1898 Spanish-American war

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I'm bound to catch some flak from this but anyway...

It just struck me that what is happening right now is strongly reminiscent of 1898:

The Maine's destruction strung such a strong emotionnal chord in American public opinnion that it could only be sated by a war.

Of course, a big difference between now and then is we now know that the Maine's explosion was an accident, but nobody could know it back then so the parallel can be drawn.

So who's going to be the next Teddy Roosevelt?

 

[Ebusitanus]

What are you trying to do?...War was fabricated by that Yellow journalism not by facts then.

 

[unmerged(4876)]

In 1898, the Maine was in Havanna harbor, in a country w/declining power, and blew up on accident.

Now, terrorists hijack planes to destroy US landmarks. Their power is growing, and it was not an accident. Also, there is the nuke factor, and the fact that countries around the world are pledging suport (including Pakistan ) in a fight against the enemy.

There is a difference...

 

[unmerged(5120)]

Ebusitanus, I'm not trying to do anything, I just thought about the - possible - parallel and asked for others' opinions. Is that a crime?

Originally posted by Calvin
In 1898, the Maine was in Havanna harbor, in a country w/declining power, and blew up on accident.

Now, terrorists hijack planes to destroy US landmarks. Their power is growing, and it was not an accident. Also, there is the nuke factor, and the fact that countries around the world are pledging suport (including Pakistan ) in a fight against the enemy.

There is a difference...

good points.

Still, nobody at the time knew it was an accident. And warships usually don't blow up without somebody giving them a hand, so assuming it was a deliberate act was quite logical.

You're saying there's no comparing a warship and the WTC/Pentagon. Maybe today, but at the turn of the century, major warships were "seamarks". The size of a country's fleet, and its big ships, were a major symbol of that country's status in the world, just as the WTC was/will be again for the US.

Beyond this... well that was a quite different situation, you're right. never mind, just a thought, closed thread.

thanks for the answer


PS: when you say everybody's pledging support, wait till they have to act, only then will you really be able to count your friends...

 

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Originally posted by Sire Enaique
You're saying there's no comparing a warship and the WTC/Pentagon. Maybe today, but at the turn of the century, major warships were "seamarks". The size of a country's fleet, and its big ships, were a major symbol of that country's status in the world, just as the WTC was/will be again for the US.

I agree with you there, and looking at some of the newspapers from that time, not to mention the ability to raise volunteer, amateur armies to go fight, I'd say the loss of the Maine was, aside from the loss of life, at the time considered the equal of Tuesday's loss.

Look at the affection Britain had for the Hood 40 years later.

 

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While the two incidents are not identical, there is a lesson to be learned from the war. Spain had already agreed to the US demands, but the call for vengance was so great in the US that Congress declared war anyway. A situation like that is what we should try to avoid.

 

[Guest]

only differance is I doubt it will take 3 months to win this one