The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1900-01-18
WHAT HISTORY TELLS US.
rhe Growth og the United states an
Absolute Answer to the -Aneisss
who Are Crying 'ImperlaI-
ism, and .sA1IasfarIsm,.


Absolute Answer to the -Ansiss
Who Are Crying 'ImperIaI-
ISM, and ..s1iiiearIsua.'
One of the main objections to be
made to the arguments of the anti
expansionists is the disregard for the
history of their country. They pre-
tend to believe that the acquisition of
the Phi,i ppines by the treaty of Paris,
ratified by a two-thirds vote of the
United States Senate, is departure
from previous policy, apparently ex
pecting the people to swallow their
statement without consideration and
without recalling past events in the
record of our national life
1t is not the first time the United
States has expanded without asking g
getting the consent of the inhab-
itants of the territory 1t is not even
the second third time. The growth
of the country has been a series Of
expansions only two of which, Texas
nd Hawaii, were made with the con-
sent Of the people, and most of them
made over their protests And yet,
in every instance. the United States
has given to its unwilling citizens a
govern ment freer and better than
they had. and in which they took
part, and one which proved satisfac-
tory after they tried it. In every in
stance the opponents of expansion
used the same arguments those
employed now imperialisEn - mil
itarism.'7 consent of the governed. -
SO our new t'antis7' need not feel that
they are new track. In every
case in the past the path of the anti
expansionists went straight to Obliv-
ion and the one now being travelled
by the .-antis'' is pointed in the same
direction.
Louisiana was annexed over the
protest of its white inhabitants, and
without the consent of its red.
Florida entered bV Andre
Jackson and American army, and
the Spanish title bought with the
whites bjec-ion and the Indians in
open rebellion, which they kept up
for years
California was secured through its
treaty with Mexico. when its people
were nearly all Mexicans, and they
kicked like Missouri mules.
When Alaska was bought from Rus
STA the inhabitants knew nothing
about it.
Puerto Rico added to Uncle
Sans domain and the Puerto Ricans
were told to look pleasant
During our entire history as ma
ton, the United States has pursued
the met hOds of expansion laid down
by international law and common
sense, and the people who got in the
road of the band wagon were unfor-
tunately run over
No President, except Grover Cleve-
Ii
flag after it was once put up to stay,
and no political party that ever op-
posed expansion, and one of them al
ways did, ever got over the effect of
its blunder-
In all the extensions and expan-
sions over the protests of the inhabi-
tants, none of them ever lived long
but to regret their opposition None
of them were made slaves serfS,
and many of them soon realized that
American citizenship was a boon
greater than any other they could
crave
Every time new territory has been
added, there has been trouble-war
or threatened war. It took years of
warfare to enforce the authority of
the government in the Louisiana pur-
chase. The bloody Seminole war pre-
coded the pacification OF Florida.
Texas and the purchases from Mexico
brought their trouble. There will be
difficulties and embarrass is il
the Philippines But the United
States is not experimenting 1t
knows how to govern territory whose
inhabitants cannot govern themselves,
ard it knows how raise the stand :
ard until they are capaDl of self gov
ernment. The work It has done from
the Allegheny mountains to the Ha
waiian and AIeutian Islands will be
repeated in the Philippines and the
selfish, weak and american argu-
ment againss this expansion will be
same arguments now which were used
Kansas, Texas and California