Document 1: Anti Imperialism Platform Speech October 18, 1899 We hold that the policy known as imperialism is hostile

to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been our glory to be free. We regret that it has become necessary in the land of Washington and Lincoln to reaffirm that all men, of whatever race or color, are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We maintain that governments derive their ust powers from the consent of the governed. We insist that the sub ugation of any people is !criminal aggression! and open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our government. We earnestly condemn the policy of the present national administration in the "hilippines. #t seeks to e$tinguish the spirit of 1%%& in those islands. We deplore the sacrifice of our soldiers and sailors, whose bravery deserves admiration even in an un ust war. We denounce the slaughter of the 'ilipinos as a needless horror. We protest against the e$tension of (merican sovereignty by )panish methods. We demand the immediate cessation of the war against liberty, begun by )pain and continued by us. We urge that *ongress be promptly convened to announce to the 'ilipinos our purpose to concede to them the independence for which they have so long fought and which of right is theirs. +he ,nited )tates have always protested against the doctrine of international law which permits the sub ugation of the weak by the strong. ( self-governing state cannot accept sovereignty over an unwilling people. +he ,nited )tates cannot act upon the ancient heresy that might makes right. #mperialists assume that with the destruction of self-government in the "hilippines by (merican hands, all opposition here will cease. +his is a grievous error. .uch as we abhor the war of !criminal aggression! in the "hilippines, greatly as we regret that the blood of the 'ilipinos is on (merican hands, we more deeply resent the betrayal of (merican institutions at home. +he real firing line is not in the suburbs of .anila. +he foe is of our own household. +he attempt of 18&1 was to divide the country. +hat of 1899 is to destroy its fundamental principles and noblest ideals. Whether the ruthless slaughter of the 'ilipinos shall end ne$t month or ne$t year is but an incident in a contest that must go on until the declaration of independence and the constitution of the ,nited )tates are rescued from the hands of their betrayers. +hose who dispute about standards of value while the foundation of the republic is undermined will be listened to as little as those who would wrangle about the small economies of the household while the house is on fire. +he training of a great people for a century, the aspiration for liberty of a vast immigration are forces that will hurl aside those who in the delirium of con/uest seek to destroy the character of our institutions. We deny that the obligation of all citi0ens to support their government in times of grave national peril applies to the present situation. #f an administration may with impunity ignore the issues upon which it was chosen, deliberately create a condition of war anywhere on the face of the

globe, debauch the civil service for spoils to promote the adventure, organi0e a truth-suppressing censorship, and demand of all citi0ens a suspension of udgement and their unanimous support while it chooses to continue the fighting, representative government itself is imperiled. We propose to contribute to the defeat of any person or party that stands for the forcible sub ugation of any people. We shall oppose for re-election all who in the white house or in congress betray (merican liberty in pursuit of un-(merican ends. We still hope that both of our great political parties will support and defend the declaration of independence in the closing campaign of the century. We hold with (braham Lincoln, that !no man is good enough to govern another man without that other1s consent. When the white man governs himself, that is self-government, but when he governs himself and also governs another man, that is more than self-government--that is despotism.! !Our reliance is in the love of liberty which 2od has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which pri0es liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands. +hose who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and under a ust 2od cannot long retain it.3 We cordially invite the co-operation of all men and women who remain loyal to the declaration of independence and the constitution of the ,nited )tates. )ource - (merican (nti-#mperialist League. !"latform of the (merican (nti-#mperialist League.! +e$t from *arl )chur0, +he "olicy of #mperialism, Liberty +ract 4o. 5 6*hicago7 (merican (nti-#mperialist League, 18998.

Document 27 ,)( #mperialism, 1898 "olitical *artoon

Document 37 9What the ,nited )tates :as 'ought 'ar3 1915 ;ohn .c*utcheon

W:(+ +:< ,4#+<= )+(+<) :() 'O,2:+ 'O>

? says 9(fter the ,nited )tates had rescued them from their oppression.3

Document 47 (lbert ;. @everidge7 #n )upport of an (merican <mpire .>. "><)#=<4+, the times call for candor. +he "hilippines are ours forever, !territory

belonging to the ,nited )tates,! as the *onstitution calls them. (nd ust beyond the "hilippines are *hina1s illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either. We will not repudiate our duty in the archipelago. We will not abandon our opportunity in the Orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under 2od, of the civili0ation of the world. (nd we will move forward to our work, not howling out regrets like slaves whipped to their burdens but with gratitude for a task worthy of our strength and thanksgiving to (lmighty 2od that :e has marked us as :is chosen people, henceforth to lead in the regeneration of the world. +his island empire is the last land left in all the oceans. #f it should prove a mistake to abandon it, the blunder once made would be irretrievable. #f it proves a mistake to hold it, the error can be corrected when we will. <very other progressive nation stands ready to relieve us. @ut to hold it will be no mistake. Our largest trade henceforth must be with (sia. +he "acific is our ocean. .ore and more <urope will manufacture the most it needs, secure from its colonies the most it con-sumes. Where shall we turn for consumers of our surplusA 2eography answers the /uestion. *hina is our natural customer. )he is nearer to us than to <ngland, 2ermany, or >ussia, the commercial powers of the present and the future. +hey have moved nearer to *hina by securing permanent bases on her borders. +he "hilippines give us a base at the door of all the <ast. Lines of navigation from our ports to the Orient and (ustralia, from the #sthmian *anal to (sia, from all Oriental ports to (ustralia converge at and separate from the "hilippines. +hey are a self-supporting, dividend-paying fleet, permanently anchored at a spot selected by the strategy of "rovidence, commanding the "acific. (nd the "acific is the ocean of the commerce of the future. .ost future wars will be conflicts for commerce. +he power that rules the "acific, therefore, is the power that rules the world. (nd, with the "hilippines, that power is and will forever be the (merican >epublic. . . .

