Question

What role did "yellow journalism" play in shaping the opinions of the American public toward the war?

Answer 1

Yellow journalism was a form of newspaper reporting that underscored sensationalism over the facts. During its heyday at the end of the 19th century, it was one of the many factors that helped push the United States and Spain into war in Cuba and the Philippines, leading to the acquisition of overseas territory by the United States. The advent of yellow journalism helped establish a atmosphere conducive to the outbreak of international strife and the spread of U.S. hegemony abroad, but it did not, by itself, contribute to war.

The papers did not generate anti-Spanish feelings out of thin air, nor did publishers manufacture events to which the U.S. public and politicians responded so strongly. In addition, prominent leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt led a campaign for U.S. overseas expansion that had been gathering momentum since the 1880s. However, yellow journalism of this time is important to the history of U.S. foreign relations, because its centrality to the history of the Spanish American War demonstrates that the press has the ability to draw the attention of large readers and to manipulate public reactions to international events.

The dramatic nature of yellow journalism has contributed to generating national support for the Spanish-American War, a conflict that would eventually extend the global reach of the United States.