New-York tribune., 1901-01-06
EVOLUTION OF THIS NATION.
A CENTURY OF EXPANSION AND LNLF7CA7ION-HOW Our
GOVERNMENT GREW STRONG AND ENDURING.
and New-Mexico. 10 be rounded out In 1884 \,
the Gadsden purchase OF Al .064 square miles,
THE SLAVERY CRISIS

and New-Mexico. TO be rounded out in 1853 Av
the Gadsden purchase Of 44.064 square miles.
THE SLAVERY CRISIS.
The problem OF governing this new territorv
led to new constitutional debates, and % tba
slavery crisis Calhoun developed his thsorv
of the extension Of the Constitution to the rer-.
tories. protecting slavery in them as in ths
states. while Webster and Benton asserted ,,s
rlsht OF Congress to exclude il. Calhoun wIshs;
@ .nsh 20 torce the issue 10 actual disunion ana
wisely from his point Of view for all the time ~
party prepared to defend the title Of the Un,fsd
SIates 70 De a nation growing stronss,
Clay's Compromise OF 1850 seemed a sirrI,l ~,
70 Abolitionists. but Webster the great Trnio.e
ist d!e right 70 support IT. for it gave ten yssr
ror the maturing OF the union spirit. and thas
Ufne was needed, since the influence OF the slav
cry agitation had been decentralizlng In 81
North as Wen as in the South. MeanwhiIe g..
ana douglas developed their notion OF 's1uatter
sovereignty as substitute for National An
theory of legitimacy.
The Supreme Court IN 1897 by the Drss sco..
decision ugEt to divest the National C.o,se o'e
ment OF the eSssnce OF It's sovereignty ana sss.r
nsh as me rule OF constitutional interpretation
the extreme Jerersonian doctrine OF Iirnirsd
powers, which Jefferson himself In ofscs haS
abandoned. hso
THE WAR OF SECESSION.
Then came the war Of secession. The sisnr..
was about slavery. but the vital question !,
issue was whether the United States wa,
Nation able to enforce its laws in all place, q,
It's dominion or helpless association depend
ent on the VIII Of each Of its parts II wa. a,
tniS issue THAT Abraham Lincoln prosecuted ~
war, greatly 70 the chagrin OF extreme anti
slavery men. and the Getear OF the Secession
movement not merely abolished slavery buf a.
taohshsd beyond dispute that the American
people had grow1 uD TO Eauilton's and Ma
snaIIs conception Of their Constitution as f,-
nlshins them a government lt 70 make he
american empire equal IN essential power aud
freedom or action % any In the world
AT the end Of the war Secretary Seward rna6.
practical application OF the Monroe Doctrine
and forced France 70 abandon the Government
sne had set Up in Laxieo He purchased rha
55z4O9 square miles OF Alaska from Russia In
1850. thereby adding TO this country It's srsr
eonslderaole tract of non-conti5uous territory
acquired WITHOUT any Intention OF uItir,atalv
making II a State. Ee also planned 20 ssc1I-a
tor the Cnlted States ascsnGency in the Carih-
bean Sea and negotiated the purchase OF The
Danish West Indies but the country was not
yet ready for this project Nor cid President
Grants proposal TO annex San Domingo IN 1879
meet with favor. The people were devoted 10
internal development on a vast scale, ana then
had little for the extension OF their polIt.csl
or commercial influence.
In 1892 Hawaii. civilized and largely settled
by Americans. prayed for annexation, but Pre.i-
dent Cleveland on taking office withdrew the
treaty OF acquisition from the Senate and i.
was not until 1898 that American soversgg,tv
was extended over those islands. Mr.. Clevs7an5
had occasion In 1885 once more TO assert our
adherence 20 the Monroe Doctrine and our ~
aggression in this hemisphere. The result was
the settlement OF the British-Velezuelan bcun-
eary dispute by arbitration.
RECENT ACQUISITIONS
The intervention in Cuba. which American
statesmen had for three-quarters OF a century
foresesn sonis day inevitable. was forced
upon the Government in 1895 In a moment OF
forgetfulness Of the settled conviction Of Ad-
ministrations OF all parties that ultimate control
security. Congress pledged itself to the inds'
penGence OF Cuba So we are now confronted
with the difficult problem OF setting up ir5s-
pendent government there. as in duty bound,
and az the same time guarding against the Isl
and being made the fOOthold OF an enemy az our
door Another result OF the war with Spain
was the acquisition OF Porto Rico and the
Philippines. and TIE question now at issue con
corning the power 70 rule these outside POS
sessions puts to a new test the status oS the
United States as Nation equal other la-
tiOnS. able 20 hold territory as its expanding
political and commercial relations may require
without Incorporating those chance holdings
into its own system
The story of the United States IN the nina
teenth century is the story OF the evolution Of
a confederation into q full hedsed nation. and
the last step IN that constitutional development
is cOincident with the commercial and industrial
triumphs which promise American preGo-at-
nance among civilized peoples. and call for tbs
means TO promote and maintain it.
ROSCOE c. z. BROWN