Thursday, November 19, 2020

 

Going Green Began with Teddy Roosevelt

Conservation in the Early Years of the Twentieth Century

Mar 2, 2010 Michael Streich

Conservation and reclamation were pivotal issues for President Theodore Roosevelt. His actions to protect the American environment inspired a national resolve.

Conservation was a defining element of the eight-year presidential administration of Teddy Roosevelt. As 21st Century Americans seek to conserve and save the environment, it is wise to recall the words and actions of the man who increased the National Forests from 43 million acres to 194 million acres, often in the face of determined criticism from lumber barons and their Congressional defenders. Speaking at the Grand Canyon during his Western Tour, Roosevelt admonished his listeners to, “keep it for your children, you children’s children, and for all who come after you.”

The Legacy of Conservation and the Future Challenge

Roosevelt entered his final year as president hosting what came to be called the Convention of Governors. Acting as chairman in the East Room of the White House, Roosevelt recounted the successes of his administration in matters of conservation and water reclamation but warned that future attitudes would dictate how natural treasures should be safeguarded from unscrupulous “malefactors” of great wealth. According to Roosevelt, “The conservation of our national resources is literally vital for the future of the nation.”

The Role of Gifford Pinchot

Appointed Chief Forester by Roosevelt, Gifford Pinchot was obsessed with the preservation of American forests. Like Roosevelt, he deplored the wanton abuse of water, forest reserves, and minerals by the great trusts that manipulated both state and national government in order to secure federal lands for industrial exploitation. Pinchot, a close friend of Teddy Roosevelt and a member of the president’s inner circle, had managed to save million of acres, often seeing the legislation pass through Congress while its members were preoccupied with other matters.

Pinchot had received a classical education but also spent time in Europe, notably France, observing how Europeans managed their forests, practiced by professional foresters for over 300 years. Europe had lost many of its forests during the first years of pre-industrialization. England, for example, imported lumber for ships, first from the American colonies, and then from Russia where it was abundant. It was Pinchot who devised the term “conservation” to identify administration policy in terms of environmentalism.



Americans, however, were blessed with millions of acres of forest. The vast resources of the land encouraged exploitation. Both Pinchot and Roosevelt knew that unless this attitude changed, a great national treasure could be lost. Pinchot transferred the Forestry Bureau to the Department of Agriculture and ran the new service with trained foresters. Roosevelt, using the force of executive orders, created dozens of new forest reserves when anticonservationist senators blocked legislation or added amendments to pending legislation that would cede federal lands to corporate trusts.

Roosevelt’s Dual Meaning of Conservation

While Roosevelt wanted to preserve the nation’s forests, he also believed that the use of natural resources should be permitted judiciously. According to historian R. Hal Williams, “To Roosevelt, conservation meant the wise use of natural resources, not locking them away…” Roosevelt intimated this during a 1907 Arbor Day speech in which he said, “Any nation which in its youth lives only for the day…must expect the penalty of the prodigal...” Roosevelt reminded his listeners that one cannot reap without sowing. The wise use of natural resources had to be tended and was tied, by Roosevelt, to a sense of morality.

TR as a Contemporary “Green” Hero

Although some critics will disagree, pointing out that Roosevelt’s “conservation” was not full preservation – and did not impair his love of hunting (historian Page Smith writes that, according to Roosevelt, a day without shooting some animal was a “wasted day”), Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to enunciate conservation as a national issue of importance. His actions, by contemporary standards, might not fulfill the notion of “going green,” but they were a first major step toward an attitude and a perception focused on ending the abuse of the nation’s natural treasures.

References:

  • Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex (NY: Random House, 2001)
  • James Ford Rhodes, The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations 1897-1909 (NY: The Macmillan Company, 1922)
  • Theodore Roosevelt, “Conservation as a National Duty”
  • Theodore Roosevelt, 7th Annual Message to Congress December 3, 1907
  • Page Smith, America Enters the World: A People’s History of the Progressive Era and World War I, 7th Ed (NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1985)

 

St. Martin's Day and the Festival of Lanterns

A 4th Century Bishop's Life Still Celebrated Today in Germany

Dec 19, 2009 Michael Streich

The first canonized saint not associated with martyrdom, Martin of Tours left a legacy celebrated by children's lantern parades throughout Germany since the Middle Ages.

