The explosion of the U.S.S. Maine is cited as one of the driving factors and justifications
for the U.S. going to war with Spain. What is ironic about the possibility for the
explosion to have been a complete accident?
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Take a look at the depiction of the U.S.S. Maine explosion that was printed in the newspapers.
12. What do you see in the picture?
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13. Why would this picture be considered Yellow Journalism?
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YELLOW JOURNALISM!
The Spanish-American War is often referred to as the first "media war." During the 1890s,
journalism that sensationalized—and sometimes even manufactured—dramatic events was a
powerful force that helped propel the United States into war with Spain. Led by newspaper
owners William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer, journalism of the 1890s used melodrama,
romance, and hyperbole to sell millions of newspapers--a style that became known as yellow
journalism.
The term yellow journalism came from a popular New York World comic called "Hogan's
Alley," which featured a yellow-dressed character named the "the yellow kid." Determined to
compete with Pulitzer's World in every way, rival New York Journal owner William Randolph
Hearst copied Pulitzer's sensationalist style and even hired "Hogan's Alley" artist R.F. Outcault
away from the World. In response, Pulitzer commissioned another cartoonist to create a second
yellow kid. Soon, the sensationalist press of the 1890s became a competition between the
"yellow kids," and the journalistic style was coined "yellow journalism."
Yellow journals like the New York Journal and the New York World relied on sensationalist
headlines to sell newspapers. William Randolph Hearst understood that a war with Cuba would
not only sell his papers, but also move him into a position of national prominence. From Cuba,
Hearst's star reporters wrote stories designed to tug at the heartstrings of Americans. Horrific
tales described the situation in Cuba--female prisoners, executions, valiant rebels fighting, and
starving women and children figured in many of the stories that filled the newspapers. But it was
the sinking of the battleship Maine in Havana Harbor that gave Hearst his big story--war. After
the sinking of the Maine, the Hearst newspapers, with no evidence, unequivocally blamed the
Spanish, and soon U.S. public opinion demanded intervention.
Today, historians point to the Spanish-American War as the first press-driven war. Although it
may be an exaggeration to claim that Hearst and the other yellow journalists started the war, it is
fair to say that the press fueled the public's passion for war. Without sensational headlines and
stories about Cuban affairs, the mood for Cuban intervention may have been very different. At
the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States emerged as a world power, and the U.S.
press proved its influence.
HEADLINE GALLERY!
FEBRUARY 16, 1898
BATTLESHIP U.S.S. MAINE EXPLODES!
At 9:40pm on February 15, 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor,
killing 268 men and shocking the American populace. Of the two-thirds of the crew who
perished, only 200 bodies were recovered and 76 identified.
The sinking of the Maine, which had been in Havana since February 15, 1898, on an official
observation visit, was a climax in pre-war tension between the United States and Spain. In the
American press, headlines proclaimed "Spanish Treachery!" and "Destruction of the War Ship
Maine Was the Work of an Enemy!" William Randolph Hearst and his New York Journal
offered a $50,000 award for the "detection of the Perpetrator
of the Maine Outrage." Many Americans assumed the
Spanish were responsible for the Maine's destruction.
On March 28, 1898, the United States Naval Court of
Inquiry found that the Maine was destroyed by a submerged
mine. Although blame was never formally placed on the
Spanish, implication was clear. Recent research suggests
that the explosion may have been an accident, involving a
spontaneous combustion fire in the coal bunker. Some
conspiracy theorists have even suggested that sensational
journalist William Randolph Hearst may have set the
explosion in order to precipitate a war. While historians will
never know exactly what happened the night the Maine
went down, it is clear that the incident was a significant
force that propelled the United States into the SpanishAmerican War.