A School History of the United States Part 56

The Democratic party selected Grover Cleveland for the third time and chose Adlai E. Stevenson for Vice President. The platform condemned trusts and combines, advocated the reclamation of the public lands from corporations and syndicates, the exclusion of the Chinese and of the criminals and paupers of Europe, denounced "the Sherman Act of 1890,"

and called for "the coinage of both gold and silver without discriminating against either metal or charge for mintage," with "the dollar unit of coinage of both metals" "of equal intrinsic and exchangeable value."

The Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison and Whitelaw Reid, expressed their sympathy with the cause of temperance, their opposition to trusts, and called for the coinage of both gold and silver in such way that "the debt-paying power of the dollar, whether silver, gold, or paper, shall be at all times equal."

%555. Grover Cleveland reelected.%--The election was a complete triumph for the Democratic party. Mr. Cleveland was again elected, and for the first time since 1861 the House, Senate, and President were all three Democratic.

Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated March 4,1893. Never in its history had the country been seemingly more prosperous; the crops were bountiful; business was flourishing, manufactures were thriving. But the prosperity was not real. Business was inflated, and during the following summer an industrial and financial panic which had long been brewing swept over the business world, wrecking banks and destroying industrial and commercial establishments.

To understand what now happened, two facts must be remembered:

1. Under the Resumption of Specie Payment Act of 1875, the Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to buy specie by the issue of bonds and keep it to redeem United States notes.

2. In May, 1878, it was ordered that when a greenback was redeemed in specie, it should "not be retired, canceled, or destroyed, but shall be reissued and paid out again and kept in circulation." There were then $346,681,000 in greenbacks unredeemed.

%556. The Gold Reserve.%--Meantime, under the law of 1875, and before January 1, 1879, the secretary issued $95,500,000 in bonds, the proceeds of which, with other gold then in the Treasury, made a fund deemed sufficient to redeem such notes as were likely to be presented. This has since been called our gold reserve, and has been fixed by the secretaries at $100,000,000. January 1, 1879, the reserve was $114,000,000, and though it often rose and fell, it never went below that amount till July, 1892. By that time there were other gold obligations. The silver purchased under the law of 1890 was paid for with notes exchangeable for "coin"; but as the secretaries always construed "coin" to mean gold, and as by 1893 these notes amounted to $150,000,000, our gold obligations--that is, notes exchangeable for gold--were nearly $500,000,000 (greenbacks, $346,000,000; silver purchase notes, $150,000,000). This immense and steadily increasing sum caused a doubt of our ability to pay in gold, and a fear that we might be forced to pay in silver. Now silver, since 1873, had fallen steadily in value from $1.30 an ounce to $0.81 an ounce in 1893, so that the bullion value of a silver dollar was about 67 cents. The fear, then, that our debts might be paid in silver (1) led foreigners to cease investing money in this country, and to send our stocks and bonds home to be sold, and (2) led people in this country to draw gold out of the banks and the Treasury and h.o.a.rd it, so that in April, 1893, the gold reserve, for the first time since it was created, fell below $100,000,000 (to $97,000,000).

%557. The Panic of 1893.%--Business depression and "tight money"

followed. Over three hundred banks suspended or failed, manufactories all over the country shut down, and a period of great distress set in.

People, alarmed at the condition of the banks, began to draw their deposits and h.o.a.rd them, thereby causing such a scarcity of bills of small denominations that a "currency famine" was threatened.

%558. The Purchase of Silver stopped.%--Believing that the fear that we should soon be "on a silver basis" had much to do with this state of affairs, and that the compulsory purchase of silver each month had much to do with the fear, the President a.s.sembled Congress in special session, August 7, and asked for the repeal of that clause of the Sherman Act of 1890 which required a monthly purchase of silver. After a struggle in which both of the old parties were split, the compulsory purchase clause was repealed, November 1, 1893.

%559. The Silver Movement.%--The steady fall in the bullion value of silver was a serious blow to the prosperity of the great silver-producing states,--Colorado, Montana, Idaho, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, and the territories of Arizona and New Mexico,--where silver mining was "the very heart from which every other industry receives support." In Colorado alone 15,000 miners were made idle. To the people of this section, some 2,000,000 in number, the silver question was of vital importance; and, alarmed at the call for the special session of Congress and the possible repeal of the silver-purchase clause, they held a convention at Denver, with a view to affecting public sentiment. A few weeks after, the National Bimetallic League met at Chicago. Both opposed the repeal, and demanded that if the government ceased to buy silver, the mints should be opened to free coinage. This the friends of silver in the Senate attempted in vain to bring about.