The tradition of children walking through German cities with lighted lanterns on the eve of St. Martin’s feast day (November 11), is traced to the early Middle Ages. Celebration of St. Martin’s was revived significantly in the 15th Century, perhaps accounting for the 16th Century parallels been St. Martin and the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther. Luther mythology also helps to explain why the often called “lantern festival” became popular in North Germany, which was predominantly Protestant.

St. Martin of Tours Life and Miracles

Born ca. 316 BCE in Pavia, Martin followed his father into military service for Rome, becoming a member of a cavalry unit. After being posted to Amiens in Gaul, Martin converted to Christianity. The conversion came after Martin cut his tunic in half, giving a part to a beggar. In a subsequent dream, Christ appeared to him, wearing the beggar’s tunic. According to mythology, at Martin’s conversion, a nimbus or shining aura appeared around his head. In the 16th Century, woodcuts and broadsheets depicting Martin Luther also displayed a nimbus, leading to suggestions of parallels between him and the saint; Luther was born November 10th and named for Martin of Tours.

Martin of Tours established the first Christian monastery in Gaul. His tireless efforts in working on behalf of the poor and converting pagan peoples to Christianity ultimately led to his appointment as Bishop of Poitiers, a promotion he resisted. Martin of Tours was also a strong voice against Arianism.

St. Martin’s appointment as bishop occurred in 371. According to legend, he fled and hid himself in a hut containing geese. The geese, however, convinced him that his place was as bishop. This story led to the roast goose that became a traditional favorite on November 11th. According to Protestant mythology, the tradition of eating roast goose and cabbage on St. Martin’s Day stems from Martin Luther’s visit to Nordhausen. Two separate tales have the reformer invited to feasts where roast goose was consumed.



Lanterns and “Laternen Lieder

Laternen lieder are lantern songs. Throughout Germany the winter feast of St. Martin’s finds children and parents making lanterns to carry through the streets at night in large groups called “trains.” This lantern train associates light during the autumnal festival with Martin of Tours. One of the songs begins, “Holy Saint Martin was a good man; he gave the children candles and lit them by his own hand.” The Catholic nature of the festival was kept by Northern Protestants and the cause is again attributed to Martin Luther. While in Nordhausen, Luther lit candles on St. Martin’s Day and put them in the windows.

The lantern festival is often compared to American Halloween which comes ten days earlier. Like at Halloween, children often receive sweets and tiny pastries from people watching the parade of lanterns and hearing the many lantern songs. At least one German writer has pointed out that while American Halloween is highly commercial, St. Martin’s celebrations still point to a non-commercial message tied to giving to the poor.

One popular lantern song is called, “A Beggar sat in the Cold Snow,” and tells the story of St. Martin’s generosity. Most lantern songs – lieder, are more secular in nature, comparing the lantern’s light to the stars and the moon. Perhaps the most popular children’s song begins, “lantern, lantern, Sun and Moon and Stars.” [1] In the High Middle Ages, St. Martin’s Feast Day rivaled and competed with St. Nicholas’ Day on December 6th. Both pre-Christmas festivals point to common elements associated with Christmas such as light and giving.

St. Martin’s Day Endures in Germany

The November 21st 2009 edition of the German language Staats-Zeitung, published in New York for American German readers, contained six different articles on contemporary St. Martin’s celebrations in cities like Cologne and Dinslaken. One of the oldest traditions in Christian Europe, the train of lanterns is destined to endure with future generations.

[1] “Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne…”

Sources:

  • John Delaney, Dictionary of Saints (Doubleday, 1980)
  • R.W. Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (London: the Hambledon Press, 1987)
  • Traude Walek-Doby, “How the Geese Made St. Martin a Bishop,” New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, Number 47, November 21, 2009.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

The Election of 1900

American Imperialism and the Full Dinner Pail

August 17, 2009 Mike Streich

 By 1900 the United States had entered global affairs as a colonial power, espousing imperialism as a matter of national interest & security, despite Democrat opposition.

