I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way-I don't know how it was, but it came: (1) that we could not give them back to Spain-that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France or Germany-our commercial rivals in the Orient-that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves-they were unfit for self-government -and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellowmen for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed, and went to sleep and slept soundly. . . .18 Thus fortified in his decision, McKinley, on October 25, 1898, told the peace commissioners that since the only alternatives were to take all the Philippines or none, the United States would insist on taking all. The terms of the peace treaty ratified this position. ... TREATY OF PEACE WITH SPAIN, PARIS, DECEMBER 10, 1898: . . . ARTICLE I. Spain relinquishes all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba.... The island is, upon its evacuation by Spain, to be occupied by the United States. ARTICLE II. Spain cedes to the United States the island of Porto Rico and other islands now under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, and the island of Guam in the Marianas or Ladrones. ARTICLE III. Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands. . . . The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars... within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty. In Congress the treaty was subjected to heated debate. The anti-expansionists argued that the United States had no precedent for acquiring overseas territories which could not be Americanized and made into states. They further asserted that forcible annexation of millions of people overseas was a violation of the letter of the Declaration of Independence and of the spirit of the Constitution. And, by expanding into the Far East, they protested, the United States would lose the strong moral position under the Monroe Doctrine which forbade European powers from doing in the Western hemis American expands to the Far East American imperialism wins 18 Christian Advocate, January 22, 1903, as quoted by Bailey, op. cit., p. 520. phere just what America was proposing to do in the Orient. Other arguments of equal pertinence were also advanced. The annexationists, now becoming known as imperialists, countered each proposition with pleas to take up the white man's burden and extend the blessings of American civilization to the Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Filipinos, while increasing the opportunities for American trade abroad. Finally, the Senate ratified the Spanish treaty on February 6, 1899 by 57 to 27, only two votes more than were required to meet the two-thirds margin. The Filipinos who had been led to believe that freedom from Spain would mean independence for the islands were disappointed to learn that they were merely exchanging rule by Spaniards for rule by Americans. The Filipinos revolted against the Americans on February 4, 1899 and the two-year Filipino Insurrection saw the American soldiers adopting many of the practices for which the nation had condemned General Weyler in Cuba such a short time before. The problems of the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the imperialistic surge which characterized the years immediately after the SpanishAmerican war belong in subsequent sections of this study.19 The fruits of victory in the war were for the United States somewhat bitter. But the easy conquests of Spanish armies and naval units had a unifying effect upon the country as had nothing else since the days before the Civil War. The United States had come a long way from the divided, suspicious, and resentful atmosphere of 1850-1880. It had entered on the world stage as a full-fledged international power almost simultaneously with the close of the century. How it would play its important role was the great question of the new century. 5. Ventures into Imperialism: 1870-1900 Imperialism is a word which has been loosely used to condemn nations in recent years. The phrases "American imperialism" or The meaning "Yankee imperialism" are heard of imperialism today whenever Soviet speakers or their satellite counterparts wish to attack American plans for strengthening the free 19 See pp. 38-39, 47-49 and 50-52 below. world. Just as often the charge of Soviet imperialism is flung to the breeze when the communists extend their influence beyond the borders of the USSR. What is this thing called imperialism? Perhaps the most useful definition is the following: Imperialism is a policy which aims at creating, organizing and maintaining an empire; that is, a state of vast size composed of various more or less distinct national units and subject to a single centralized will. . . . In the modern period a new element has come into the conception of empire: the ideal of economic self-sufficiency and "splendid isolation," which cannot be realized within the narrow limits of a merely national state without great sacrifice of material wellbeing but which, it is thought, might be achieved by a judiciously assembled imperial conglomerate of nations. 