%560. The Industrial Depression; the Wilson Bill.%--The industrial revival which it was hoped would follow the repeal of the silver-purchase law did not take place. Prices did not rise; failures continued; the long-silent mills did not reopen; gold continued to leave the country, imports fell off, and, when the year ended, the receipts of the government were $34,000,000 behind the expenditures. With this condition of the Treasury facing it, Congress met in December, 1893. The Democrats were in control, and pledged to revise the tariff; and true to the pledge, William L. Wilson of West Virginia, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, presented a new tariff bill (the Wilson Bill) which after prolonged debate pa.s.sed both Houses and became a law at midnight, August 27, 1894, without the President's signature. As it was expected that the revenue yielded would not be sufficient to meet the expenses of government, one section of the law provided for a tax of two per cent on all incomes above $4000. This the Supreme Court afterwards declared unconst.i.tutional.

%561. The Bond Issues.%--We have seen that in April, 1893, the gold reserve fell to $97,000,000. But it did not stop there; for, the business depression and the demand for the free and unlimited coinage of silver continuing, the withdrawal of gold went on, till the reserve was so low that bonds were repeatedly sold for gold wherewith to maintain it. In this wise, during 1894-95, $262,000,000 were added to our bonded debt.

%562. Foreign Relations; the Hawaiian Revolution.%--when Cleveland took office, a treaty providing for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands was pending in the Senate. In January, 1983, these islands were the scene of a revolution, which deposed the Queen and set up a "provisional government." Commissioners were then dispatched to Washington, where a treaty of annexation was negotiated and (February 15) sent to the Senate for approval. In the course of the revolution, a force of men from the United States steamer _Boston_ was landed at the request of the revolutionary leaders, and our flag was raised over some of the buildings. When these facts became known, the President, fearing that the presence of United States marines might have contributed much to the success of the revolution, recalled the treaty from the Senate, and sent an agent to the islands to investigate. His report set forth in substance that the revolution would never have taken place had it not been for the presence and aid of United States marines, and that the Queen had practically been deposed by United States officials. A new minister was thereupon sent, with instructions to announce that the treaty of annexation would not be confirmed, and to seek for the restoration of the Queen on certain conditions. But President Dole of the Hawaiian republic denied the right of Cleveland to impose conditions, or in any way interfere in the domestic concerns of Hawaii, and refused to surrender to the Queen.

%563. The Venezuelan Boundary Dispute.%--During 1895, the boundary dispute which had been dragging on for more than half a century between Great Britain and Venezuela, reached what the President called "an acute stage," and made necessary a statement of the position of the United States under the Monroe Doctrine. Great Britain was therefore informed "that the established policy of the United States is against a forcible increase of any territory of a European power" in the New World, and "that the United States is bound to protest against the enlargement of the area of British Guiana against the will of Venezuela"; and she was invited to submit her claims to arbitration. Her answer was that the Monroe Doctrine was "inapplicable to the state of things in which we live at the present day" and a refusal to submit her claims to arbitration. The President then asked and received authority to appoint a commission to examine the boundary and report. "When such report is made and accepted," said Cleveland, "it will in my opinion be the duty of the United States to resist by every means in its power, as a willful aggression upon its rights and interests, the appropriation by Great Britain of any lands, or the exercise of any governmental jurisdiction, over any territory which after investigation we have determined of right belongs to Venezuela." For a time the excitement this message aroused in Great Britain and our own country was extreme. But it soon subsided, and on February 2, 1897, a treaty of arbitration was signed at Washington between Great Britain and Venezuela.

%564. The Election of 1896%.--By that time the presidential election was over. When in the spring the time came to choose delegates to the party nominating conventions, the drift of public sentiment was so strong against the administration, that it seemed certain that the Republicans would "sweep the country." Little interest, therefore, was taken by the Democrats, while the Republicans were most concerned in the question whether Mr. McKinley or Mr. Reed should be their presidential candidate. But as delegates were chosen by the Democrats in the Western and Southern States, it became certain that the issue was to be the free and unlimited coinage of silver and gold at the ratio of 16 to 1.

