On January 25, 1898 the USS Maine arrived at the Spanish port of Havana, Cuba. The ship was investigating claims that American interests were in danger and native Cubans seeking independence from Spanish rule were being abused. The ship entered the Spanish port with permission of the Spanish, and at 9:40 p.m on February 15th 1898 the USS Maine exploded. Two hundred and sixty of the ship's crew were killed. The potential crisis involves the possibility of war commencing between Spain and the U.S. The options available to each player in this conflict are declaring war, or retreating. This crisis is modeled immediately after the explosion on February 15th, 1898.
Two of the five critical tasks of crisis management were clearly implemented in this conflict (Boin, et. al. 2005), as described below:
Sense Making
Sense-making can help clarify the situation and will aid in the second step of crisis management, decision making. Initial investigations into the cause of the explosion concluded that an external mine had been planted and detonated on the hull of the ship. Based on this information, and the friendly ties between Cuba and the U.S at that point, Spain was blamed for planting the mine. Due to the fact the U.S. had received permission from Spain to safely enter the port, the U.S. considered this apparent provocation an act of war. After assessing the situation, the U.S. then sought to determine the most effective way to resolve the crisis.
Decision Making
President William McKinley initially preferred to pursue a diplomatic resolution. However, tensions between Spain and Cuba kept escalating and the U.S. set up a blockade around Cuba. This caused tensions to escalate even further, and on April 23rd, 1898 Spain declared war on the U.S, and the U.S. followed with a declaration of war two days later. The war ended August 13th 1898 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, granting the U.S. possession of the Philippians Islands in return for a sum of $25 million dollars. Decision making in this context was a vital part of the war crisis. Effective decisions and negotiations eventually led to the termination of the war crisis.
Notes for Discussion/Response
An interesting aspect to this crisis was Cuba’s role. What if Cuba sunk the U.S.S Maine to instigate the U.S to act against Spain? Also, later investigations determined the cause of the explosion to be internal, an accident. However, close examination of the explosion site revealed the hull plates of the ship were bent inward, indicating an external cause. What really happened?
References
Boin , A., t'Hart, P., Stern, E. and Sundelius, B. The Politics of Crisis Management: Public Leadership under Pressure. First edition. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
"U.S.S Maine Frequently Asked Questions." Naval Historical Center. August 13, 2003. Department of the Navy. 24 Jan 2008