By the time of the presidential election of 1900, much had changed in the United States. Although William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic contender, attempted to resurrect the gold-silver debate, the issue was no longer important. What had changed, however, was America’s expansion in the Caribbean and the Pacific following the successful completion of the 1898 Spanish-American War and the annexation of Hawaii. Imperialism would become the dominant issue, although most Americans identified more strongly with McKinley’s “full dinner pail.”

William McKinley and the Republican Party in 1900

The “Splendid Little War,” as John Hay called it, gave the United States hegemony over former Spanish colonial islands. America’s “March of the Flag” had added Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, despite fierce Filipino resistance that would result in a lengthy and bloody war of conquest and occupation.

But there were Americans that saw American imperialism as contrary to national principles and the fabric of democracy. Bryan capitalized on the issue, despite his support of the treaty with Spain ending the war. Republican Senator George Hoar, in his Autobiography, claimed that the Senate would never have been able to ratify the treaty without support from Democrats and Populists who were encouraged by Bryan after he came to Washington with the express purpose of supporting the treaty.

Theodore Roosevelt for Vice President

Teddy Roosevelt did not want to be Vice President. His service during the war as a “Rough Rider” turned him into a national hero. But he was content to serve as Governor of New York and was planning a reelection campaign at the time of the Republican National Convention. Roosevelt, however, was a reformer and, as such, posed a threat to the Republican Party boss of New York, Tom Platt.

Tom Platt worked behind the scenes to secure the VP nomination for Roosevelt to get him out of New York. In this, he was opposed by Mark Hanna and McKinley. Hanna was again the National Chairman and the “king-maker” of the election. Utterly devoted to his friend McKinley, he mistrusted Roosevelt. “Don’t any of you realize that there’s only one life between that madman and the presidency,” he declared as public opinion gathered to force the nomination.

Roosevelt was sincere in his refusal to accept the nomination, but in the end bowed to the deluge of Republican Party sentiment. After his nomination, Hanna said to McKinley, “Your duty to the country is to live for four years from next March.” Unfortunately, McKinley would be assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY in 1901, making “that damned cowboy” president.

The Campaign of 1900

Bryan, as he had done in the election of 1896, traveled the nation giving speeches. But unlike 1896, both Teddy Roosevelt and Mark Hanna took the Republican message to the people. Hanna, who was once caricatured as the instrument of the trusts, had mellowed and crowds took to him, viewing him as a common American with their best interests at heart.

Roosevelt, however, was the phenomenon who championed McKinley and American interests. During his nomination speech of McKinley at the Philadelphia convention, Roosevelt stated that McKinley “stands for honesty at home and for honor abroad.” This same message resonated with voters.

The election results gave the Republican Party its greatest victory since 1872. William McKinley’s subsequent assassination in mid-1901 propelled Theodore Roosevelt into the White House, the first VP in American history to be reelected in his own right after the term ended in 1905. Roosevelt’s two terms would greatly enhance American prestige internationally and force progressive reforms domestically.

Sources:

  • Paul F. Boller, Jr. Presidential Campaigns From George Washington to George W. Bush (Oxford University Press, 2004)
  • Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex (New York: Random House, 2001)
  • James Ford Rhodes, The McKinley and Roosevelt Administrations 1897-1909 New York: the Macmillan Company, 1922)
  • Page Smith, The Rise of Industrial America: A People’s History of the Post-Reconstruction Era (Penguin Books, 1984)



 

Anti Imperialist League And US Foreign Policy

As the Spanish American War drew to a close in 1898, a group of influential Americans representing the Northeastern intelligentsia met in Boston’s Faneuil Hall to form the Anti-Imperialist League. The League opposed the Treaty of Paris, the Platt Amendment, and the occupation of the Philippines. As the Philippine War began in 1899, the League publicized atrocities committed by American troops against the Filipino people. Most Americans, however, rejected the ideologies of League members and supported imperialist policies.

The Anti-Imperialist League Includes Old School Republican Leaders

The League’s Platform begins with the statement that, “imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been our glory to be free.” [1] Members of the League believed that imperialism was contrary to the fabric of American democracy, pointing out that the nation had gained independence by fighting against Great Britain, a colonial power.

