History That Doesn't Suck - 109: The Election of 1900 & the Rise of Anti-Imperialism

Episode Date: April 11, 2022

“Only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead.” This is the story of imperialism and presidential politics: the election of 1900. US President William McKinley is looking for reelection. The economy is strong, the nation is powerful, and it's expanding overseas. For many Americans, that all sounds and looks rather good. But for others, this overseas imperial expansion is a betrayal of American values. With famous names like Mark Twain and Andrew Carnegie behind a new Anti-Imperialist League, the Democrats seize on this energy as they nominate William Jennings Bryan to take (again) on Will McKinley in the contest for the White House. But can the charismatic, silver-tongued Silverite–WJB–compete with the Republican’s own dynamic, energetic candidate? No, no, not William McKinley, but his new VP running mate: the veteran Rough Rider and Governor of New York Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Growth is essential for every entrepreneur. At BDC, we get that. And the businesses we support grow at double the average rate. Accelerating the pace. We're on it. BDC. Financing. Advising. Know-how. The French Revolution set Europe ablaze. It was an age of enlightenment and progress, but also of tyranny and oppression. It was an age of glory and an age of tragedy. One man stood above it all. This was the age of Napoleon. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the Age of Napoleon podcast. Join me as I examine the life and times of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in modern history. Look for the Age of Napoleon wherever you find your podcasts. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, history. Look for The Age of Napoleon wherever you find your podcasts. work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content, and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join

the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a seven-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com membership or click the link in the episode notes. It's an unspecified day, likely 1905. The famous American author Samuel L. Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, is in his home at 21st Fifth Avenue in Grange Village, New York City. He's comfortable. The white-haired writer with a walrus mustache

is wearing his dressing gown and slippers. And that's when his illustrator and friend, Dan Beard, drops in. What the details of this visit are, I can't say. But at some point, Mark Twain, who, in the wake of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American wars, has become vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League, decides to read a new short story of his to Dan. It's called The War Prayer.

Let's listen in as Mark reads. It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, and every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism. The drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering. On every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies, a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun. Daily, the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue, gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices,

choked with happy emotion as they swung by. Nightly, the packed mass meetings listened, panting to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while. In the churches, the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of battles, beseeching his aid in our good cause, in outpouring of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half-dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a

stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake, they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way. Sunday morning came. Next day, the battalions would leave for the front. The church was filled. The volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams. Visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender. Them home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory. With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble

deaths. The service proceeded. A war chapter from the Old Testament was read. The first prayer was said. It was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation. God, thee all terrible, thou who ordainest, thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword. Then came the long prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language.

The burden of its supplication was that an ever merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work, bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in his mighty hand, make them strong and confident,

invincible in the bloody onset. Help them to crush the foe. Grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory. An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle. His eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet,

his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way. Without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids, the preacher, unconscious of his presence,

continued with his moving prayer and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and protector of our land and flag. The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside, which the startled minister did, and took his place. During some moments, he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes

in which burned an uncanny light. Then in a deep voice he said, I come from the throne bearing a message from almighty God. The words smote the house with a shock. If the stranger perceived it, he gave no attention. He has heard the prayer of his servant, your shepherd, and will grant it, if such shall be your desire, after I, his messenger, shall have explained to you its import,

that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of. Except he pause and think. God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two.

One uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of him who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this, keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware, lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it. You have heard

your servant's prayer, the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it, that part which the pastor and also you in your hearts fervently prayed silently and ignorantly and unthinkingly. God grant that it was so. You heard these words. Grant us the victory, O Lord our God. That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact in those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory, you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory,

must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God the Father fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen, O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle. Be thou near them, with them, in spirit. We also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord, our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells. Help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale form of their patriot dead. Help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded.

Writhing in pain, help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire. Help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief. Help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander, unfriended, the wastes of their desolated land, in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun, flames of summer, and the icy winds of winter,

broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it. For our sakes who adore thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet. We ask it in the spirit of love, of him who is the source of love and who is the ever faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore, beset,

and seek his aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen. Ye have prayed it. If ye still desire it, speak. The messenger of the most high waits. It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said. The story finished. The aging author comments that those he shared it with, including his daughter, Jean, have told him not to publish this satirical anti-imperialist tale. It be taken, they say, a sacrilege. Dan presses the issue. Still, you are going to publish it, are you not? Rising, Mark Twain paces back and forth in his slippers. He shakes his white-haired head and answers, no, I have told the whole truth in that. And only dead men can tell the truth in this world. It can be published after I am dead. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck.