The Republican convention met in June, nominated William McKinley and Garret A Hobart, and declared the party "opposed to the free coinage of silver except by international agreement," whereupon thirty-four delegates representing the silver states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah) seceded from the party. The Democratic convention a.s.sembled early in July, and after a most exciting convention chose William J. Bryan and Arthur Sewall, and declared for "the free and unlimited coinage of both silver and gold at the present legal ration of 16 to 1, without waiting for the aid and consent of any other nation." A great defection followed this declaration, scores of newspapers refused to support the candidates, and in September a convention of "gold Democrats," taking the name of the National Democratic party, nominated John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner, on a "gold standard" platform.

Meanwhile, the Prohibitionists, the National party (declaring for woman suffrage, prohibition, government ownership of railroads and telegraphs, an income tax, and the election of the President, Vice President, and senators by direct vote of the people), the Socialist Labor party, the Silver party, and the Populists, had all put candidates in the field.

The Silver party indorsed Bryan and Sewall; the Populists nominated Bryan and Thomas E. Watson.

[Ill.u.s.tration: William McKinley]

%565. McKinley, President.%--An "educational campaign" was carried on with a seriousness never before approached in our history, and resulted in the election of Mr. McKinley. He was inaugurated on March 4, and immediately called a special session of Congress to revise the tariff, a work which ended in the enactment of the "Dingley Tariff," on July 24, 1897.

%566. The Cuban Question.%--Absorbing as were the election and the tariff, there was another matter, which for two years past had steadily grown more and more serious. In February, 1895, the natives of Cuba for the sixth time in fifty years rebelled against the misrule of Spain and founded a republic. A cruel, b.l.o.o.d.y, and ruinous war followed, and as it progressed, deeply interested the people of our country. The island lay at our very doors. Upwards of $50,000,000 of American money were invested in mines, railroads, and plantations there. Our yearly trade with Cuba was valued at $96,000,000. Our ports were used by Cubans in fitting out military expeditions, which the government was forced to stop at great expense.

%567. Shall Cuba be given Belligerent Rights?%--These matters were serious, and when to them was added the sympathy we always feel for any people struggling for the liberty we enjoy, there seemed to be ample reason for our insisting that Spain should govern Cuba better or set her free. Some thought we should buy Cuba; some that we should recognize the Republic of Cuba; others that we should intervene even at the risk of war. Thus urged on, Congress in 1896 declared that the Cubans were ent.i.tled to belligerent rights in our ports, and asked the President to endeavor to persuade Spain to recognize the independence of Cuba; and the House in 1897 recommended that the independence of Cuba be recognized. But nothing came of either recommendation, and so the matter stood when McKinley was inaugurated.

During the summer of 1897 matters grew worse. A large part of the island became a wilderness. The people who had been driven into the towns by order of Captain General Weyler, the "reconcentrados," were dying of starvation, and our countrymen, deeply moved at their suffering, began to send them food and medical aid.

%568. The Maine destroyed.%--While engaged in this humane work they were horrified to hear that on the night of February 15, 1898, our battleship _Maine_ was blown up in the harbor of Havana, and 260 of her sailors killed. Although our Court of Inquiry was unable to fix the responsibility for the explosion, many people believed that it had been perpetrated by Spaniards, and the hope of a peaceable settlement of the Cuban question rapidly waned. The sum of $50,000,000 was voted to the President for strengthening our defenses and buying ships and munitions of war. After declining to recognize the Cuban Republic, Congress adopted a resolution, on April 19, declaring for the freedom of Cuba, demanding that Spain should withdraw from the island, and authorizing the President to compel her withdrawal, if necessary, by means of our army and navy. Spain severed diplomatic relations with us on April 21, and the war began on that date, as declared by an Act of Congress a few days later. Two hundred thousand volunteers were quickly enlisted, out of the much larger number that wished to serve.

