The ship the U.S.S. Maine was built to modernize the U.S. Navy. It was under the command of Captain Charles D. Sigsbee when it was dispatched to Havana Harbor, Cuba on a mission of friendly courtesy and to protect American lives and property in the event that Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain might escalate into full-blown warfare. On February 15, 1898 the ship exploded, killing 266 of the 350 seamen on board. The newspapers printed that the explosion was due to an external source and hinted that the Spanish were at fault. An U.S. investigation also concluded that the ship was attacked. This event pushed the U.S. into war with Spain in 1898. In 1976 the U.S. Navy conducted another investigation into the explosion of the Maine and ruled that it was due to an internal source such as a coal-bunker fire, not an attack by the Spanish. World's fairs and expositions held in the United States and abroad in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries celebrated the past while introducing visions of the future; both of which were highly idealized. The World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 was a showcase for new technology as well as a shining utopian community. Surrounding the grand structures of the formal center of the fair was an amusement park, featuring George Ferris' huge new wheel. The axle for the Ferris Wheel was the largest steel forging in the world. Utilizing the natural landscape of Jackson Park, a system of lagoons and waterways fed by Lake Michigan were created. These bodies of water served as decorative reflecting pools, waterways for transportation, and provided a place of respite necessary for weary summer visitors. The main buildings surrounding the waterways were in the Beaux-Arts style, with its emphasis on logic, harmony, and uniformity. The Court of Honor buildings, surrounding the Grand Basin with its massive gilded statue of the Republic, were covered with "staff," or stucco, giving the main buildings a magnificent whiteness that has come to be associated with the Columbian Exposition. The Pan-American Exposition in 1901 was held in Buffalo, New York. The Exposition was in debt by its opening and it failed to make up its financial losses. Part of the reason for the economic problems was the weather, which was cool and rainy all summer. But even more painful than the financial problems were the events on September 6, 1901. On the second day of his visit, President William McKinley was addressing a crowd at the Temple of Music, when Leon Czolgosz shot him. McKinley was rushed to the Exposition's Emergency Hospital, but died some days later of infection. The Louisiana Purchase Exposition was held in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. This World's Fair was meant to celebrate the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. The Fair, covering 1,240 acres, was twice as large as Chicago's 1893 Columbian Exposition. The popular song "Meet Me in St. Louis" was inspired by the event. The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was held in San Francisco, California in 1915 to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal. More than eighteen million visitors attended this World's Fair in the 257 days it was open and it was actually profitable. The Sesquicentennial International Exposition held in Philadelphia in 1926 celebrated the 150th anniversary of the United States. The highlight of the fair may have been High Street, a recreation of colonial Philadelphia. Visitors could stroll through 18th century American life, which was accented with the latest technology of moving pictures and loud speakers. Contemporaries did not consider the Sesquicentennial Exposition a success. A Century of Progress World's Fair was held in Chicago in 1933-1934. The theme of the exposition was to be the progress of civilization during the century of Chicago's corporate existence. The Century of Progress Fair is noted for being the first time in American history an international fair paid for itself. This fair presented many new ideas in the use of lighting and color but did not have the architectural influence of the Columbian Exposition of 1893. The Great Lakes Exhibition was held in Cleveland in 1936 to celebrate the incorporation of Cleveland as a city. Its goal was to showcase the material, social and cultural progress that occurred in the Great Lakes region. In April of 1939 the New York World's Fair, "Building the World of Tomorrow," opened in Flushing Meadows, just east of New York City. From its inception to its closing ceremonies, the Fair promoted the belief in science and technology as a means to economic prosperity and personal freedom. The Fair's established theme was one of international cooperation, but its true emphasis was on the "new-ness" of ideas, forms, and especially consumer products. The Fair promoted its message of hope and prosperity with icons, symbols, exhibitions, and demonstrations. Stylistically, the Fair employed streamlined and Modern design, which was most apparent in the Trylon and Perisphere, a 700-foot spire and an orb as wide as a city block, created to be the exposition's focal point. The 1964 New York World's Fair was located at Flushing Meadow in Queens, New York, at the same site as the 1939-1940 World's Fair. It was held in conjunction with the city of New York's 300th anniversary of British forces under the command of the Duke of York gaining control of the Dutch city of New Amsterdam. It was the dawn of the space age and the fair's theme was "Man in a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe."
From the guide to the Howard Rossen Collection, 1861-1965, (Ohio Historical Society)