Some saw the extension of American hegemony as ultimately resulting in a weaker nation. Harvard University professor Moorfield Storey, a League member, took his cue from ancient history: “When Rome began her career of conquest, the Roman Republic began to decay.” [2] According to Warren Zimmermann, the League saw the extended occupation of Cuba and the annexation of the Philippines as a “perversion of American values.” [3]

Andrew Carnegie, the Gilded Age steel magnate who had come from Scotland as a youth to pursue the American Dream, bankrolled the League. One of the few business connected members, Carnegie asked, “Are we to exchange Triumphant Democracy for Triumphant Despotism?” Other League members included Mark Twain, Charles Francis Adams, Jr., and Senator George Hoar, the venerable Massachusetts Senator.

Carl Schurz Supports the Anti-Imperialism League

A key leader and founder of the League was Carl Schurz, another immigrant who, at age 23, had fled Germany in the wake of the Revolutions of 1848. Schurz was an early supporter of the new founded Republican Party in the early 1850s and became a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Serving in the Civil War as a Major General, Schurz went on to become a Cabinet Secretary under James Garfield and a Senator from Missouri. Schurz, a Mugwump since 1884, was the conscience of the League.

The Platt Amendment and the Annexation of the Philippines

The Platt Amendment gave the United States the right to intervene in Cuba whenever a perceived threat became apparent to the US government. Coerced into putting the Platt Amendment into the new Cuban Constitution, Cubans viewed the document as a mockery of full sovereignty. Although the League opposed the Amendment, some members supported it like Senator Hoar who voted in favor of the Amendment in the Senate.

Far more serious was American conduct in the Philippines. The League denounced “the slaughter of the Filipinos as a needless horror” and published examples of atrocities. The Gardener Report of 1902, a secret accounting of American acts of brutality in the Philippines compiled by Major Cornelius Gardener, was made public by a Senate Committee chaired by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. The report seemed to justify everything the League had been saying.

The League followed up the release of the Gardener Report with the publication of the confession of Major C. Waller, whose graphic stories included detailed use of water torture by American soldiers. [4] The methods employed were identical to modern forms of similar torture known as “water-boarding.” The tenacity of the League in popularizing such stories forced President Teddy Roosevelt to demand a full explanation and accounting of the military.

Assessment of the League Shows a Lack of Popular American Support

Although the League was unable to redirect American foreign policy, its statements prevailed upon the national conscience, reminding Americans and their leaders that unique values characterized the United States. The presidential elections of 1900 and 1904 demonstrated that Americans supported imperialism and American foreign policy endeavors. But the League did not fail. Keeping in the forefront the moral debate on imperialism, the efforts of its members may have mitigated American actions.

Sources:

[1] Platform of the Anti-Imperialist League.

[2] Quoted in First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country a World Power, by Warren Zimmermann, (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002), p. 341.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Edmund Morris, Theodore Rex (Random House, 2001), see pp. 99ff.

Also:

Hans L. Trefousse, Carl Schurz: A Biography (Fordham University Press, 1998).



 


Commodore Dewey Sinks Spanish Fleet at Manila 1898

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USS Olympia in 1898 - US Federal Government Image
USS OLYMPIA IN 1898 - US FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IMAGE
U.S. action in the Philippines during the Spanish War resulted in a greater global presence showcased by a navy equal in power to other imperialist nation.

Congress declared war on Spain in 1898, precipitating what John Hay would call the “splendid little war.” In Hong Kong, Commodore Charles Dewey, commanding the U.S. Asiatic Squadron, received an urgent message from Washington, DC that read, in part, “Proceed at once to the Philippine Islands.” Dewey was ordered to destroy the Spanish fleet at Manila. Dewey’s subsequent actions would turn him into a national hero. Additionally, American naval prowess would take its place alongside that of the other great European powers. George Dewey’s defeat of the Spanish navy at Manila had long term consequences for a growing U.S. global presence.

Naval Preparations to Occupy the Philippines in the Spanish American War

The selection of George Dewey as commander of the Asiatic Squadron was the clandestine work of Theodore Roosevelt, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Dewey’s command was also recommended to President William McKinley by Senator Redfield Proctor (R-Vermont), a friend of Roosevelt and an expansionist. Dewey was 61 at the time with a long and distinguished service record.