I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. Mark Twain will get his way. This anti-imperialist short story of his we just heard, entitled War Prayer, won't be published in full until 13 years after his death in 1923. But is he right? Would early 20th century Americans consider it sacrilege? In a way, that's our question today, because it strikes at the heart of the presidential election of 1900. That's right. It's time to witness the 20th century's first presidential contest and its

rematch. As in episode 98's 1896 election, we have the Republican, now incumbent president, William McKinley, squaring off against his Democratic challenger, the have the Republican, now incumbent president, William McKinley squaring off against his Democratic challenger, the great commoner, William Jennings Bryan. And while WJB is certainly still thinking about bimetallism, he and the Democratic Party are also hoping to make this election a referendum of sorts on the McKinley administration's pro-imperialist policies. To follow all of this, we'll first head back a few years to witness the creation of the Anti-Imperialist League. We'll then see how and why New York's independent-minded,

pro-reform, and pro-imperialism governor, Theodore Roosevelt, ends up as William McKinley's running mate. And finally, we'll take in two different narratives as the McKinley camp depicts American imperialism as a liberty-spreading virtue, and WJB calls it a liberty-killing vice. Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Teddy Roosevelt, William Jennings Bryan, this episode has them all. And we start by returning to the year of the Spanish-American War. Here we go. Rewind.

It's a warm summer's afternoon, June 15th, 1898, and a crowd of several hundred has gathered in Boston, Massachusetts, at what we might call one of the Republic's most sacred spaces, Faneuil Hall. Sure, it's seen some remodeling, but at its heart, this is the same brick building where 18th century patriots gave ear as James Otis and Samuel Adams railed against the Stamp Act,

where 19th century abolitionists decried the legality of slavery. And today, these well-to-do Bostonians see themselves as adding to the legacy of this storied building as they come together to protest what they see as another egregious violation of American values, imperialism. Let me get you up to speed real quick. The USS Maine blew up in Cuba's Havana Harbor four months ago. The Spanish-American War officially began two months ago. And while this war started with the noble intention of liberating Cuba, some are now talking of annexing the Caribbean island, perhaps Puerto Rico too. And even though the Navy has nullified the threat of a Spanish naval attack

coming from the Pacific, U.S. troops are now heading to the Philippines. What's more, this very day, this very minute, the House of Representatives is debating annexing the Hawaiian islands via a joint resolution. And that, unlike these other islands, doesn't even have anything to do with Spain. All of this year's potential non-democratic overseas expansion is what's brought this anti-imperialist crowd together today. They've come in response to the call put out in the Boston Evening Transcript by a retired banker and respected community leader, Gamaliel Bradford. Okay, that's the long and short of things. Now let's see where this meeting goes. It's now 3 p.m.

The crowd quiets down as the meeting's organizers ascend the few steps up to the raised platform and find their seats. Among those on the stand is Gamaliel Bradford, the kind-eyed, bearded Bostonian, a proud descendant of Plymouth Colony Governor William Bradford and abolitionist New Englanders, soon approaches the podium. He calls the meeting to order, then begins his address. We are not here to oppose the war. We are here to deal with a far graver issue,

to insist that a war begun in the name of humanity shall not be turned into a war for empire, that an attempt to win for Cubans the right to govern themselves shall not be made an excuse for extending our sway of alien peoples without their consent. We are to be a world power, but the question is whether we shall be a power for beneficence or malfeasance.

Everything is against the policy of conquest. As Gamaliel finishes, others follow, likewise expressing concerns that the now powerful United States is on a path toward contradicting its values. These include the 70-year-old white-haired Unitarian minister, Reverend Charles G. Ames. Charles sets up two different visions of America's future, one noble, the other despotic, before warning against the latter, much like the old prophet in Mark Twain's, at this point, yet-to-be-written war prayer. In one, we may see puissant young alliances, yet winning and deserving the confidence and

cooperation, not alone of the English-speaking peoples, but of all the powers of the old world. Our example everywhere, the rebuke of despotism and the strong support of freedom and justice. In the other picture, we see America sinking to the level of those monarchies which rest on brute force, which crush their populations under cruel burdens of taxation, which centralize power at the expense of freedom, and which rarely hesitate to foment wars in order to extend their territory or to open doors for their trade. The policy of imperialism threatens to change the temper of our people and to put us into a permanent attitude of arrogance, testiness,

and defiance towards other nations. Once we enter the field of international conflict as a great military and naval power, we shall be one more bully among bullies. We shall only add one more to the list of oppressors of mankind. Poor Christian as I am, it grieves and shames me to see a generation instructed by the Prince of Peace proposing to set him on a dunce's stool and to crown him with a fool's cap.

