To what extent did the use of yellow journalism by the New York City press instigate the
Spanish-American War of 1898?
Laura Schmitt
IB History HL
Historical Investigation
Word Count: 1,995
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A. Plan of Investigation
The Spanish-American War is often regarded as the first press-driven war due to the
immense use of yellow journalism in newspapers while covering the conflict in Cuba. The aim
of this investigation is to answer the question to what extent did the use of yellow journalism by
the New York City press instigate the Spanish-American War of 1898? In order to determine the
extent to which yellow journalism instigated the war, this investigation evaluates the
effectiveness of yellow journalism on the public, government officials, and also explores the
reasons President McKinley intervened in Cuba. Two of the sources used in this investigation,
W. Joseph Campbell’s Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies and
President McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention (1898), are then evaluated
for their origins, purposes, values, and limitations.
This investigation does not focus on explaining the events that took place in Cuba prior to
American intervention but rather focuses on how the coverage of these events was received by
the American people
B. Summary of Evidence
In 1896, “yellow journalism”1 was born from the stiff competition between the media empires of
William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer as The New York Journal and The New York World
began looking for ways to outsell their competitor.2 In the months preceding the United States
declaration of war against Spain, The World and The Journal featured exaggerated stories about
Spain’s suppression of the Cuban rebels with illustrations and interviews with fictional Cubans to
1
A method of journalism that focuses on sensationalism by using striking headlines, flashy illustrations, and often distorted or
fabricated information to provoke public interest.
2 John William Tebbel. The Life and Good Times of William Randolph Hearst. (New York: Dutton, 1952), 12.
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increase newspaper circulation.3 These articles contradicted one another, and the uneven nature of the
reporting about the insurrection left readers bewildered rather than eager and clamoring for war.4
The makings of a boycott against the yellow press took form in 1897. Educated citizens were
angry about the utterly false information being reported to them and the boycott banned yellow
newspapers from public universities, libraries, and social organizations throughout New York City.5
Many readers, aware of the inaccuracies in yellow journalism, still bought the papers merely as a
source of entertainment, believing “the scandalous stories [were] about as harmful as the gossip of
village women.”6 Yellow journal readers consisted mainly of immigrants and members of the
working class. Non-yellow newspapers condemned yellow journalism saying it was “a paper more
for the amusement and excitement of a certain class of ignorant, uncultivated readers than for public
enlightenment.”7 The principal exhibits relating to the Spanish-American War that were published by
yellow journals – the death of American citizen, Ricardo Ruiz, in Cuba, the rescue of Cuban woman,
Evangelina Cisernos, from Spanish camps, and the disclosure of the Dupuy de Lóme letter, which
attacked the leadership of McKinley by calling him weak – were separated by several months, with
other events besides Cuba commanding headlines.8 After the explosion of the USS Maine, The
Journal published an article stating Naval Officers believed the Maine was destroyed by a Spanish
mine.9 The excessive reporting about the destruction of the Maine caused unrest among the American
people that sparked their passion for the Cuban rebel’s cause and American intervention10
Neither the diary entries of Cabinet officers nor the private exchanges among American
diplomats indicate that the yellow newspapers exerted any influence on diplomatic policy. When
3
W. Joseph Campbell. Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies. Westport (Conn.: Praeger, 2001), 96.
Ibid, 98.
5 W. Joseph Campbell, 71.
6 John A. Macy. Our Chromatic Journalism, Bookman 24. (October 1906), 128.
7 W.W. Hallock. Pernicious Yellow Papers, letter published in The New York Times (28 March 1898), 5.
8 W. Joseph Campbell, 106.
9 See appendix.
10 W. Joseph Campbell, 112.
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discussed with the McKinley administration, Hearst’s Journal was dismissed as a nuisance.11
Theodore Roosevelt rejected The Journal’s fabricated claim that he praised the newspaper’s
coverage asserting, “I never, in public or private, commended the work of The Journal.”12 Charles G.
