Maine Monument

This is an interesting (historical) discovery about the start of
American Imperialism.

This is the memorial to the sailors of the Battleship 'Maine', which
exploded off Havana in 1898. This is the cause of the Spanish-American
War which resulted in the US annexing Guam, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the
Philippines. US also made Cuba into a Dependant under the Platt
Amendment.

Prior to this, the US had no overseas territory to speak of. While
Manifest Destiny always influenced American sense of self, it had always
thought of itself as the "well-wisher of liberty." Spanish-American
punctured for first time, the bubble of isolationalism.

It is no accident either that this monument is placed at the Merchant's
Gate, symbolizing the connection between American Capitalism with
Imperialism.

You can say that it is one of those little links that lead to the
current war in Iraq.

On the back of this monument is incribed, "To the freemen who died in
the war with Spain that others might be free. MDCCCXCVIII MCMXII"