Not all can so eloquently weave George Washington's admonition against entangling alliances and references to Christ into their anti-imperialist addresses. But Charles is followed by still other speakers condemning overseas expansion. The meeting concludes after two hours at 5 p.m. Nearly the exact same moment, ironically enough, that the U.S. House of Representatives down in Washington, D.C. is voting in favor of annexing Hawaii. But the efforts of these New Englanders

doesn't end as they shuffle out of Faneuil Hall this evening. What we just witnessed is the beginning of a new organization, the American Anti-Imperialist League. Now, we know from recent episodes that the U.S. expands mightily as 1898 gives way to 1899. The United States does indeed come to hold sovereignty over Hawaii. The Spanish-American War ends with Cuba as a U.S. protectorate and Spain transferring the islands of Puerto Rico, Guam, and, for the price of $20 million, the whole of the Philippines to the United States.

Meanwhile, Filipinos are rejecting this transfer of their sovereignty, which means war on the archipelago. In short, the newly minted anti-imperialist league sees a lot not to like, and its platform boldly calls this developing overseas empire an affront to American values. To quote it, We hold that the policy known as imperialism is hostile to liberty and tends toward militarism, an evil from which it has been our glory to be free.

We regret that it has become necessary in the land of Washington and Lincoln to reaffirm that all men, of whatever race or color, are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We maintain that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. We insist that the subjugation of any people is criminal aggression and open disloyalty the distinctive principles of our government. Damn, those are some harsh words for the McKinley administration and other pro-imperialists in Congress.

But the anti-imperialist league isn't done. Its somewhat eclectic ranks include politicians, yes, but also intellectuals, like Mark Twain, as we know from today's opening, as well as powerful figures from the business world, like Andrew Carnegie, or as he pronounces it, Carnegie. Ah, Andy. It's been a minute since we hung out with this Scottish-born steel tycoon back in episode 97, but I trust you recall that while Andy has received some bad press for practices at his steel mills, he holds a genuine belief in giving away wealth and following his moral compass, which is currently drawing him to the anti-imperialist league. As the Spanish-American War ends,

Andy publishes an article suggesting that the question of empire will define the United States as much as the American Revolution and the Civil War. Here's a small taste. Twice only have the American people been called upon to decide a question of such vital import as that now before them. Is the Republic, the apostle of triumphant democracy, of the rule of the people, to abandon her political creed and endeavor to establish in other lands the rule of the foreigner over the people? Triumphant despotism. Is she to exchange internal growth and advancement for the development of external possessions,

which can never be really hers in any fuller sense than India's British or Cochin China French? Such is the portentous question of the day. And Andy is willing to put his money where his mouth is on this one. As the ink is drying on the Spanish-American war-ending Treaty of Paris, he goes to see U.S. President William McKinley. Not only does he predict its terms will bring war to the Philippines, but he offers to pay the treaty's $20 million price for the islands if the U.S. will relinquish sovereignty and control

to the Filipino people. Of course, we know from episode 107 that this wealthy Republican industrialist will not prevail upon the Republican president on the issue, particularly not with Williams' desire to get re-elected next year. Yet, Will McKinley isn't the Republican in an executive office we need to be mindful of right now. Up in New York, there's another who might share Will's imperialist leanings, but is far more willing to color outside the lines as he

battles Gilded Age excess, Governor Theodore Roosevelt. We've caught a glimpse of Theodore, or Teddy, or T.R. as he's also known, a number of times in past episodes. We certainly can't forget his daring charge at the Battle of San Juan Hill. Nor can New Yorkers. It's part of why they elected the Rough Rider cowboy colonel as their governor in 1898. That said, the Empire State's Republican Party bosses aren't fans. Teddy doesn't mind the political machine the way they'd like. Though not extreme in his approach, TR is more concerned with the needs of the average citizen than the will of party leaders. In fact, New York's aging, bawling, humorless Republican U.S. Senator Thomas

