Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION-- American history in VOA Special English. During the second half of the 19th century, the United States was not concerned much with events in other countries. It was too busy dealing with events inside its own borders. At that time, the nation was recovering from the Civil War. It was expanding to the West. And it was developing industries. For this reason, the United States entered into several agreements with foreign lands during the late 1800s. In 1878, for example, the United States signed a treaty with Samoa. The United States agreed to help the South Pacific islands settle any differences with other nations. A few years later, the treaty was put to a test. A group of Germans living in Samoa forced the islands' ruler from power. They replaced him with a ruler who was more friendly to Germany. For a time, it seemed the United States and Germany would go to war. But when American warships arrived in Samoa, so did a big storm. The storm smashed both American and German ships. Neither side was left with a force strong enough to fight. In 1898, the United States, Germany, and Britain agreed that Samoa should be an independent kingdom. For 10 years, local leaders attempted to establish a strong government. Their efforts failed. In 1899, Germany took control of Samoa's large western islands. The United States took control of the smaller islands to the east. Events in another group of Pacific Ocean islands affected American foreign policy in the late 1800s. These were the Hawaiian islands. Hawaii was an important port for American trade ships sailing between the United States and China. Good relations between Hawaii and the United States were necessary to keep the port open to American ships. In 1891, Liliuokalani became queen of Hawaii. She was not friendly to the United States. A group of American businessmen and planters in Hawaii plotted to oust her. The group started an uprising. Then it called on the United States for protection. Queen Liliuokalani was forced to surrender. The businessmen and planters formed a new government. They wanted Hawaii to be part of the United States. By the end of the century, Congress had made Hawaii an American territory. In 1895, Cuban rebels revolted against the colonial government. They tried to destroy the economy of the island by burning private property. Spain sent a large force to Cuba to crush the revolt. Thousands of persons were arrested and put into prison camps. Many died of hunger and disease. Spain was denounced for its cruelty. Publisher William Randolph Hearst sent artist Frederic Remington to Cuba to paint pictures of the fighting. Remington spent several months in Havana. He saw no fighting. He sent Hearst a message. Things were quiet, Remington said. There would be no war. Hearst sent back this message, "You supply the pictures. I'll supply the war." The newspaper built up strong public feeling against Spain. Soon, many Americans were calling for war to free Cuba from Spanish rule. William McKinley was president. He did not want the United States to become involved. He did, however, offer to help Spain find a solution that would return peace to the island. Spain refused the offer. It attempted to improve the situation in Cuba by itself. Spain called home the military commander accused of cruelty. It stopped putting people in prison camps. It offered equal political rights to all Cubans. And it promised them self-rule in the future. President McKinley welcomed Spain's policy statements. He felt Spain should be left alone to honor its promises to the Cuban people. He said the United States would not interfere. At about that time, however, riots broke out in Havana. President McKinley said it was his responsibility to protect the lives and property of Americans living there. So, he sent the battleship "Maine" to Havana. During the early weeks of 1898, President McKinley waited for Spain to act on its promises to Cuba. He saw little progress. Relations between the United States and Spain became tense. Then, on the night of February 15th, a powerful explosion shook the battleship Maine in Havana harbor. The ship sank. More than 250 American sailors were dead. No one knew what caused the explosion on the battleship Maine. The United States said it was an underwater bomb. Spain said it was something on the ship itself. There was some evidence the explosion was caused by an accident in the ship's fuel tanks. Yet some people in the United States blamed Spain anyway. They demanded war. They "Remember the Maine!" That will be our story next week

• published: 13 Jul 2013
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