In 1862, Dewey, at the age of 25, participated in the capture of New Orleans and later fought at Fort Fisher. His 1898 victory opened the doors to a presidential candidacy. Even before Congress declared war, Roosevelt had ordered Dewey to take his fleet from Yokohama in Japan to Hong Kong in anticipation of war with Spain.

American Naval Strength in Asia in 1898

Dewey commanded a strike force of nine ships from his flagship, the USS Olympia. The Olympia is a museum today in Philadelphia but has recently been considered for scrap. (Mercury News, January 11, 2011) Dewey’s flotilla contained seven warships that were vastly outnumbered by Spanish ships at Manila. The Spanish fleet, however, was antiquated.

Uncertainty over American Naval Goals in Manila Bay April – May 1898

American intelligence regarding Spanish strength in Manila was poor and unreliable. Dewey resorted to setting up his own intelligence network prior to sailing from Hong Kong. Additionally, with minor exception, U.S. naval strength remained untested, despite a prolonged program to modernize the fleet and add top of the line warships.

Dewey was aware that if his Spanish counterpart sailed into Subic Bay, reaching Manila without a fight would be slowed. Additionally, Americans worried about mines and Spanish coastal defenses. As Dewey steamed from Hong Kong, his British hosts in the Crown Colony doubted they would see the Americans again.

Dewey Arrives at Manila Bay and Destroys the Spanish Fleet

The Spanish naval commander, Admiral Patricio Montojo Pasaron, had indeed recognized the significance of Subic Bay and sent six warships to stop the approaching American squadron. The ships were antiquated and when a major warship developed problems, Montojo Pasaron returned to Manila. Dewey arrived at Manila by night and spent the morning hours shelling the Spanish fleet.

Almost out of ammunition, a final pass caused the Spanish to surrender. Dewey had the cables severed, cutting off any communication with the outside world after the Spanish commander refused to allow Americans its use. Not until a ship reached Hong Kong would the world know of the enormity of Spanish losses. Dewey emerged as the first hero of America’s most popular war.

Role of the Imperial Germans in the Philippines in 1898

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany had long meddled in the global affairs of other European powers, seeking for Germany a “place in the sun.” Even before the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, German warships steamed the Caribbean, seeking to exploit growing Spanish colonial weaknesses.

After the battle of Manila Bay, several warships of the German Asiatic Squadron entered the bay, much to the consternation of Dewey, who had been promoted to rear admiral. Dewey understood German goals in Asia, but was evasive in his replies. In Berlin, the Kaiser searched for some opportunity to benefit from Spanish defeat.

Dewey’s Tumultuous Reception by the American People in 1899

Admiral Dewey returned to the U.S., greeted by a thankful nation. At the end of September 1899, New York hosted a gala celebration that included a parade. The city erected a triumphal arch to honor Dewey which some newspapers compared to the arch of Titus in Ancient Rome. There was even talk of promoting a Dewey presidential candidacy.

Dewey, however, remained in the Navy and would serve his country well until his death in 1917. He had a candy named after him and numerous jingles celebrated his Manila victory. Dewey’s actions had two major long-term consequences. The United States emerged as an imperialist power as formidable as any European power, excepting Britain. The taking of the Philippines resulted in an extended occupation and civil war, costing thousands of American and Filipino lives.

Sources:

  • Ivan Musicant, Empire By Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century (Henry Holt and Company, 1998)
  • G.J.A. O’Toole, The Spanish War: An American Epic 1898 (W.W. Norton & Company, 1984)
  • Page Smith, The Rise of Industrial America: A People’s History of the Post-Reconstruction Era, Volume 6 (Penguin Books, 1990)
  • Albert K. Weinberg, Manifest Destiny: A Study of Nationalist Expansionism in American History (The Johns Hopkins Press, 1935)
  • Warren Zimmermann, First Great Triumph: How Five Americans Made Their Country A World Power (Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2002)



 

Theodore Roosevelt's Vision in the Spanish-American War

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ROOSEVELT'S PARTICIPATION IN THE SPANISH WAR LED TO THE PRESIDENCY - WIKIMEDIA PHOTO IMAGE
The Spanish-American War redefined America's global position and reach in 1898, conforming to Roosevelt's view of Americanism.