Platt wasn't even sure he wanted Teddy to win the governor's mansion. Yet, despite being nearly complete opposites, the two Republican New Yorkers have managed to get along fairly well since Teddy became governor. At least, they had until recently. The question of Louis Payne's reappointment as the state's superintendent of insurance is looking to upset everything. Teddy knows that Lewis is crossing ethical lines with big business. The mustachioed, bespectacled governor considers Lewis a weasel who, quote, represents the straightest sect

of the old time spoils politicians, close quote. No wonder Teddy wants this holdover appointee from the last governor gone. Unfortunately, party boss and senator, Thomas Platt, is going to fight him tooth and nail on this one. He and Lewis are good friends. Weeks pass. Teddy proposes a compromise.

He'll appoint one of the senator's other but more ethical friends as superintendent, Francis J. Hendricks. Yet, the senator won't budge, not even when, in mid-January 1900, evidence emerges that Louis Payne has abused the position of superintendent of insurance to procure a $435,000 loan. Finally, Teddy hits the senator with an ultimatum. Either compromise on a new superintendent, or when the state legislature meets on January 24th, he'll put forth still another name that Thomas is sure to like even less. And that threat sets the stage for some high-stakes politics the the night before. It's Tuesday evening, January 23rd, 1900. New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt is at one of his favorite places in NYC, the Union League Club. Founded in the midst of the

Civil War by pro-Union New Yorkers, the Union League Club is now in its third home, a gorgeous, calmed mansion at 5th Avenue and 39th Street, and has become a prestigious who's who of national leaders. Indeed, join the gents chatting and dining here on any given night. You just might bump into the famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast, the banking titan J.P. Morgan, or, of course, the governor, Teddy. TR loves the club, so when Benjamin O'Dell asked if they could talk about this superintendent of insurance situation one last time, the governor told Ben this is where he would find him tonight. Once seated and situated, the two Republicans get down to business.

Teddy again offers his compromise. While he won't permit Louis Payne to continue as superintendent of insurance, he is willing to accept another of Senator Thomas Platt's men, Mr. Francis Hendricks. But Ben makes it clear that he isn't here to negotiate. He's here on behalf of the senator and party boss to deliver a threat. Teddy can reinstate Louis Payne as superintendent, or the senator will ensure his reputation and political career are destroyed.

Ben urges T.R. to give in for his own sake. Now, I doubt Teddy wants to die on this hill. But then again, this is the same rough rider colonel who charged up San Juan Heights Kettle Hill during the Spanish-American War. Theodore Roosevelt doesn't die on hills. He just takes them. Teddy rises from his chair. Nothing is to be gained from further talk.

I might as well go. Ben answers with another warning. This is your last chance. Ruin is ahead of you if you refuse it. Whereas if you accept, everything will be made easy. Teddy shakes his head. There's nothing to add to what I have already said. You have made up your mind.

I have. You know it means ruin. Well, we'll see about that. Teddy begins walking toward the door. Ben calls out You understand the fight will begin tomorrow And we'll be carried on to the better end Yes, goodnight

As Teddy opens the door to leave Ben finally appreciates that the governor isn't playing His poker face breaks As this servant of the party machine calls out Hold on We accept Send in Hendricks. The senator is very sorry, but he will make no further opposition.

The rough rider has won. He's proven that he, not the state's party bosses, will execute the office of governor. TR will take a crack at reining in big business too as he pushes the legislature to enact a tax on franchises over public utilities. But Senator Thomas Platt and his New York Republican cronies aren't ready to concede.

If anything, Teddy's besting the senator has just convinced them all the more that this rough rider must leave the governor's mansion. But if the party boss and senator can't control Teddy, maybe he can promote him out. There is a chance for that. Vice President Garrett Hobart's heart troubles put him in the grave last November, meaning President William McKinley needs a new running mate for this year's presidential election. And VP is an honorable role, yet one with little responsibility or influence. Ah, yes, that's perfect.

