Yellow Journalism

The Influence of Yellow Journalism There were many aspects that contributed to the Spanish American War. Those aspects ranged from economic struggles, to the race to Asia. One of the most important contributions to the Spanish American War was Yellow Journalism. Yellow Journalism is the type of journalism that relies on sensationalism and lurid exaggeration to attract readers (“Dictionary.com”). In other words, Yellow Journalism was exaggerated journalism that writers used to attract more readers. Overall, there were many ways that Yellow Journalism contributed to the Spanish American War. The overall reason that the Spanish American War was fought was over the liberation of Cuba from Spain (War and Conflict: Pre-Twentieth Century - Why Was The Spanish-American War Fought?). A major factor that contributed to the Spanish American War was the sinking of The Maine. It happened on February 25, 1898. The explosion and sinking of The Maine killed over 200 men (War and Conflict: Pre-Twentieth Century - Why Was The Spanish-American War Fought?). The whole situation was described by Charles D. Sigsbee, “ . . . It was a bursting, rending, and crashing roar of immense volume, largely metallic in character. It was followed by heavy, ominous metallic sounds. There was a trembling and lurching motion of the vessel, a list to port. The electric lights went out. Then there was intense blackness and smoke. The situation could not be mistaken. The Maine was blown up and sinking. For a moment the instinct of self-preservation took charge of me, but this was immediately dominated by the habit of command”. The sinking of The Maine was very important to the contribution of the Spanish American War.
Since the sinking of The Maine was such a big deal, it left a lot of room for Yellow Journalism to take over. The American press did not have any doubts about who had been responsible for the sinking of The Maine. “It was the cowardly Spanish,” said the American press (The

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