America’s most popular war helped heal old Civil War wounds and unify a nation, but it also opened new doors that tested the sincerity of freedom-loving people. The Spanish-American War represented efforts of men like Theodore Roosevelt whose vision of “Americanism” included a global reach guaranteed by a modern navy and brought to fruition with bold action.

The Coming of the Spanish American War

Although the destruction of the USS Maine in Havana harbor in February 1898 elicited widespread patriotism and revenge aimed at Spain and the long misrule of Cuba, business interests eventually supported war while America’s Protestant churches seized an opportunity to pursue the Gospel “Great Commission” in “far flung” places like the Philippines.

William McKinley’s election victory in 1896 occurred amidst growing anxiety over Cuba and Spain’s response to the latest outbreak of rebellion on the island. Republican victory also furthered the career ambitions of Teddy Roosevelt, whose appointment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy enabled him to actively pursue a war agenda tied to a wider, long-term vision of American imperialism.

Roosevelt’s Preparedness and Motivation

Throughout 1897, Roosevelt helped to prepare the nation for a war that he believed was both inevitable and needed. Every letter and speech was used to promote the necessity of war with Spain as well as the need for an American global reach supported by a strong navy, ideals taken from Admiral Alfred Mahan’s book The Influence of Sea Power on History. Roosevelt’s circle of influential friends like Senator Henry Cabot Lodge of Massachusetts helped spread the message of war with Spain.

Ordinary Americans were influenced by the “sensational” press, newspapers and magazines eager to sell issues supported by exaggerated and often outrageous headlines. Prominent publisher William Randolph Hearst, for example, spared no expense drumming up war fever in his presses.

By the time the Maine exploded in Havana, the truth behind the disaster didn’t matter. Despite a formal inquiry that resulted in no firm conclusions, most Americans, including Roosevelt, blamed Spain. By early 1898, Roosevelt had positioned the navy on a path to initiate hostilities against Spain: in Hong Kong, for example, the Pacific Asiatic Squadron under the command of Commodore Dewey, a Roosevelt appointee, was ready to destroy the Spanish fleet in Manila

Other Reasons for War with Spain in 1898

President McKinley, a devout Methodist, was not unfamiliar with the ravages of war. The last president of the 19th Century had participated in the bloody battle of Antietam and recalled the terrible conflict separating the nation a generation earlier. Some historians point out that Roosevelt was also influenced by the Civil War, haunted by the fact that his father had avoided military service by paying for substitutes. Others note that party unification was also a motive in 1898. Roosevelt and Lodge, for example, reviled William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” vision for America as much as they did Spain’s colonialism.

America’s ambassador to Great Britain, John Hay, called it the “splendid little war.” The consequences, however, were enormous. The defeat of Spain following the short conflict and low casualty count resulted in American acquisition of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. The war also helped promote the image of Roosevelt who resigned his position in government to lead the “Rough Riders” as second in command.

The war put Roosevelt on a political path leading to the vice presidency in 1900 and, following the assassination of McKinley in 1901, the presidency. The Spanish American War also changed American global perceptions, turning the nation into an imperialist power. Unlike most everyday Americans, however, Roosevelt and those he influenced viewed the war and its consequences as part of a greater twentieth century vision.

Roosevelt’s Vision Shapes America’s Future

Roosevelt’s vision of “Americanism” gave a global foundation to foreign policy realities not fully comprehended until decades after he died. The notion that America has a duty to promote and defend freedom and justice is still motivation in the twenty-first century. In many respects, America’s most popular war, fought in 1898 for all of the wrong reasons, charted long-term foreign policy ambitions for the next hundred years.

References:

  • Ivan Musicant, Empire By Default: The Spanish-American War and the Dawn of the American Century (Henry Holt and Company, 1998)
  • Evan Thomas, The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898 (Little, Brown and Company, 2010)
  • Page Smith, The Rise of Industrial America: A People’s History of the Post-Reconstruction Era, Volume 6 (Penguin, 1984)
  • Dale L. Walker, The Boys of ’98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders (Forge, 1998)