Maurer,Nici

**The USS Maine**

 * This was copied and pasted from several websites.**

[|USS Maine (ACR-1)]– This website talks about when the USS Maine was built. It also tells what the U.S. used this ship for. It explains what all was carried on the Maine and what happened when it exploded. This website also talks about the different hypothesis on whether it was an outside explosion or an internal explosion.

[|History of Cuba - The USS Maine] – This website talks about how Cuba became a major issue for the United States. It also explains the reason for the War. Also it talks about why the USS Maine was called to Havana Harbor, and what started everything.

[|What Destroyed the USS Maine - An Opinion] – This website talks about the significance in the destruction of the Maine. What brought the USS Maine to Havana Harbor. What the Maine did while it was in Havana Harbor, and what sank the ship. It also talks about the different opinions on how the ship sank. It has links to pictures of the Maine during the war.

[|Memory from the Library of Congress.] - This website shows pictures of the USS Maine. There are some from the War, from before the war, and also after the Maine exploded. It also has pictures of different parts of the ship before and after it sank. [|U.S. Naval Battleships – The USS Maine] This website tells the statistics of the USS Maine. It also tells how long it took to build the Maine. It explains why it was sent to Cuba. It also talks about what precautions the United States took. It tells how many people were aboard the ship when it exploded, and how many died, went missing, and how many were expected to die. It also talked about when they raised the Maine.

**Voice Thread **
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**Summary **
 On August 3, 1886, Congress authorized the construction of the USS Maine to begin. The Maine was launched on November 18, 1889, and then six years later in September she was commisioned. She was the first ship of the United Stated Navy to be named for the state of Maine. The Maine weighed over six thousand tons, and was a second-class battleship. The Maine was over three hundred feet long and was capable of reaching speed up to 17 knots. It had had just about thirty torpedo tubes. The Maine left June fourth to head to Key West for a two-month training cruise. She continued extensive east coast operations until later in 1897. When it returned, it was sent to prepare for a voyage to Havana, Cuba, to be able to protect the American citizens there from the Spanish problems with the revolutionary forces in Cuba. Less than a month after she had arrived in Havana, there was an on board explosion. Several later investigations revealed that there was more than five tons of powder charges for the guns had detonated. The explosion had almost completely destroyed the front have of the ship. The rest of the ship sunk almost instantly to the bottom of the harbor. Most of the crew was on board the ship when the explosion a cured. There was two hundred and seventy four crew member who had lost there lives. There was only eighty-nine survivors. Not long after the United States began their investigation, they came to the conclusion that a naval mine had caused the explosion. There has been four investigations since then, and only two hypotheses have been released to the public. One is that a mine in Havana Harbor had exploded underneath the battleship, which then caused the explosion of the black powder, and the other which states that spontaneous combustion of the coal in bunker A16 caused the detonation of the nearby magazines.