policy, particularly in the time of the Spanish-American War.  The yellow press was very sensationalistic and was not terribly concerned with facts.  These newspapers wanted to sell papers more than they wanted to inform the public in a responsible manner.  Therefore, they exaggerated and even invented Spanish atrocities because they knew such stories would sell papers.  These exaggerations and inventions helped whip up the American public’s desire for war.  This is the effect of the yellow press that is most often discussed in textbooks.

However, you could also say that the yellow press had other impacts on the American public.  For example, you could argue that the yellow press whetted Americans’ appetite for sensationalism and thereby helped to coarsen American culture and make it more ignorant.  Because the yellow journalists were so eager to sell papers, they gave readers the sorts of scandalous and lurid stories they wanted instead of stories that would have done more to inform them about important current events.  By doing so, we can argue, they “dumbed down” the American public.

On the other hand, you could say that the yellow press affected the American public by encouraging reading and attention to public affairs.  The yellow press pushed very hard to get people to read newspapers.  By doing so, they encouraged people to get interested in newspapers and reading where they might not have been before.

All of these are possible answers to this question.  Please check your course materials to see which one your instructor expects to see.

Yellow journalism was very influential in shaping people’s opinions. In the 1800s and early 1900s, people got their news from the newspapers. There were no other major sources of news. If a newspaper didn’t cover an event or topic, most people had no idea that event occurred or topic was being discussed. Thus, what appeared in the newspapers is what people would know about an event. If a newspaper exaggerated news stories, the average person would not know the story was being exaggerated.

In the events leading to the Spanish-American War, the newspapers exaggerated how poorly the Spanish government was treating the Cubans. As a result, American public opinion turned against Spain. Because the Americans viewed the Spanish negatively, the Americans were ready to pounce on Spain if the opportunity developed. We saw this as an opportunity to gain colonies and become a world power. When the Spanish ambassador wrote a critical letter about President McKinley, our newspapers got a hold of it and published it in the newspapers. This led to a further weakening of our relationship with Spain. When the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, the newspapers immediately blamed Spain. As a result, American public opinion was against Spain, and people wanted to go to war against Spain. This war occurred in 1898. Newspapers played a big role in shaping American public opinion in the 1800s and the early to mid-1900s.

Yellow journalism affected people’s viewpoints significantly. This can really be seen in the events leading to the Spanish-American War in 1898. Prior to radio and television, most people got their news from what they read in the newspapers. It was very difficult to determine if the stories being reported in the newspapers were accurate or exaggerated.

By the late 1890s, the United States wanted to become a world power. Most of the land was already colonized, so in order to get land, we most likely were going to have to go to war. When the newspapers began to report on how the Spanish were mistreating the people living in Cuba, the American people were very concerned. The newspapers made the alleged mistreatment of the Cubans sound much worse than it really was. This helped stir up American public opinion against Spain. When the newspapers published a letter written by the Spanish ambassador to the United States that was very critical of President McKinley, this further inflamed American sentiment against Spain. When the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana harbor, the newspapers jumped to the conclusion that the Spanish were responsible for this action. This event further increased the anti-Spanish sentiment in the United States and led to the start of the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Yellow journalism clearly affected the viewpoints of many Americans, especially in regard to going to war against Spain in 1898.