The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1900-06-23
Democratic Expansion.


Democratic Expansion"
From the Baltimore Sun.
Some of our Republican contemporaries
have been publishing map to illustrate
what they are pleased to term "Demo-
| cratic expansion. The territory annexed
by various Democratic administrations, be-
ginning with Thomas Jefferson, includes
Texas. the Pacific Coast, Florida, Louisi-
ana, large portion of the Mississippi
Valley and the Rocky Mountain region
in short, by far the greater part of the
United States, exclusive of Alaska. 1t is
tremendous exhibit and should be used
by the Democrats as campaign document.
In the Louisiana purchase Jefferson not
only acquired a magnificent domain, mainly
uninhabited, but an outlet for the trade OF
the Ohio river without its going through
foreign territory in order to reach the high
seas. The ownership of the mouth of the
Mississippi river was of such extreme i'm
portance to the United States that Jeffer-
son seized the opportunity to purchase 1t,
although he admitted that the act was of
doubtful constitutionality, trusting to Con-
eress and the States to ratify the transac-
ton Other purchases were made. Texas
was admitted as State of the Union at
the request of its people, who were, in fact,
principally people from the United States.
They were self governing people and they
continued to govern themselves when they
came into the Union. They came as citi-
zens and there was never any talk of their
being esubiects How the annexation
of all the compact and adjacent territory,
bringing into the Union vast area of land
and but small number of inhabitants-
land adjoining US and plainly essential for
our development-can be held to justify
the conquest and forcible annexation of the
Philippine Islands it is hard for the mind
of man to conceive And yet the Admin
istration papers do gravely and seriously
put it forward in justification Of that pre-
posterous act. The Louisiana purchase
was necessary almost to the very existence
of the Union There were no railroads
across the Alleghanies and the settlements
west of the mountains depended largely
upon the river to get their products to
market. For the mouth of the Mississippi
to be in possession of hostile European
country threatened to withdraw from the
Union an those trans Allegheny settlements
and confne the Union to the Atlantic
Slope. Florida was the headquarters of
hostile Indians and its acquisition was nee
essary for the public peace. Not one sin
gle condition which justified and demanded
the annexation of the compact territory
now constituting the greater part of the
United States exists as to Philippine ex
pansion There is nothing in common;
but, on the contrary, some of the argu-
ments for the former are strong arguments
against the latter. Both the Louisiana
and the Florida purchases, by removing
two European nations from the North
American Continent, diminished the occa-
sions for and the dangers of foreign EN-
broilments and entanglements. The ac-
QUESTION of the Philippines will increase
that danger instead of diminishing it.
Discussing the New York Tribune $
Democratic Expansion Map the Boston
Journal, another strong Administration pa
per, says
The territory thus absorbed includes
practically the whole Of the area Of the
United States on this Continent, with the
exception of the original 10 States and the
Alaskan purchase There is the great
7 of Ia
agency OF that great Democrat, Thomas
Jefferson-which stretched from the Gulf
of Mexico to the Canada line and included
more territory than belonged to the ID
original States. There is Oregon, whose
exploration was encouraged by Jefferson,
and over which the Democratic party was
ready to 90 to war with England. There
is Florida, with the acquisition Of which
two other eminent Democrats were con-
cerned, Monroe and Andrew Jackson.
There are Texas, California and New Mex
leo, which were acquired from Mexico.
Finally, there is Cuba, which the Demo-
Gratis, it is true, did not acquire, but the
acquisition of which they demanded in
their national platform as long ago as 1860.
What Il tribute this is to the magnificent
record of the time-honored Democratic
party, which, under the leadership of such
men as Jefferson, Madison Monroe and
Jackson, governed this country with wis
dom, patriotism and prudence from the be-
ginning of the century almost continuously
down to the Civil War What would the
United States be today without the terri
tory acquired by that party?. 1t is true
that the party was anxious in slave times
to acquire Cuba, but never against the con
sent of the people of the island. 1t was a
partisan desire so provide for the formation
of more slave States to counter balance the
power of the free States in Congress The
Boston Journal adds:
1t does not appear that in solitary in
stance was anything done to ''secure the
consent of the governed in these tremen-
dous acquisition Of territory. Democratic
Presidents and Congresses saw land which
they wanted, and they took it, by force,
by purchase, or in any way that offered,
but never through plebiscite to learn
what the population affected thought about
it.
The acquisition of Texas was by vote
of its people, and the other territory had
no population except wandering tribes Of
wild Indians and few villages of white
people. These white people, American,
French and Spanish, were received as cit
liens and not as subjects and speedily began
to govern themselves.
The Condition of the Northern Negro
From the Boston Advertiser.
The negro never occupied so poor ;
status in the Northern States, his outlook