Section C: International option Empire and the emergence of world powers, 1870–1919 Read the sources and then answer both parts of the question. Source A For how long will the Spaniards drench Cuba with the blood and tears of its people? How long shall old men and women and children be murdered by the score, the innocent victims of Spanish rage? How long shall the sound of rifles at sunrise proclaim that helpless prisoners of war have been murdered in cold blood? How long shall Cuban women be the victims of Spanish outrages and lie sobbing and bruised in loathsome prisons? How long shall women passengers on ships flying the American flag be unlawfully seized and stripped and searched by brutal, jeering Spanish officers, in violation of the honour of the United States? How long shall American citizens, arrested while on peaceful and legitimate errands, be held in dirty Spanish prisons without trial? How long shall the United States sit idle and indifferent? How long? From an editorial in a New York newspaper, 1897. Source B Nothing is known of the cause of the loss of the battleship Maine. It is resting on the bottom of Havana Harbour, and two officers and 251 sailors have perished. Naval men say the disaster could have been caused by accident. It was some form of high explosive that destroyed the Maine. It carried enough ammunition to wreck a navy. Until an inspection of the wreck by divers shows whether the Maine was destroyed by its own ammunition or by an enemy, guesswork is pointless. Nobody is so foolish to believe that the Maine was destroyed by Spaniards with the knowledge of their government. A fanatic might have acted out of private hatred of the United States, but Spain has too many reasons to avoid offending us to indicate that it would not carefully protect a ship of our navy visiting its waters. From 'The New York Times' editorial, 17 February 1898. Source C The grounds for intervention in Cuba may be summarised as follows: first, to end the bloodshed, starvation and horrible miseries existing there; second, to protect our citizens' lives and property; and third, the very serious injury to the trade and business of our people. These dangers have been illustrated by a tragic event in which 258 brave sailors and two officers of our navy have been thrown to their deaths, bringing grief and want to their homes, and sorrow to the nation. The Naval Court of Inquiry was unanimous that the destruction of the Maine was caused by an exterior explosion, that of a submarine mine. The responsibility remains to be decided. In any event, the destruction of the Maine, by whatever exterior cause, is proof of an unacceptable situation in Cuba. The Spanish government cannot assure the safety of an American ship in the harbour of Havana on a mission of peace. From the War Message to Congress by President McKinley, 11 April 1898. Source D Shall the American people continue their march towards the commercial supremacy of the world? Today, we are making more than we can use. Therefore, we must find new markets for our produce. We need what we have taken in 1898. Think of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who will build a civilisation of energy and industry in Cuba, when a government of law replaces the reign of anarchy and tyranny. The resources and the commerce of the immensely rich dominions will be increased as American energy is greater than Spanish laziness. In Cuba, alone, there are fifteen million acres of forest unacquainted with the axe, exhaustless mines of iron and priceless deposits of minerals. There are millions of acres yet unexplored. Cuba is as large as Pennsylvania and is the richest spot on the globe. Fellow Americans, we are God's chosen people. We cannot fly from our world duties. From a campaign speech by a US Senator, September 1898. Answer both parts of the question with reference to the sources.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] Both sources identify the cause as an explosion and indicate the tragic loss of life.
2. [1] Both show that the culprit is not yet clear: In Source B 'guesswork is pointless' and Source C concedes that 'responsibility remains to be decided'.
3. [1] Both indicate that some might blame the Spanish government.
4. [1] Source B suggests that 'the disaster could have been caused by accident' and gives detail of the explosives carried by the Maine. This contrast with Source C as it asserts the destruction of the Maine was caused by an exterior explosion, that of 'a submarine mine'.
5. [1] Source B states that the wreck needs to be inspected to discover how it sank, while in Source C the 'Naval Court of Inquiry' has already made some judgements.
6. [1] There is some disagreement on the exact number of casualties.