Dawes, comptroller of the currency and confidant of McKinley wrote, “The sensational papers make
more difficult the situation, but if war comes it will be because the starvation and suffering in Cuba is
such that the United States orders it to stop on the grounds of humanity.” 13 John D. Long, Naval
secretary, criticized “the yellow-press [created] an utter recklessness with regard to the statement of
fact. The wildest rumors are gathered from the outside…and are printed with headlines and pictures
as actual occurrences.”14 George B. Cortelyou, assistant secretary to McKinley, wrote “the
sensational newspapers publish daily accounts of conferences that never happen, of influences that
are never felt, of purposes that are nothing but products of degenerate minds that spread them before
a too-easily-led public.”15 The exchanges between U.S. diplomats in Madrid, Havana, and
Washington D.C are revealing for their silence about the influence of the yellow press. William R.
Day, assistant secretary of state, wrote Stewart L. Woodford, the chief U.S. diplomat in Madrid
“there remains general conditions in Cuba which can no longer be endured, and which will demand
action on our part, unless Spain restores honorable peace.”16
After the explosion of the USS Maine and coverage of the event in yellow papers, President
McKinley stated, “I do not propose to be swept off my feet by the catastrophe. “17 McKinley did not
want to take an aggressive approach towards the situation in Cuba, rather he wanted to first attempt
to resolve things diplomatically.”18 In his address to Congress when asking for permission to take
military action against Cuba, McKinley stated, “I have exhausted every effort to relieve the
11
Ibid, 121.
New York Evening Post (21 March 1898), 7.
13 W. Joseph Campbell, 123.
14 Margaret Long. The Journal of John D, Long. Rindge (Richard R. Smith Publisher, 1956), 213.
15 George B. Cortelyou, diary entry, 28 March 1898. Cortelyou Papers (Library of Congress), 52.
16 Day to Woodford, 20 March 1898, Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States 1898, 704.
17 The Spanish American War. DVD. (New York: History Channel, 2007).
18 Ibid.
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intolerable conditions that is at our door.”19 McKinley summarized his four main reasons for taking
action against Spain as follows: “First, in the cause of humanity…it is our duty, for it is at our door…
second, we owe it to our citizens in Cuba to afford them protection…third, the right to intervene may
be justified by the very serious injury to commerce, trade, and business of our people…fourth, which
is of utmost importance, the present condition of affairs in Cuba is a menace to our peace.” 20
C. Evaluation of Sources
Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies, compiled by W. Joseph
Campbell, is an in-depth analysis of yellow journalism and the presumptions that surround the
method of writing. Campbell received his Ph. D in Journalism form Chapel Hill University and is
a professor in Communications at American University. Yellow Journalism was written with the
purpose to “reassess one of the most maligned periods in American journalism,”21 the months
preceding the Spanish-American War. The book’s value lies in that fact that it provides detailed
information about the effects of yellow journalism on the United States through accounts from
public newsreaders, government officials, and non-yellow newspapers. Its limitation is that while
Campbell comes to the conclusion that yellow journalism did not effect the United States
decision to enter the war, he does not discuss the other factors that effected the United States
decision to enter the war, leaving the United States decision to intervene in Cuba unexplained.
President McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention (1898) is a copy of the
speech given by McKinley to Congress on April 11, 1898 in Washington D.C. The purpose of
President McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention U.S., Department of State, Papers Relating to Foreign
Affairs (Washington 1898) 754.
20 President McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention, 755.
21 W. Joseph Campbell. Yellow Journalism, 2.
19
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this speech was to ask “Congress to authorize and empower the President to take measures to
secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the government of Spain and the people
of Cuba.”22 This source is valuable because it is a primary source from McKinley that expresses
his specific reasons for asking Congress to give him permission to pursue Cuban intervention and
it also communicates why McKinley believes intervention in Cuba is in the best interest of the
United States. The limitation of this speech is that it is written in a persuasive tone to gain
sympathy for the Cubans and appeal to the emotion of members of Congress, therefore the
information may be presented in a biased way to better support McKinley’s argument.
D. Analysis
In the months preceding the Spanish-American War yellow journalism dominated the media
market in New York City, but contrary to common belief, the public did not view yellow journals
as reliable or primary sources for information. Although circulation of newspapers for both
Hearst and Pulitzer increased, their credibility decreased.
Among more educated citizens of New York, yellow journals were viewed as prose
magazines based loosely off actual occurrences rather than informational newspapers.
