Yellow Press helped to lead America into the Spanish-American War.
Yellow Press is the idea of using sensational headlines in order to grab reader's attention. The goal of this strategy is to sell as many newspapers as possible. The press did this when the USS Maine, a US naval ship, exploded of the coast of Cuba. Immediately, reports stated that it was sunk by the Spanish. This caused increased anger towards the Spanish and resulted in the US government declaring war on Spain.
The Spanish-American War would lead to the defeat of Spain. Spain would give up control of Cuba, the Phillipines, Guam, and other islands in the Western hemisphere to the United States. This was the beginning of America's global empire.
