Praxis II Elementary Education Social Studies (5904) Practice Test

A dramatic incident that inflames public opinion and pushes leaders toward action often becomes the spark that starts a war. In this case, the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in 1898 served as that spark for the Spanish-American War. American newspapers widely blamed Spain and urged intervention, helping to rally public support even as investigations debated the exact cause. The event is remembered as the catalyst that moved the United States from rising tensions to declaring war and engaging Spanish forces. The other options relate to the war in different ways but not to its outbreak. The Treaty of Paris ended the war, not began it. The Battle of Manila Bay was a major wartime engagement that followed the decision to go to war. The bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred decades later and involved a different conflict.