%569. War with Spain.%--The Battle of Manila.--While one fleet which had long been gathering at Key West went off and blockaded Havana and other parts of the coast of Cuba, another, under Commodore George Dewey, sailed from Hong-kong to attack the Spanish fleet at the Philippine Islands. Dewey found it in the Bay of Manila, where, on May 1, 1898, he fought and won the most brilliant naval battle in the world's history. Pa.s.sing the forts at the entrance, he entered the bay, and, without the loss of a man or a ship, he destroyed the entire Spanish fleet of ten vessels, killed and wounded over 600 men, and captured the a.r.s.enal at Cavite (cah-ve-ta') and the forts at the entrance to the bay. The city of Manila was then blockaded by Dewey's fleet, and General Merritt with 20,000 troops was sent across the Pacific to take possession of the Philippines, which had long been Spain's most important possession in the East. For his great victory Dewey received the thanks of Congress and was promoted to be Rear-Admiral, and later was given for life the full rank of Admiral.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Admiral Dewey]

[Ill.u.s.tration Rear-Admiral Sampson]

%570. The Destruction of Cervera's Fleet--Capture of Santiago.%--Meantime a second Spanish fleet, under Admiral Cervera, sailed from the Cape Verde Islands. Acting Rear-Admiral Sampson, with ships which had been blockading Havana, and Commodore Schley, with a Flying Squadron, went in search of Cervera, and after a long hunt he was found in the harbor of Santiago de Cuba (sahn-te-ah'go da coo'bah), which was promptly blockaded by the ships of both squadrons, with Sampson in command. The narrow entrance to the harbor was so well defended by forts and submarine mines that a direct attack on Cervera was impossible. In an attempt to complete the blockade, Naval Constructor R. P. Hobson and a volunteer crew of seven men took the collier _Merrimac_ to the harbor entrance, and, amid a rain of shot and sh.e.l.l, sank her in the channel (June 3). The gallant little band escaped with life, but were made prisoners of war, and in time were exchanged.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Shafter]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Rear-Admiral Schley]

The capture of Santiago was decided upon when Cervera sought refuge in its harbor, and about 18,000 men (mostly of the regular army), under General Shafter, were hurried to Cuba and landed a few miles from the city. On July 1 the enemy's outer line of defenses were taken, after severe fighting at El Caney (ca-na') and San Juan (sahn hoo-ahn'); and on the next day the Spaniards failed in an attempt to retake them. So certain was it that the city must soon surrender, that Cervera was ordered to dash from the harbor, break through the American fleet, and put to sea. On Sunday morning, July 3, the attempt was made; a desperate sea fight followed, and, in a few hours, all six of the Spanish vessels were sunk or stranded, shattered wrecks, on the coast of Cuba. The Spanish loss in killed and wounded was heavy, while Admiral Cervera and about 1800 of his men were taken prisoners. Not one of our vessels was seriously damaged, and but one of our men was killed. When the battle began, the American war ships were in their usual positions before the harbor, as a.s.signed them by Admiral Sampson; but Sampson himself, in his flagship, was several miles to the east on his way to a conference with General Shafter. Commodore Schley's flagship, the _Brooklyn_, was at the west end of the line, and as the enemy tried to escape in that direction, she was in the thickest of the fight. Another war ship which especially distinguished herself was the _Oregon_, a Western-built ship, which had sailed from San Francisco all the way around Cape Horn in order to reach the seat of war.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Miles]

After the naval battle of July 3, all hope of successful resistance by the Spaniards vanished, and on July 17, General Toral surrendered Santiago, the eastern end of Cuba, and an army of nearly 25,000 men. A week later General Miles set off to seize the island of Porto Rico. He landed on the southern coast, and had occupied much of the island when hostilities came to an end.

571. Peace.--On August 12, 1898, a protocol was signed by representatives of the two nations, providing for the immediate cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Spain from the West Indies, and the occupation of Manila by the United States till the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which was to be negotiated by a commission meeting in Paris, and which was to provide for the disposition of the Philippines.

News of the cessation of hostilities was instantly sent to all our fleets and armies. But, on August 13, before word could reach the Philippines, Manila was attacked by General Merritt's army and Dewey's fleet, whereupon the Spanish general surrendered the city and about 7000 soldiers.

A formal treaty of peace was signed at Paris December 10, 1898, providing that Spain should relinquish her t.i.tle to Cuba, and cede Porto Rico, Guam (one of the Ladrones), and the Philippines to the United States; and that the United States should pay $20,000,000 to Spain. The treaty was then submitted to the governments of the United States and Spain for ratification; but in both countries it met some opposition. In our country objections were made especially to the taking of the Philippines without the consent of their inhabitants, many of whom, under the leadership of Aguinaldo, had previously rebelled against Spain and were now demanding complete independence; but the prevailing view was that our immediate control was necessary to prevent civil war, anarchy, and foreign complications there. Accordingly, on February 6, 1899, the treaty was ratified by the Senate by a vote of 57 to 27. Spain also accepted the treaty, which was formally proclaimed April 11. The $20,000,000 was promptly paid to Spain, and ordinary diplomatic relations were resumed.