Thomas Platt is really liking the idea of offloading this troublesome governor by making him vice president. After all, Will McKinley's only in his late 50s. It's highly unlikely Teddy could actually become president. But there are two hard tasks ahead. Convincing TR to accept the nomination and convincing the party leaders to deal with Teddy. Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM,

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Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Conax Ontario Helpline at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. When Johan Rahl received the letter on Christmas Day 1776. He put it away to read later. Maybe he thought it was a season's greeting and wanted to save it for the fireside. But what it actually was, was a warning, delivered to the Hessian colonel, letting him know that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware and would soon attack his forces. The next day, when Rall lost the Battle of Trenton and died from two colonial Boxing Day musket balls,

the letter was found, unopened in his vest pocket. As someone with 15,000 unread emails in his inbox, I feel like there's a lesson there. Oh well, this is The Constant, a history of getting things wrong. I'm Mark Chrysler. Every episode, we look at the bad ideas, mistakes, and accidents that misshaped our world. Find us at ConstantPodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts. It's mid-June, 1900, the weekend before the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four early-arriving Republicans from New York are seated in Senator Thomas Platt's room at the Hotel Walton, engaged in an intense conversation. Apart from the senator, the others present are Edward Lauterbach, aka Smooth Ed,

the senator's friend whom we met at the Union League Club, Benjamin O'Dell, and the very man he met there, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt. The topic of their discussion is the possibility of Teddy's nomination for vice president at the soon-to-start convention. Teddy slams his fist on the table and exclaims, I can't do it! It's about this same time that a delegate from Kansas, J.R. Burton, makes his presence known. He and his fellow Kansans have been waiting patiently to meet T.R. since he told them he'd be back in a few minutes, about an hour ago. J.R. addresses the former Rough Rider. Colonel Roosevelt, the delegation from the Imperial State of Kansas

is waiting upstairs for you to keep your promise. As J.R. continues, it's clear these men from Kansas mean to nominate Teddy for VP. The senator's face lights up. Ben O'Dell chimes in. Well, that settles it. Teddy sighs face lights up. Ben O'Dell chimes in. Well, that settles it. Teddy sighs, stands up, and goes to greet this group of Midwestern delegates. TR's preeminent multi-volume biographer, Edmund Morris, will later sum up this week of the rough writer's life perfectly.

Quote, Theodore Roosevelt's behavior at the Republican National Convention in June 1900, while entirely characteristic, was so puzzling as to defy logical analysis. Close quote. Let me elaborate. We know that Teddy genuinely does not want to be nominated for vice president. Yet, he chose to attend the convention.

What's more, he stayed in the limelight throughout the week. It seems Teddy has genuine misgivings, but also doesn't know how not to move forward with this nomination for vice president. And perhaps his dear friend, the senator from Massachusetts, Henry Cabot Lodge, is wearing him down. Unlike the senator from New York who wants Teddy in D.C. to get rid of him, this senator sees vice president as the smart next move for his bespectacled friend's career. Meanwhile, the support gathering for Teddy as VP at this convention has chairman and Republican kingmaker Mark Hanna terrified and furious.

As an opponent of the Spanish-American War, Mark is strongly opposed to the candidacy of this pro-war rough rider. He can't believe New York party bosses think the way to silence TR is to elevate him from governor to VP. In fact, the kingmaker loses it on a group of pro-Teddy delegates.

When they ask him what's the matter with the Rough Riders candidacy, Mark answers. Matter, matter? Why, everyone's gone crazy. What is the matter with all of you? Here is this convention going headlong for Roosevelt, for vice president. Don't any of you realize that there's only one life between this madman and the presidency?

Platt and Kay are no better than idiots. What harm can he do as governor of New York compared to the damage he will do as president if McKinley should die? Wow. If that's not a hard no, I don't know what is. But perhaps Marx's king-making powers are diminishing. If he has any doubts about that, he sees it firsthand as the convention gets started. It's just past 12 noon, June 19, 1900.

We're in Philadelphia's Exposition Auditorium, where thousands are packed into the seats, ready for the Republican National Convention to begin. With the strike of a gavel, Chairman Mark Hanna calls the convention to order. Then, a tardy figure enters from the back. It's Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy has a martial flair about him.