20 By the terms of this definition, the United States does not seem to fit the appellation of an imperialistic nation. But in the period around 1900 a great number of Americans saw no odium in being considered imperialists. They believed that imperialism was the order of the day, that it was not only fashionable and respectable, but that it was also the ordained destiny of the United States to take up the responsibilities of a world power and extend its controls to the backward regions of the globe. Great Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and later Germany, Japan, and Italy, were colonizing vast areas of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The United States, certainly, had ideals as lofty, intentions as noble, and institutions as exportable as any of these other nations. And the economic benefits of overseas territories could be demonstrated by any set of statistics. Evidences of the trend toward expansionism have been related earlier.21 In most cases, however, this expansionism took the form of manifest destiny and confined itself to physically contiguous territory. Alaska was an exception to this practice and enough attention has already been paid to the efforts of some Americans to annex territory in the Caribbean area to show that the idea, if not the implications, of imperialism was present in the United States before 1870. There is one important difference between manifest destiny and imperialism that seems worth stressing. Manifest destiny, with few exceptions, 20 Moritz J. Bonn, in The Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1944) Vol. VII, p. 605. 21 See pp. 6-7 and 8-14 above. Manifest destiny vs. imperialism envisioned expansion for the sake of territory in which to settle and which eventually could be erected into new states. Imperialism, on the other hand, has as a major design the acquisition of colonial areas as a source for raw materials and a market for manufactured goods. It does not consider primarily whether the area under control is populated by peoples which can be assimilated into the national structure or whether the territory offers an opportunity for emigration and settlement. It is concerned more with the natural resources of the region and the presence of indigenous labor forces which will at once provide workers to get at the resources and consumers for the purchase of finished products. This is not to say that imperialism does not include the acquisition of sparsely settled territory, especially in regions where climate and fertility would make possible the settlement of surplus population from the home country. But a principal concern of imperialism has been to find and acquire raw materials and markets. By the middle of the 19th century, most of the areas of the world desirable for settlement by Europeans had been pretty well pre-empted by Great Britain, and less completely by France. So the United States, along with Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium, was generally compelled to select less favorable regions for its expansionist endeavors. Japan, a later entrant in the race for colonies, presented a special case. And Spain, Denmark, and Portugal-the other colonial powers-had lost or were losing the possessions they had earlier staked out for themselves. Exploitation, then, became the main basis for colonization in the 19th century rather than a more or less important by-product as it had been in previous centuries. There were exceptions to this general rule, of course. But in the main it held true. And the United States, in the period between the Civil War and World War I, ventured into a type of imperialism which characterized the world of those years. Imperialism seeks resources and markets Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and the Danish Virgin Islands were Caribbean regions toward which certain American elements turned acquisi tive eyes shortly after the close of Efforts to the Civil War. The Cuban experiannex the ence has already been described.22 Virgin Islands In the case of the Dominican Republic, as has been mentioned, Secretary Seward failed to secure annexation by the United States in 1869 and President Grant's efforts later that year, and in 1871, met with a like fate. In 1867 Secretary Seward signed a treaty with Denmark providing for the purchase of the Danish West Indies, or Virgin Islands, for $7,500,000, subject to approval by a plebiscite of the inhabitants. The treaty was unpopular with the Senate and it never came to a vote, although the Virgin Islanders voted overwhelmingly to agree to the cession.(23) Secretary Seward did succeed in adding the Midway Islands, in the far Pacific, to the United States list of possessions. The islands were occupied by the American navy in August 1867. However, the first notable territorial interest in the Pacific Ocean tropics came at a later date with the island of Samoa. As early Early American as 1872 the United States, through interest in the efforts of naval officers serving Samoa in the Pacific, negotiated a treaty with the Great Chief of Pago Pago providing for the establishment of a naval coaling station on the main Samoan island of Tutuila. The Senate refused to take action on the treaty. In 1878 another treaty provided for a naval station at Pago Pago in return for which the United States would act to adjust any differences arising between the Samoans and a foreign power. The Senate approved this arrangement. Germany and Great Britain secured treaty rights in Samoa the following year. The three powers faced one another in the tight confines of this small island group with friction providing numerous incidents. Finally the German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, suggested a tripartite conference to settle the Samoan question. A tropical hurricane scattered the German and American naval vessels in the harbor of Apia on March 16, 1889, thereby averting what might have developed into a nasty quarrel and a shooting war. By the time representatives of the three 22 See pp. 30-34 above. powers met at Berlin on April 29, 1889, everyone was in a conciliatory mood. Mainly because the United States was not yet prepared for tropical overseas possessions