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"The battleship Maine, in Cuba to protect American interests during the Island's revolt against Spain, blew up in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, killing three-quarters of the crew. The explosion may have been an accident, but the U.S. treated it as a hostile act and declared war on Spain. The "splendid little war" lasted only ten weeks and strategically expanded U.S. territory, adding Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines." - Smithsonian Magazine