Document 57 .anifest =estiny, *ontinued7 .cBinley =efends ,.). <$pansionism #n 1899 (mericans divided sharply over whether to anne$ the "hilippines. (nne$ationists and anti-anne$ationists, despite their differences, generally agreed that the ,.). needed opportunities for commercial e$pansion but disagreed over how to achieve that goal. 'ew believed that the "hilippines themselves offered a crucial commercial advantage to the ,.)., but many saw them as a crucial way station to (sia. 9:ad we no interests in *hina,3 noted one advocate of

anne$ation, 9the possession of the "hilippines would be meaningless.3 #n the "aris "eace negotiations, "resident William .cBinley demanded the "hilippines to avoid giving them back to )pain or allowing a third power to take them. One e$planation of his reasoning came from this report of a delegation of .ethodist church leaders. +he emphasis on .cBinleyCs religious inspiration for his imperialist commitments may have been colored by the religious beliefs of 2eneral ;ames >usling. @ut >uslingCs account of the islands, falling unbidden on the ,.)., and the arguments for taking the islands reflect .cBinleyCs official correspondence on the topic. .cBinley disingenuously disavowed the ,.). military action that brought the "hilippines under ,.). control, and acknowledged, directly and indirectly, the e/ually powerful forces of racism, nationalism, and especially commercialism, that shaped (merican actions7 DWhen # ne$t reali0ed that the "hilippines had dropped into our laps # confess # did not know what to do with them. # sought counsel from all sidesE=emocrats as well as >epublicansEbut got little help. # thought first we would take only .anilaF then Lu0onF then other islands perhaps also. # walked the floor of the White :ouse night after night until midnightF and # am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that # went down on my knees and prayed (lmighty 2od for light and guidance more than one night. (nd one night late it came to me this wayE# donCt know how it was, but it came7 618 +hat we could not give them back to )painEthat would be cowardly and dishonorableF 6G8 that we could not turn them over to 'rance and 2ermanyEour commercial rivals in the OrientEthat would be bad business and discreditableF 6H8 that we could not leave them to themselvesEthey were unfit for self-governmentEand they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than )painCs wasF and 658 that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the 'ilipinos, and uplift and civili0e and *hristiani0e them, and by 2odCs grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow-men for whom *hrist also died. (nd then # went to bed, and went to sleep, and slept soundly, and the ne$t morning # sent for the chief engineer of the War =epartment 6our map-maker8, and # told him to put the "hilippines on the map of the ,nited )tates 6pointing to a large map on the wall of his office8, and there they are, and there they will stay while # am "residentI

Document 67 +he "latt (mendment, 19JH K+his amendment outlined the withdrawal of ,nited )tates troops remaining in *uba from the )panish-(merican War. #t defined the terms of ,.). relations with *uba, ensuring ,.). involvement in *uban affairs, both foreign and domestic, and gave the ,.). legal standing to ,.). claims to certain economic and military territories in *uba, including 2uantanamo @ayL. Article I. +he 2overnment of *uba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the

independence of *uba, nor in any manner authori0e or permit any foreign power or powers to obtain by coloni0ation or for military or naval purposes, or otherwise, lodgment in or control over any portion of said island. Article II. +he 2overnment of *uba shall not assume or contract any public debt to pay the interest upon which, and to make reasonable sinking-fund provision for the ultimate discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the #sland of *uba, after defraying the current e$penses of the 2overnment, shall be inade/uate. Article III. +he 2overnment of *uba consents that the ,nited )tates may e$ercise the right to intervene for the preservation of *uban independence, the maintenance of a government ade/uate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to *uba imposed by the +reaty of "aris on the ,nited )tates, now to be assumed and undertaken by the 2overnment of *uba. . . . Article V. +he 2overnment of *uba will e$ecute, and, as far as necessary, e$tend the plans already devised, or other plans to be mutually agreed upon, for the sanitation of the cities of the island, to the end that a recurrence of epidemic and infectious diseases may be prevented, thereby assuring protection to the people and commerce of *uba, as well as to the commerce of the )outhern ports of the ,nited )tates and the people residing therein.... Article VII. +o enable the ,nited )tates to maintain the independence of *uba, and to protect the people thereof, as well as for its own defense, the 2overnment of *uba will sell or lease to the ,nited )tates lands necessary for coaling or naval stations, at certain specified points, to be agreed upon with the LAresident of the ,nited )tates.