and Secretary Blaine balked, partition of Samoa among the three powers was not practical at this time. Therefore, a condominium, or sharing of authority, was the only answer. ... ... TRIPARTITE SAMOAN TREATY, BERLIN, JUNE 14, 1889: . . . It is declared that the Islands of Samoa are neutral territory in which the citizens and subjects of the Three Signatory Powers have equal rights of residence, trade and personal protection. The Three Powers recognize the independence of the Samoan Government and the free right of the natives to elect their Chief or King and choose their form of Government according to their own laws and customs. Neither of the Powers shall exercise any separate control over the Islands or the Government thereof. A Supreme Court shall be established in Samoa. . . . The Chief Justice shall be named by the Three Signatory Powers in common accord. . . . In case any question shall . . . arise . . . respecting the rightful election . . . of King . . . or respecting the validity of the powers which the King . . may claim . . . such question... shall be presented for decision to the Chief Justice. In case any difference shall arise between either of the Treaty Powers and Samoa which they shall fail to adjust by mutual accord, such difference shall not be held cause for war, but shall be referred for adjustment ... to the Chief Justice. . . . The Chief Justice may recommend to the Government of Samoa the passage of any law which he shall consider just and expedient for the prevention and punishment of crime and for the promotion of good order. . . . The condominium proved unsatisfactory almost from the start. In 1893 the anti-expansionist Grover Cleveland used Samoa as a prime example in his arguments against American involvement in overseas adventures. But by 1898, American attitudes had changed and, with the Philippines, Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico then in the control of the United States, there seemed no reason why Samoa, where we had prior rights, should not be annexed. Great Britain was agreeable since she would receive compensation elsewhere. Germany was willing to partition the islands. And the United States was satisfied to get the majority of the islands as well as the harbor of Pago Pago, while giving up the two largest islands of the group to Germany. On December 2, 1899 the division was accomplished by a Partition of Samoa ... tripartite convention signed at Washington and American Samoa became another of those relatively little known possessions in the Pacific Ocean. It was placed under the jurisdiction of the Navy Department in 1900 and a naval officer was named as governor of the islands. The Navy continued to administer the archipelago until July 1, 1951 when the Interior Department took over and a civilian governor was appointed. Western Samoa, the German share of the islands, was mandated to New Zealand by the League of Nations in 1920.(24) The Hawaiian Islands attracted Americans for a variety of reasons all through the 19th century. Pacific traders, New England missionaries, American influences in Hawaii whalers, and some settlers made the islands a curious combination of a sailorman's paradise and a Puritan outpost in the period before the Civil War. The British were also interested in the islands, called by them the Sandwich Islands. In 1842 Secretary of State Daniel Webster and President John Tyler announced that the United States could not view idly the annexation of Hawaii by a foreign power, although they declared that the United States had no intention of taking the islands. The following year, Britain and France signed an agreement whereby each nation renounced any intent to annex Hawaii. The United States declined to join in this agreement. Several moves during the 1850's to achieve the annexation of the islands failed in the United States. In 1875 a commercial reciprocity treaty was signed with the island kingdom which permitted the duty-free entry into the United States of Hawaiian sugar, in return for which the Hawaiians agreed not to make any territorial concessions to other foreign powers. This treaty was renewed in 1884, and when the Senate finally voted approval in 1887 the treaty had an amendment giving the United States exclusive use of Pearl Harbor as a naval station. In 1890 Congress put a bounty on American produced sugar. The Hawaiians thereby lost their advantages under the 1875 treaty. Americans in the islands, owning most of the sugar lands and controlling much of the wealth of the islands, saw annexation to the United States as the Hawaiian revolution of 1893 best insurance against economic ruin. Early in 1893 a group of Americans organized a revolt and asked aid from John L. Stevens, United States Minister to Hawaii. He secured a detachment of 150 men from the U.S.S. Boston, then in Honolulu harbor. On January 17, 1893, Stevens officially recognized the revolutionary government. And on February 1, 1893, after Queen Liliuokalani had relinquished her throne, Stevens proclaimed Hawaii an American protectorate and warned the State Department that if the islands were not annexed promptly they might fall into the hands of the British. A Hawaiian delegation hastened to Washington to offer a treaty of annexation. The treaty was still before the Senate when the anti-imperialist Cleveland returned to the presidency. On March 9, 1893 Cleveland withdrew the treaty from the Senate. He then appointed a special commissioner, James H. Blount, to investigate the circumstances of the revolution and the annexation offer.28 The Secretary of State, Walter Q. Gresham, summarized Commissioner Blount's report in a letter to the President. SECRETARY