Did yellow journalism cause the Spanish-American War? The Spanish-American War was a brief conflict between Spain and America that took place from April to July 1898. This war was attributed to the cessation of Spain's world empire. and the conquest of several emerging territories in the Caribbean and Pacific for the United States. Although the subject gives rise to many divergent opinions from many historians, this war was a conflict that was "a newspaper-provoked war", provoked by sensational and irresponsible yellow journalism. William Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer are historically known for being the first to use yellow journalism in their newspapers on a considerably voluminous scale. Some historians argue that Joseph Pulitzer and William Hearst did not start the Spanish-American War but made it worse (Hearst, 1999). On the other hand, many historians have claimed that Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst actually started the Spanish-American War through their newspaper's use of yellow journalism (Simmons, 2003). Yellow journalism contributed to the Spanish-American War by causing diplomacy between the United States and Spain to fail and angering people against Spain. “Hearst, being the new kid on the American media bloc, did everything in his power to force a war to boost newspaper sales. Seib argues that ultimately, because public opinion shifted dramatically toward intervention due to the sensational stories of Hearst and his competitors, President McKinley was forced to give the American public the war that he demanded (William Randolph Hearst, Yellow Journalism, & the Spanish-American War: Two Perspectives for the Class, unknown). » Also stated in US Diplomacy and Yellow Journalism in 1895 "The rise of the yellow journal...... middle of paper ...... written and misunderstood. Thus, due to misunderstood information and obvious aggrandizements, the Spanish-American War came to fruition, all because of irresponsible yellow journalism (American Correspondents Cover the Spanish-American War, 1878). In short, yellow journalism made quiet diplomacy impossible and caused the Spanish War. -American War. The published articles infuriated the public to such an extent that war against Spain was launched. Yellow journalism ended the search for diplomatic solutions to Cuba's problems with Spain and issued a public American call for war. In this way, yellow journalism contributed greatly to the Spanish-American War. This interpretation has proven irresistible over the years. Therefore, it neatly identifies the alleged beginnings of the war while providing a compelling example of the malign potential of unchecked media power..