Слике страница
PDF
ePub

showed its gratitude by setting this sum aside as a fund for the education of Chinese students in America.

A new era in

The war with Spain introduced a new era in American diplomacy. While the United States has always been a world power in the sense that it has been the American great exponent of civil liberty and a stanch diplomacy upholder of legality in international relations, the events of 1898 brought the American government into more vital contact with some of the great problems of world politics. The acquisition of the Philippines, the dispatch of troops to China, and the appointment of delegates to the Hague Conference of 1899 caused serious misgivings in the minds of those who were wedded to the old order.

The Hague treaty establishing the permanent court of arbitration was, however, signed by the American delegates under the reservation of a formal declaration to the effect that it would not require the United States to depart from its traditional policy in regard to questions that were European on the one hand or purely American on the other. An active participation in affairs of general international interest did not lead to any weakening of the Monroe Doctrine. In fact, that principle of our foreign policy has been more frequently and broadly asserted since the Spanish War than ever before.

of 1900

The so-called imperialistic policies of the Republican party had encountered bitter opposition and it was generally The election believed that the campaign of 1900 would be fought squarely on this issue. The Republican convention met in Philadelphia in June, nominated McKinley and Roosevelt, and indorsed all that the Republican administration had done. The Democratic convention, which met at Kansas City July 4, declared imperialism to be the paramount issue, but it nominated Bryan for the presidency and reaffirmed the faith of the party in the free coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1. Bryan was also

nominated by the fusion wing of the Populist party and by the Silver Republicans.

Mark Hanna again conducted McKinley's campaign with characteristic cleverness, making use of the "full dinnerpail" as an emblem of "McKinley prosperity." The president remained at home and took little part in the canvass, while Bryan pursued his familiar method of traveling over the country and personally addressing hundreds of thousands of voters. But his record as a speech-maker was rivaled in this campaign by Theodore Roosevelt, who was determined not to be submerged by the vice-presidential nomination which had been forced upon him against his will. He made a tour through the Northern and Western States, attracting large crowds and creating enthusiasm by his aggressive manner of handling political issues. The campaign was, however, less exciting than that of 1896. Many Republicans were opposed to imperialism and lukewarm in their support of McKinley, while many Democrats refrained from voting for Bryan on account of their opposition to the free coinage of silver. McKinley carried all of the Northern and most of the Western States and had a majority of 137 votes in the electoral college.

Death of

President McKinley was inaugurated for his second term March 4, 1901, but on September 6, while attending the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, he was shot by an anarchist, and died on the 14th of the same month, being the third president of the United States to fall by the hand of an assassin. He had enjoyed great popularity as president and his death was universally regretted.

McKinley and succession of

Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, who was thus unexpectedly called to the presidency, was the most energetic and aggressive character that had occupied that high position. In spite of his declaration on taking the oath of office that he would. "continue absolutely unbroken the policy of President

McKinley," his attitude from the first was that of aggressive leadership, and during the next three years he broke many of the precedents of our political history. Probably no man in American public life had ever succeeded in keeping himself so constantly before the people, either in cartoon and caricature, or in photographs and sketches in the papers and magazines. His popularity soon became the despair and confusion of the Republican machine and of the Democrats alike. He had the enthusiasm and idealism of the reformer combined with unusual political astuteness, and whatever people might think of his policies his handling of public questions never failed to provoke discussion, which is the life of democracy.

TOPICAL REFERENCES

1. The Spanish War: Woodrow Wilson, History of the American People, Vol. V, pp. 269–300; E. B. Andrews, United States in Our Own Time, Chap. XXVII; J. H. Latané, America as a World Power, Chaps. I-IV; F. E. Chadwick, Spanish-American War; H. H. Sargent, Campaign of Santiago de Cuba; A. T. Mahan, Lessons of War with Spain; J. D. Long, New American Navy; W. S. Schley, Forty-Five Years under the Flag; R. D. Evans, A Sailor's Log; T. Roosevelt, Rough Riders; C. S. Olcott, Life of William Mc Kinley, Vol. II, Chaps. XXIV-XXVIII; W. R. Thayer, Life of John Hay, Vol. II, Chap. XXIII; T. Roosevelt, Autobiography, Chap. VII.

2. The Philippines and Other Dependencies: Andrews, United States in Our Own Time, Chap. XXVIII; J. H. Latané, America as a World Power, Chaps. V, VIII-X; C. A. Beard, Contemporary American History, Chap. VIII; A. C. Coolidge, United States as a World Power, Chaps. VII-IX; J. W. Foster, American Diplomacy in the Orient, Chaps. XI-XIII; C. S. Olcott, Life of William Mc Kinley, Vol. II, Chaps. XXIX, XXX; G. F. Hoar, Autobiography, Vol. II, Chap. XXXIII; W. F. Willoughby, Territories and Dependencies of the United States; J. G. Schurman, Philippine Affairs; H. P. Willis, Our Philippine Problem; D. C. Worcester, Philippine Islands and Their People; W. C. Forbes, Decade of American Rule in the Philippines; C. B. Elliott, The Philippine Islands, 2 Vols.

3. The Threatened Partition of China and the Open-Door Policy J. W. Foster, American Diplomacy in the Orient, Chap. XIII; J. H. Latané, America as a World Power, Chap. VI; A. C. Coolidge, United States as a World Power, Chaps. XVII, XVIII; P. S. Reinsch, World Politics; C. S. Conant, United States in the Orient; A. H. Smith, China in Convulsion; B. L. P. Weale, Reshaping of the Far East; T. F. Millard, The New Far East; A. S. Daggett, America in the China Relief Expedition.

CHAPTER XXIX

AMERICA AS A WORLD POWER

WHILE foreign affairs claimed a larger share of public attention during Roosevelt's first administration than ever before, there was a notable revival of interest in Roosevelt's the problems of labor and capital which the war ministration with Spain had temporarily thrown into the back

first ad

ground.

The president astonished the country by intervening in a great coal strike; he alarmed the capitalistic classes by beginning an attack on trusts; he disconcerted the politicians by pushing forward the investigation of extensive public land and postal frauds, which resulted in the criminal conviction of two United States senators; he antagonized the South by inviting Booker Washington, the negro head of Tuskegee Institute, to his table at the White House and by appointing a negro postmistress in Mississippi and a negro collector at Charleston; these and many other acts were bitterly assailed, but public sentiment in the main sustained the president. Roosevelt introduced a new epoch in American politics. His appeal was always to the moral sense of the average American and he showed little regard for special interests, classes, or sections.

The general prosperity of the country during McKinley's administration and the rapid accumulation of capital greatly The growth accelerated industrial combinations. The trust of trusts movement dated back to 1882 when the Standard Oil Company was formed by placing the control of a number of separate companies dominated by the Rockefeller interests in the hands of a single board of trustees. This

« ПретходнаНастави »