His walk is almost a march. His hat bears a striking resemblance to the one he wore during the Spanish-American War. Some see this as an unspoken acknowledgement on his part that he will accept the nomination. The hall erupts with applause, cheers, and chants of, We want Teddy! We want Teddy! It seems Teddy has accepted the path to the vice presidency, and the delegates are loving it. The next day, Senator Thomas Platt's friend, Matthew Kay of Pennsylvania,

moves for an amendment to the convention's rules. The proposal is to reduce the number of state delegations by a ratio of one to a thousand votes cast in each state. I know, that feels like a comment out of nowhere, but it isn't. The Pennsylvanian is playing political chess. He knows this reduction will hurt the Southern delegates most, and they tend to support Chairman Mark Hanna. Chairman not a fan of Teddy Roosevelt, Mark Hanna. With the vote held off temporarily, Mark asks the Pennsylvanian what he really wants. Matthew Kay answers, if you will nominate Roosevelt, I will withdraw the resolution. Mark sees the writing on the wall. The kingmaker

has been outdone. The convention concludes June 21st with only one of the 926 delegates abstaining from supporting T.R. That delegate is T.R. He says he just doesn't feel right voting for himself. Thus, New York Republican bosses breathe a sigh of relief at the thought of getting this rough-riding reformer out of their hair. But Teddy's only gone-gone if the Republicans win. And while TR may give the Republican ticket a young, handsome, strong war hero, the Democrats are ready to clap back with a charismatic household name of their own. It's nearly 2.30 in the afternoon, Wednesday, August 8, 1900. A massive crowd is parading to Military Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The people here are excited to celebrate the Democratic Party's presidential ticket for the upcoming election. It's the same man whom the Dems ran four years ago in 1896, the eloquent great commoner as he's known, William Jennings Bryan. Let me catch you up on the Democratic side of things as the good people of Indianapolis continue to gather. The Dems held their national convention about a month ago, from July 4th through 6th, in Kansas City, Missouri. Everyone there, from the movers and shakers to the unknown 16-year-old volunteer there with his dad, a kid named Harry S. Truman, knew William would again clinch the Democratic nomination for

president. Perhaps William's greatest competition this year came from the famous Battle of Manila Bay hero, Admiral George Dewey, but the Navy man proved a lackluster politician so fast, he dropped out before the convention even began. As for vice president, the party's going with a seasoned pro, Grover Cleveland's VP from 1893 to 1897, Adlai Stevenson. And today, this dynamic duo will officially receive notification of their nomination with great pomp and circumstance. The bearded and balding Confederate veteran-turned-U.S. Senator and Democratic National Chair, James K. Jones, comes forward and leads the meeting's opening exercises. Indianapolis Mayor Thomas Taggart then welcomes William N. Adlai to the city.

A couple more speeches follow, but soon we come to the main event. William Jennings Bryan's remarks. Raucous applause and cheers explode from the crowd as WJB takes his place at the podium. He then opens his speech with all the eloquence and populist sentiments we'd expect from the one and only WJB. When I say that the contest of 1900 is a contest between democracy on the one hand and plutocracy on the other,

I do not mean to say that all our opponents have deliberately chosen to give to organized wealth a predominating influence in the affairs of the government. But I do assert that on the important issues of the day, the Republican Party is dominated by those influences which constantly tend to substitute the worship of mammon for the protection of the rights of man. The maxim of Jefferson, equal rights to all and special privileges to none. And the doctrine of Lincoln, that this should be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, are being disregarded and the instrumentalities of government are being used to advance the interests of those who are in a position

to secure favors from the government. Against us are arrayed a comparatively small but politically and financially powerful number who really profit by Republican policies. Religious references, concerns about money power. Pretty part and parcel for the cross of gold-bearing silverite William Jennings Bryan we came to know in episode 98.

And yes, he'll revisit his favorite subject, bimetallism or free silver. But William isn't here just to rehash issues from 1896. He's also going after imperialism. Let's listen as he continues. Someone has said that a truth once spoken can never be recalled. It goes on and on, and no one can set a limit to its ever-widening influence. But if it were possible to obliterate every word written or spoken

in defense of the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence, a war of conquest would still leave its legacy of perpetual hatred, for it was God himself who placed in every human heart the love of liberty. He never made a race of people so low in the scale of civilization or intelligence that it would welcome a foreign master. Those who would have this nation enter upon a career of empire must consider not only the effect of imperialism on the Filipinos, but they must also calculate its effects upon our own nation.

We cannot repudiate the principle of self-government in the Philippines without weakening that principle here. Lincoln said that the safety of this nation was not in its fleets, its armies, or its forts, but in the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands everywhere. And he warned his countrymen that they could not destroy this spirit without planting the seeds of despotism at their own doors. Even now, we are beginning to see the paralyzing influence of imperialism. The forcible annexation of territory to be governed by arbitrary power differs as much from the acquisition of territory to be built up into states as a monarchy differs from a democracy.

