In 1898, USS Maine was sunk in its arrival to Havanna as part of an oficial visit. President Mckingley had been intervening before in the Spanish-Cuban conflicts with the aim of preventing the start of a war. He had talked to the Spanish leaders with conciliatory words, trying to convince them of solving peacefully their conflict with Cuban insurrectionists.
Then, after the two explosions that caused the sunk of Maine, he abandonned his hopes for neutrality and spoke firmly and fiercely when blaming the Spanish for the incident and when adopting the resolution of declaring war to the Spanish.
In 1896, the Republican national convention nominated McKinley for president since he was considered an important national leader. After becoming the president, McKinley was distressed by the Cuban insurrection and on February 15, 1898, the USS Maine was sunk on an official visit to Havana. Even though President McKinley used a friendly discourse with the purpose of preventing war, his attempts with respectful dialogue were not enough. He tried to persuade the Spanish government to assume a pacific stand with the Cuban insurrectionists with no success.
The most famous of all the units fighting in Cuba, the "Rough Riders" was the name given to the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt resigned his position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in May 1898 to join the volunteer cavalry.