%572. The War Bonds and War Taxes.%--For the expenses of the war with Spain Congress made ample provision. The Secretary of the Treasury was authorized to issue $400,000,000 in 3 per cent bonds,[1] and borrow $100,000,000 upon temporary certificates of indebtedness. Stamp taxes, an inheritance tax, and a duty on tea were laid, and the silver in the Treasury was ordered to be coined at the rate of $1,500,000 a month.

[Footnote 1: $200,000,000 of the war bonds were offered for popular subscription, and $109,000,000 were subscribed in sums under $500. All was taken in sums under $5000.]

%573. Hawaii annexed.%--But in few respects was the effect of the war so marked as in the changed sentiment of the people toward Hawaii.

During five years the little republic had been steadily seeking annexation to the United States, and seeking in vain. But with the partial occupation of the Philippines, and the impending acquisition of Porto Rico, and perhaps Cuba, the policy of territorial expansion lost many of its terrors, and the Hawaiian Islands were annexed by joint resolution of Congress, signed by the President July 7, 1898. The formal transfer of sovereignty took place August 12. The islands continued temporarily under their existing form of government, with slight modifications, till June 14, 1900, when they were organized as a territory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (World Map)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: General Otis]

%574. The War in the Philippines.%--While the treaty with Spain was under consideration, the city of Manila was held by General Otis, Merritt's successor; but native troops, under Aguinaldo, were in control of most of Luzon and several other islands. On the night of February 4, 1899, the long-threatened conflict between them was begun by Aguinaldo's unsuccessful attack on the Americans at Manila. War now followed; but in battle after battle the natives were beaten and scattered, till by the beginning of the year 1900 the main army of the Filipinos had been completely broken up, and the only forces still opposing American authority were small bodies of bandits and guerrillas. These held out persistently, and continued the warfare for more than a year. In 1900 the President sent a commission to the Philippines to organize civil government in such localities and in such degree as it should deem advisable; and in 1902 Congress enacted a plan of government under which the Philippines are const.i.tuted a partly self-governing dependency.

%575. Porto Rico and Cuba.%--After the close of the Spanish war, both Porto Rico and Cuba remained under the military control of the United States for many months. For Porto Rico, which had been ceded to our country, Congress provided a system of civil government which went into effect May 1, 1900. This organized Porto Rico as a dependency.

Cuba, however, had not been ceded to the United States. It had pa.s.sed under our control only for the restoration of peace and the establishment of a stable government there; for Congress, in its resolution of April 19, 1898, a.s.serted its determination, after the pacification of Cuba, "to leave the government and control of the island to its people." In June, 1900, the local city governments were turned over to munic.i.p.al officers that had been elected by the people. In the following winter a const.i.tution was framed by a convention of delegates elected by the Cubans. Then, after certain provisions had been added to this, to govern the future relations between Cuba and the United States, and after the first officers of the Cuban Republic had been elected, the United States troops were withdrawn and the new government took charge of the island, May 20, 1902.

%576. Disorders in China.%--Early in 1900 a patriotic society of Chinese, called the Boxers, began to ma.s.sacre native Christians in the north of China, and to drive out or kill all missionaries and other foreigners. The disorder soon spread to Pekin, where the foreign ministers and their countrymen (including some Americans) were besieged in their quarter of the city by Boxers and regular Chinese troops; for the Chinese government, instead of suppressing the Boxers, acted in sympathy with them.

President McKinley sent warships and soldiers to China, where they cooperated with the forces of j.a.pan and the European powers in rescuing the imperiled foreigners in Pekin. War was not declared against China, though she resisted the invading troops, making it necessary for them to capture several towns and to fight several battles before Pekin was taken. A treaty was then negotiated with the United States, j.a.pan, and the European powers, providing for the restoration of order and a settlement of the various claims against China.

%577%. At home during 1900 our population was counted; a President was elected; and a currency law of much importance was enacted. In the United States and the territories there were found to be about 76,000,000 people, and in the one state of New York more inhabitants than there were in all the United States in 1810.