The Democratic Party does not oppose expansion when expansion enlarges the area of the republic and incorporates land which can be settled by American citizens, or adds to our population people who are willing to become citizens and are capable of discharging their duties as such. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, the Bible itself. William Jennings Bryan cites them all as he tackles several pro-imperialist arguments. He calls imperialism unwise, immoral. He declares that as president, he will end the imperialist policies of William McKinley,

for the United States is no monarchy or empire under the rule of King George III. No, it is a republic. And since WJB will later record this speech's powerful conclusion detailing his vision of the American Republic, I'll let him personally read it. I can conceive of a national destiny which meets the responsibilities of today and measures up to the possibilities of tomorrow. Behold a republic resting securely upon the mountain of eternal truth, a republic applying in practice and pertaining to the world the self-evident proposition that all men are created equal, that they're endowed with inalienable rights, that governments are instituted among men to secure these rights, and that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Behold a republic in which civil and religious liberty stimulate all to earnest endeavor, and in which the law restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbor's injury. A republic in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which no one cares to wear a crown. Behold a republic standing erect

while empires all around are bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments. A republic whose flag is love while other flags are only fear. Behold a republic increasing in population, in wealth, in strength, and in influence, solving the problems of civilization and hastening the coming of a universal brotherhood. A republic which shapes thrones and dissolves aristocracies by its silent example

and gives light and inspiration to those who sit in darkness. Behold a republic gradually but surely becoming a supreme moral factor in the world's progress and the accepted arbiter of the world's dispute. A republic whose history, like the path of the just, is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. A republic, not an empire. That's the William Jennings Bryan plan for the United States if he ascends to its highest office.

And once he concludes, the Indianapolis crowd answers with great applause. WJB's too moderate for the newly founded Socialist Party, which will nominate the railroad labor organizer whom we met in previous episodes, Eugene V. Debs. And other third parties will go their own ways. But many populist and anti-imperialists are drawn to him. And as we know from the showdown four years ago between Will McKinley and Will Bryan,

it's the great commoner with the skill and energy to undertake a nationwide stump tour. But don't think that the silver-tongued Silverite is just going to waltz into the White House. This time, the Republican ticket has a young, barnstorming, master public speaker of its own, Theodore Roosevelt. Want to learn how you can make smarter decisions barnstorming master public speaker of nerds, personal finance experts in credit cards, banking, investing, and more.

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Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. Thousands of excited citizens line the sidewalks, hang from windows, and stand on balconies. The people clap and cheer as Spanish-American war veterans parade through. But they really grow excited at the sight of the carriage behind the troops. It's transporting some high-ranking dignitaries, and among them is the man of the hour, the hero of San Juan himself, the Republican vice presidential nominee, New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy gladly waves to all as he passes by. This is an enormous crowd.

It's the largest he's seen at any stop on his nationwide tour for the past month. That's right. Stump speeches might not be the president's way of doing things, but TR is happy to go toe-to-toe with William Jennings Bryan. And now the Rough Rider is proving that even on the great commoner's home turf of Lincoln, Nebraska, he commands a hero's welcome. Truly, that's impressive.

Arriving at the state capitol's grounds, Teddy watches as soldiers and participants from various organizations, from the blue-uniformed women of the Ida McKinley Club to the men of the Lincoln Club, continue to parade for roughly an hour. But then, as the clock reaches well into the 4 o'clock hour, Teddy rises and flashes his characteristic grin as he waves his hat to the crowd. Some estimate there's 40,000 people here. But whatever the number is, they

respond with deafening cheers and further applause. Teddy's in his element. He moves excitedly from one edge of the platform to the other, waving, matching the energy the people are sending his way. Finally, he speaks. I would have to be built like the octopus we read about to shake hands with all the people I see here. Teddy recounts the material prosperity the U.S. has enjoyed under the McKinley administration. Or, as the Roughrider puts it, there has been a fusion between Providence and the Republican Party. TR recalls the sacrifices Republicans have made for America

since its founding in the mid-19th century. And while citing these Nebraskans' homesteading pioneer heritage, he urges them not to hand the reins of the nation to the Democrats, whose Copperhead faction would have preferred peace to preserving the Union during the Civil War.

Now, I ask you not to give this country to the heirs of the Copperheads. You, the sons of pioneers who conquered the wilderness, who pitched new states as men pitched tents. I ask you not to let the country stand as a weakling among nations. Who are the men among your neighbors you respect? The one who goes through life with as little friction as possible? No!

