The first real test for America’s ‘new Navy’ were the encounters with the best of the Spanish fleet and captains in 1898. Old world strategy and tactics versus the steel Navy of the United States.
In every face-to-face encounter during the summer of 1898 the U.S. trounced the Spanish.
Our first loss of a warship and sailors came about months before any was declared.
Late in the evening on 15 February 1898, our USS Maine blew up as it rested in the harbor of Havana, Cuba.
A sneaky act of aggression on the part of Spain or a lack of discipline on the part of the Maine’s sailors could be the cause.
The ‘jury is still out’ on that question.
The videos below and the accompanying articles will help us determine the answer.
I doubt that the issue will ever be resolved.
Be aware that we will encounter Admiral Rickover later in this course.
He is the man who was became the driving force in switching the Navy over to nuclear power. Rickover is, sort of, ‘the Charles Parsons of the 1950s’.
Other culture and policy changes were brought about in the decades after the sinking of the Maine as our American Navy began to drag itself into the 20th century.
ASSIGNMENT #1
How to successfully complete assignment #1.
HISTORY CHANNEL – THE USS MAINE (53.14 minutes)
SMITHSONIAN – SINKING THE MAINE (3.28 minutes)
- View these videos.
- Now use your notes, or review the documentaries, to create a single 20-question quiz based on the two videos.
- That’s 20 questions (and answers) based on the information gleaned from this documentary.
- One quiz for the two videos. One quiz total.
- The questions must be in the form of a sentence and the answers must be composed in full-sentence format, as well.
- Your quiz questions should be worded in such a way that the answer would demonstrate that the person taking the quiz has viewed and understood the basic premises of the documentary.
- You must include the full-sentence answers with the quiz that you submit.
ASSIGNMENT #2
How to successfully complete assignment #2.
RECOVERING THE USS MAINE
(11.54 minutes)
- Watch this video.
- Read CHAPTER ONE in this book by Admiral Hyman Rickover.
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5470/
- ADMIRAL RICKOVER AND THE USS MAINE REPORT – GOOD ARTICLE
Read this article.
- Now, combine the information you’ve gleaned from the articles and video above to write a 500-word ‘brief’ about what really caused the explosion on the USS Maine in 1898.
- Make use of the information available above.
- You will not need to access (or cite) other sources.
ASSIGNMENT #3
How to successfully complete assignment #3.
- Read the article (below) about Charles Parsons.
- Watch the documentaries (below) about the TURBINIA.
CHARLES PARSONS – ARTICLE
TURBINIA – VIDEO
VIDEO ONE
VIDEO TWO
- Now, combine the information you’ve gleaned from the articles and video above to write 500 words or more about the revolution innaval construction and propulsion that was started in a backyard garage just outside of London.
- Make use of the information available above.
- Use ONLY the information above.
- You do not need to access (or cite) other sources.
BONUS
- Who is Richard Pearson Hobson and how did he affect the Battle of Santiago Bay?
- How did Hobson affect the State of Ohio?
