The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

The Anti-Imperialists 595

the United States. The war, won at so little cost mili-
tarily, produced problems far larger than those it
solved.^2 The nation had become a great power in the
world’s eyes. As a French diplomat wrote a few years
later, “[The United States] is seated at the table
where the great game is played, and it cannot leave
it.” European leaders had been impressed by the
forcefulness of Cleveland’s diplomacy in the
Venezuela boundary dispute and by the efficiency dis-
played by the navy in the war. The annexation of
Hawaii and other overseas bases intensified their con-
viction that the United States was determined to
become a major force in international affairs.
But were the American people determined to exer-
cise that force? The debate over taking the Philippine
Islands throws much light on their attitudes. The imag-
ination of Americans had been captured by the trap-
pings of empire, not by its essence. It was titillating to
think of a world map liberally sprinkled with American
flags and of the economic benefits that colonies might
bring, but most citizens were not prepared to join in a
worldwide struggle for power and influence. They
entered blithely on adventures in far-off regions with-
out facing the implications of their decision.

Since the United States (in the Teller Amendment)

had abjured any claim to Cuba, even though the island

had long been desired by expansionists, logic dictated

that a similar policy be applied to the Philippines, a

remote land few Americans had ever thought about

before 1898. But expansionists were eager to annex

the entire archipelago. Even before he had learned to

spell the name, Senator Lodge was saying that “the

Phillipines [sic] mean a vast future trade and wealth

and power,” offering the nation a greater opportunity

“than anything that has happened... since the annex-

ation of Louisiana.”

President McKinley adopted a more cautious

stance, but he too favored “the general principle of

holding on to what we can get.” A speaking tour of

the Midwest in October 1898, during which he

experimented with varying degrees of commitment to

expansionism, convinced him that the public wanted

the islands. Business opinion had shifted dramatically

during the war. Business leaders were now calling the

Philippines the gateway to the markets of East Asia.

The Anti-Imperialists

The war had produced a wave of unifying patriotic

feeling. It greatly furthered reconciliation between the

North and the South; two major generals, for exam-

ple, were Confederate veterans. But victory raised new

While the good children (the states) sit at their seats, with the Indian off to the side, the unruly blacks—“Cuba,”

“Puerto Rico,” “Hawaii,” and “Philippines”—are lectured by Uncle Sam. Racist anti-imperialists argued, as did this

cartoon in Puckin 1899, that the inclusion of other peoples would weaken the American nation.

(^2) More than 5,000 Americans died as a result of the conflict, but
fewer than 400 fell in combat. The others were mostly victims of
yellow fever, typhoid, and other diseases.