Rico, Guam and the Philippines were ceded outright to the United States, which agreed to pay $20,000,000 to Spain, and to satisfy the claims of its citizens against that power. By the treaty Congress was to determine the civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the ceded territory.
384. As a result of the Spanish-American War, the United States found itself in a position of increased importance and Results of the War. prestige among the nations of the world. Especially in the Pacific, it was immediately involved in the diplomatic situation created by the efforts of European states to divide China into spheres of influence or of actual possession. The interests of the United States in the trade with China, as well as her new position in the Philippines, inclined her to oppose this policy, and Secretary-of-State John Hay showed himself one of the great American diplomats in his treatment of this difficult problem. In order to preserve Chinese entity and the “open door” for trade, he drew replies from the nations concerned, the result of which was to compel them to avow and moderate their intentions. When the Boxer insurrection broke out in China in 1900, and the legations were besieged at Peking, it was largely through the United States that a less rigorous treatment was secured for that disordered nation.
385. The acquisition of Porto Rico and the acceptance of responsibilities in Cuba gave new importance to the isthmian canal and increased the relative weight of the United States in regard to its control. The popular excitement with which the voyage of the “Oregon” was followed, as it took its way 14,000 m. around South America to participate in the destruction of the Spanish fleet in the battle of Santiago, brought home to the American people the need of such communication between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
386. But the immediate political issues were concerned with problems of the relation of the newly won lands to the United States government. Bryan had persuaded his party to join in ratifying the treaty of Paris, expecting to determine the status of the islands later. But attention soon turned to the insurrection which broke out (Feb. 4, 1899) in the Philippines (q.v.) under Aguinaldo, after it became probable that the administration intended to retain these islands, not under a weak protectorate, but as a possession to be ruled and The Philippines. “assimilated.” It was not until the spring of 1902 that this insurrection was completely put down, and in the interval the question of the destiny of the islands and the harshness of the measures of repression aroused political debate. The Democrats and many Republicans charged the administration with a policy of imperialism.
387. The same issue was involved, in its constitutional and economic aspects, in the treatment of Porto Rico and Cuba. While the insurrection continued in the Philippines the government there was legally a military one, although exercised in part through civil officers and commissions. But in the case of Porto Rico the question was whether the “Constitution follows the flag,” that is, whether it extended of its own force without an act of Congress to acquired territory, and covered the inhabitants with all the rights of citizens of the United States, as an integral part of the American people. Not only was it a Porto Rico and Cuba. question whether the native inhabitants of these new acquisitions could be wisely entrusted with this degree of political liberty, but the problem of the tariff was involved. The beet sugar producers of the United States feared the effect of the competition of Porto Rican sugar unless a protective tariff excluded this commodity. But if Porto Rico were an integral part of the United States the Dingley tariff could not be applied against its products, since this act imposed duties only on articles from “foreign countries.” To meet this difficulty the Foraker Act of 1900 imposed a special tariff for two years upon Porto Rico, the proceeds to go to that island's own treasury. The act further asserted the principle that the inhabitants of the new possessions were not incorporated into the United States or entitled to all the privileges of citizens of the United States under the Constitution, by declaring that statutory acts of the United States locally inapplicable should not be in force in Porto Rico. The Supreme Court sustained this act in 1901, holding that Porto Rico was not so strictly a part of the United States that separate customs tariffs could not be imposed upon the territory. The close division of the court and the variety of opinions by which the decision was sustained left it somewhat uncertain whether and how far the Constitution extended of its own force to these annexations. The Foraker Act also provided a government for the island (see Porto Rico). In Cuba the United States remained in authority until the 20th of May 1902, and details of the work of the government there, and the subsequent arrangements whereby the United States secured the substantial advantages of a protectorate without destroying the independence of Cuba, will be found in the article on Cuba.
388. Meantime, in the election of 1900, the Democrats renominated Bryan on a platform which opposed the Republican “Imperialism.” administration's acts in relation to the newly acquired territory and declared that “imperialism” was the paramount issue. The platform reaffirmed its silver doctrine of the previous campaign and denounced the tariff as a breeder of trusts. The Republicans renominated McKinley and endorsed his administration. While the Democrats declared for publicity in the affairs of interstate corporations and favoured enlargement of the interstate commerce law to prevent discriminations in railway rates, the Republicans were less hostile in their attitude toward the combinations, admitting the necessity of honest co-operation of capital to meet new business conditions. The Populists divided, the “anti-fusionists” supporting a separate ticket, with free silver, government ownership of railways, and anti-imperialism prominent in their demands; the other wing supported Bryan. Re-election and Assassination of McKinley. Marcus A. Hanna, the Republican campaign manager, who was increasingly influential with the great business interests of the country, appealed to labour to support the administration and thereby retain “a full dinner pail.” McKinley received an electoral majority of 137 and a popular plurality of 849,790. Before his second term was fairly begun he was shot by an anarchist while attending the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, and died on the 14th of September 1901. His wisdom in choosing able cabinet officers, his sympathetic tact in dealing with men and with sections, as well as the victories of the Spanish-American War, had brought him popularity even among his political opponents. But McKinley, like Cleveland, lacked the imagination to perceive and the desire to voice the aspirations and demands that had been gathering force for many years for legislation and executive action that should deal with the problem of effective regulation of the economic forces that were transforming American society. This gave his opportunity to Theodore Roosevelt (q.v.), who as vice-president now succeeded to office.
It was in foreign relations, which Secretary Hay continued to conduct, that continuity with McKinley's administration Roosevelt. was most evident. But even here a bolder spirit, a readiness to break new paths and to take short cuts was shown by the new president. Venezuela had long delayed the payment of claims of citizens of various nations. In 1901, the president, having been informed by Germany of its intention to collect the claims of its citizens by force, but without acquisition of territory, announced that the United States would not guarantee any state against punishment if it misconducted itself, provided that the punishment did not take the form of acquisition of territory. As a result, a blockade of Venezuela was undertaken by the joint action of Germany, England and Italy at the close of 1902. The diplomatic intervention of the United States early the next year resulted in Venezuela's agreement to pay the claims in part and to set aside a portion of her customs receipts to this end. But since the blockading powers demanded preferential treatment, the United States secured a reference of the question to the Hague court, which decided that this demand was justified. San
