The document summarizes the events leading up to the Spanish-American War in 3 sentences: The USS Maine was sent to Cuba to protect American businesses as Cuba sought freedom from Spanish rule, but it was destroyed in Havana Harbor in 1898, which the yellow journalism of Hearst and Pulitzer blamed on Spain and helped convince Americans to go to war, despite no proof Spain was responsible. The US Army then defeated Spain's military, capturing Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, making the United States an imperial power by 1898.