Sensationalism was what Hearst and Pulitzer were trying to achieve in their papers and the public
readership recognized this. The boycott that took form in 1897 banning yellow journals from
libraries and universities is a prime example of the public’s annoyance and disapproval with
yellow journalism. The readers who were influenced by yellow journalism tended to be the
poorly educated, such as the low working class and immigrants, rather than policy makers.
Although the majority of the public did not rely on yellow journals as a primary source for news,
the yellow journals inaccurate coverage of the situation in Cuba still made the public aware that
conflict between Cuban rebels and Spain was in fact taking place.
22President
McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention, 750.
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The yellows journals did not cover the situation in Cuba relentlessly for months to push the
United States into war. Several months would pass between yellow newspapers featuring stories
of the conflict in Cuba. The goal of yellow newspapers was to appeal to an audience, not be
informational, so The New York Journal and The New York World featured stories that would
catch the publics attention and often times the conflict in Cuba was trumped by murders and
robberies. Yellow newspapers did not seem to influence public opinion of the Spanish-American
War until the publication of the de Lomé letter. The publication of the de Lomé letter encouraged
anti-Spanish sentiment, but it in no way had a great enough effect to be a cause in the United
States decision to go to war. After Hearst’s Journal issued the article “Who Destroyed the
Maine?” stating the Spanish were to blame for the deaths of American sailors, public interest in
war increased because the reporting of the Maine instilled a sense of fear in the American people.
The influence of yellow journalism in the government seems to have been very limited. As
seen in the summary of evidence, government officials viewed yellow journalism as a nuisance,
not an influential factor in policy. McKinley did not make rash decisions because of the media,
rather he did his best to resist war by proposing settling things with Spain diplomatically months
before he asked congress for permission to take military action. McKinley and his administration
were aware of the information being produced by yellow journals, but they did not succumb to
the “influence” of yellow journalism while making a decision for the wellbeing of the nation.
The yellow press did not fabricate the conflict in Cuba. The conflict between the rebels and
the Spanish government existed, the yellow newspapers just exaggerated the facts, twisted
stories, and made inaccurate information accessible to the public. Although citizens of the lower
class were influenced by yellow journalism, majority of the American people were not adamant
about going to war with Spain. The United Sates had legitimate reasons for becoming involved in
the conflict in Cuba that were far greater than yellow journalism’s petty attempt to create hysteria
among the public. McKinley addressed in his speech to congress that trade and commerce were
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beginning to suffer between businesses in the United States and Cuba, but also letting the
suffering of the Cuban people continue to ensue so close to the United States was inhuman.
E. Conclusion
The use of yellow journalism by the New York City Press instigated the SpanishAmerica War to the extent of increasing the public’s knowledge of the conflict in Cuba and
creating some anti-Spanish sentiment through publication of the de Lomé letter and articles about
the destruction of the Maine. Yellow journalism, however, had very little effect on the decision
making process within the United States government. Yellow journalism did not fabricate the
reasons the United States justified intervening in Cuba. The reasons for American intervention
were clearly beyond the control or direct influence of even the most aggressive yellow
newspapers and the United States would have waged war against Spain even without the use of
yellow journalism by the New York City press.
F. Works Cited
Campbell, W. Joseph. Yellow Journalism: Puncturing the Myths, Defining the Legacies. Westport,
Conn.: Praeger, 2001.
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Day to Woodford, 20 March 1898, Papers Relating to Foreign Relations of the United States, 1898.
George B. Cortelyou, diary entry, 28 March 1898. Cortelyou Papers, Library of Congress.
Long, John D., and Margaret Long. The Journal of John D. Long. Rindge, N.H.: R. Smith, 1956.
Macy, John A.. Our Chromatic Journalism. New York: Bookman, 1906.
Milton, Joyce. The Yellow Kids: Foreign Correspondents in the Heyday of Yellow Journalism. New
York: Harper & Row, 1989.
New York Evening Post 21 March, 1898
President McKinley’s Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention U.S., Department of States,
Papers Relating to Foreign Affairs Washington, 1898.
The Spanish American War. DVD. New York: History Channel, 2007.
Tebbel, John William. The life and good times of William Randolph Hearst.
[1st ed. New York: Dutton, 1952.
W.W. Hallock. Pernicious Yellow Papers, letter published in The New York Times 28 March,
1898.
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