7. [1] The differences can partly be ascribed to the later date of Source C. The McKinley administration's naval board of inquiry to study the cause of the blast reported its findings on March 21, so this was after the publication of Source B.
8. [1] Also, two officers and 250 enlisted men were killed immediately, but the death toll increased as fourteen of the injured later died.
9. [1] There is also McKinley's motivation to present the sinking of the Maine as a hostile attack, to justify action against Spain, as against the more balanced view of the New York Times.
10. [1] The cause of the explosion is still in doubt – various investigations have produced contrasting verdicts.
11. [1] The fact that other US ships had experienced spontaneous combustion of coal in bunkers, and that many ships, including the Maine, had coal bunkers located next to magazines that stored ammunition, gun shells, and gunpowder, as suggested by the New York Times, was not acknowledged by the Naval Court of Inquiry.
12. [1] Accept any other valid responses.
13. [1] Source A: This very emotive editorial instances numerous provocations by the Spanish, from mistreatment of Cubans, 'the victims of Spanish outrages', to assaults on US citizens ‘in violation of the honour of the United States'.
14. [1] Source C: McKinley asserts that the Maine was sunk deliberately and while not going so far as to directly blame Spain, sees it as proof of a lack of determination to 'assure safety to an American ship in the harbour of Havana on a mission of peace'. He also sums up 'grounds for intervention in Cuba' as first the 'horrible miseries' caused by Spanish treatment of Cubans, as well as two ways in which US interests are threatened by Spanish actions.
15. [1] Source B: It reports the loss of the Maine in Habana harbour but maintains 'Nobody is so foolish to believe that the Maine was destroyed by Spaniards with the knowledge of their government' as the tense situation would mean that Spain would be motivated to 'carefully protect a ship of our navy visiting its waters'.
16. [1] Source D: The Senator is mainly interested in the prospects for economic gain offered by US control of Cuba. He does refer to the prospect of 'a government of law' which will replace ‘the reign of anarchy and tyranny', but only in terms of a more successful exploitation of Cuban resources. Underlying all this is the concept of America's manifest destiny: 'Fellow Americans, we are God's chosen people'.
17. [1] Source A shows the role of the Yellow Press. Proprietors William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were well known for pushing for US military action after the sinking of the Maine, but this demonstrates that their newspapers were already full of jingoistic fervour in 1897. Cruel behaviour by the Spanish in Cuba was well-documented, but US intervention won support for a range of reasons.
18. [1] Source B demonstrates the divergent opinions in the US, and shows that Spanish provocation was not universally recognised, even after the drama of the loss of the Maine. This account seems relatively reliable in its balance. It comes from The New York Times, whose new owner had pledged in 1896 ‘to give the news impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved'.
19. [1] Source C is much more critical of Spain, as it is a justification for attacking the Spanish troops in Cuba by McKinley. He had seemed determined to avoid going to war in 1897 and did not immediately react to the sinking of the Maine, despite popular demands for action. He was under intense pressure in Congress to declare war, after several emotional speeches in the Senate during March detailed the plight of Cubans, and the increasing influence of the business community on Republicans in the House of Representatives all led to fears of defeat in the upcoming November elections. It is the threat to business interests, as well as the inhumane behaviour of Spain, that he gives as the main reasons for war in this speech.
20. [1] Source D: The speech shows minimal provocation by Spain, but indicates his enthusiasm for American expansion, rooted in a set of racial assumptions derived from social Darwinism. Connected to this is the struggle for resources, which he sees as most fruitfully exploited by American vigour. This can be linked to the influence of Mahan, who advocated increasing US naval strength to achieve great power status, and writers such as Josiah Strong, who claimed that the 'Anglo-Saxons' were destined to civilise the world.
21. [1] Taken together, the sources show the mix of motives underlying US intervention in Cuba, and the difficulty in disentangling genuine humanitarian abhorrence with Spanish behaviour from business interests and the growth of a nationalistic push for the US to acquire an empire.
22. [1] Accept any other valid responses.