When the USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, triggering the Spanish-American War, the New York Times and the New York Journal and Advertiser published conflicting accounts of what caused the explosion. In this lesson, students will read the conflicting accounts and analyze how each uses evidence to support its claims. Finally, students will use their analyses to decide which account is more believable.
Image: 1898 Illustration of the explosion of the Maine. From the Library of Congress.