GRESHAM'S LETTER TO PRESIDENT CLEVELAND ON THE BLOUNT REPORT, WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 18, 1893: ... Queen Liliuokalani announced her intention on Saturday, January 14, 1893, to proclaim a new constitution, but the opposition of her ministers and others induced her to speedily change her purpose and make public announcement of that fact. At a meeting. ... on... that day, a so-called committee of public safety, consisting of thirteen men, being all or nearly all who were present, was appointed "to consider the situation and devise ways and means for the maintenance of the public peace and the protection of life and property." The committee addressed a letter to John L. Stevens, the American minister at Honolulu, stating that the lives and property of the people were in peril and appealing to him and the United States forces at his command for assistance. . . Mr. Stevens says: "The committee .. took possession of the Government building, archives, and treasury, and installed the Provisional Government at the head of the respective departments. This being an accomplished fact, I promptly recognized the Provisional Government. . . ." The earnest appeals to the American minister for military protection by the officers of that Government, after it had been recognized, show the utter absurdity of the claim that it was established by a successful 23 Blount was a Democratic member of Congress from Georgia (1873-93). After his service as special commissioner he was appointed Minister to Hawaii in May 1893. revolution of the people of the Islands. Should not the great wrong done to a feeble but independent State by an abuse of the authority of the United States be undone by restoring the legitimate government? Anything short of that will not . . . satisfy the demands of justice. . . . re President Cleveland attempted to get a pledge from Queen Liliuokalani that if she was stored to her throne she would not take severe measures with the white revolutionaries. This the Queen would not promise. Cleveland then put the matter up to Congress. PRESIDENT CLEVELAND'S SPECIAL MESSAGE TO CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 18, 1893: But for the lawless occupation of Honolulu under false pretexts by the United States forces, and but for Minister Steven's recognition of the provisional government when the United States forces were its sole support and constituted its only military strength, the Queen and her Government would never have yielded to the provisional government, even for a time and for the sole purpose of submitting her case to the enlightened justice of the United States. . . . I instructed Minister Willis to advise the Queen and her supporters of my desire to aid in the restoration of the status existing before the lawless landing of the United States forces at Honolulu . . . if such restoration could be effected upon terms providing for clemency as well as justice to all parties concerned. . . . These conditions have not proved acceptable to the Queen. . . . In commending this subject to the . . . discretion of the Congress, I desire to add the assurance that I shall be much gratified to cooperate in any legislative plan . . . for the solution of the problem. . . . Congress side-stepped the issues by passing two resolutions of non-interference. Led by Americans, the Hawaiian Republic was organized. In the summer of 1894 the republic was recognized by President Cleveland. When William McKinley became President in 1897 a treaty of annexation was signed on June 16 of that year. Three days later the Japanese minister in Washington protested the proposed annexation. In spite of administration efforts to magnify the Japanese menace, Democrats in the Senate blocked treaty ratification. Then came Dewey's victory at Manila Bay. The annexationists pointed to the desirability of Hawaii as a Pacific base to support the war in the Philippines. With popular sentiment behind them the imperialists in Congress succeeded in putting through a joint resolution annexing Hawaii. Hawaii annexed by a joint resolution The resolution was signed July 7, 1898. The established government of the islands was continued by presidential proclamation until Congress could provide by legislation for the administration of the new possession. In 1900 Hawaii was constituted a territory. All citizens of Hawaii were made United States citizens and the territory was given a bicameral, popularly elected legislature. The Governor was appointed by the President as were the judges of the supreme and circuit courts and the Secretary of the territory. All other judicial and executive officers were to be appointed by the Governor. Hawaii has continued in this territorial status since 1900. Frequent efforts to grant statehood to Hawaii have been defeated in Congress through the opposition of various groups for various reasons. At different times the opposition has been by Democrats-the islands until recently have been predominately Republican in politics; by white supremacy advocates-the population of the islands contains large elements of Japanese ancestry as well as of native Pacific aboriginals;2 by mainland trade interests-the island economy is based on sugar and pineapple production; and by anti-labor groups the workers of the islands and especially in the shipping centers are highly organized. The imperialists of 1898 have long ago left the scene, but their appetite for territory brought the United States irrevocably into the Pacific picture for better or for worse. Issues in American presidential campaigns have never been uncomplicated. They are always a conglomeration of domestic and international |