You want your sons to go out in the world to play a man's part. With men, so as with nations. Teddy Nix turns to the hardships of war. He knows firsthand just how tragic it is and details the hardships veterans of the Civil, Spanish-American, and Philippine-American War alike all face. But in his view,

national pride and America's calling to defend liberty worldwide takes precedent. And he's appalled at how Nebraska's current governor, Democrat William A. Poynter, disparages soldiers

as mere, quote-unquote, hirelings. Says Teddy, You saw your regiment start to the Philippines. disparages soldiers as mere, quote-unquote, hirelings, says Teddy. You saw your regiment start to the Philippines. You remember it, don't you? The women remember it. They remember the last goodbye, the giving of the last gifts to the departing boys.

Sorrow was over you then, but your pride overcame your sorrow. For you women felt that the men were ready to do men's work. I saw black men and white men, Scandinavians, Irish, Germans, men born in all countries, saw them go up the hill, leaving their dead behind them, leaving their dead under the southern sun

until we could do something for them. The hirelings. Is that a term to apply to men who gave everything for what we enjoy? That makes us all glad to bear the name American? Damn, Teddy's really pulling some heartstrings here. The point he's getting at is that America is an empire, but a good one, a fair one, a just one. Thus, to be anti-imperialist, to be ashamed of what the military has been doing the world over the past two years, is itself un-American.

A heckler yells out from the crowd, what is the army doing? Well, the rough rider isn't one to back down from a fight. Quick as a flash, he runs over to the north side of the stand and leans over toward the man shouting they are doing what these copperheads are blaming the people for doing they are doing what men of mean and small souls can never understand they are standing against foes who are aided and abetted by men like you i wish i could have a hundred men like you to ask me questions for two hours his foe in the audience defeated tr triumph.R. triumphantly begins to close, asking for his audience's vote to secure orderly liberty under the law,

both here at home and abroad. Teddy proclaims, They talk of liberty in the Philippines, and they shall have it, more than they ever dreamed of. But before T.R. can leave, another challenger shouts out from the crowd, what kind of liberty? Surely the anti-imperialists present today appreciate the question. To them, liberty as an imperial subject is no liberty at all. But once again, Teddy has his rejoinder locked and loaded. I will tell you what kind of liberty.

No anarchy, no bomb throwing, no license. Orderly liberty under the American flag. Where the American flag floats, it shall never be hauled down. Teddy steps down from the stage, shaking hands and sharing smiles, but quickly he has a train to catch. TR speaking again later tonight at Plattsmouth, Nebraska.

Not a bad showing for the vice presidential candidate. Truly, he is the Republican answer to William Jennings Bryan. Both are young, energetic, dynamic speakers, and just as we saw WJB do in episode 98 during the presidential election of 1896, TR can and will actively travel to stump speech. In an eight-week period, the Roughrider will reach some three million people by giving 673 speeches in 567 separate towns spanning 24 states. And his answer to the anti-imperialists, that they're bringing orderly liberty? Poof. Dethroned Hawaiian queen Liliuukalani and former Philippine president Emilio Aguinaldo

wouldn't agree. But do the voters agree? They do. In November 1900, just one month after Teddy made his stop on WJB's home turf, eligible voters head to the polls and give the GOP a massive victory. William McKinley bests William Jennings Bryan in the Electoral College 292 to 155. The Silverite lost ground from the 1896 election, including his home state of Nebraska. The McKinley-Roosevelt ticket sweeps all but four Western states and the Democrats' solid South.

The Republicans also dominate Congress, picking up 13 additional seats in the House and three more in the Senate. Let's pick this outcome apart. By and large, here's what the voters see. The United States has grown economically stronger under the McKinley administration. The pains of the panic of 1893 have receded. The recent Klondike gold rush I told you about all the way back in episode 88 helped. And while that might have been pure luck, it happened under Will McKinley. Thus go presidential politics. Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Hayes' open-door policy has boosted trade in the highly valued markets of China.

In short, it feels like the McKinley-Camps campaign promise of a full dinner pail is proving true, and that makes William Jennings Bryan's recycled Silverite fiscal policies from 1896 fall flat. Okay, so strong economy, got that, but what about imperialism? Perhaps more Americans agree with Teddy's view of America as a benevolent overseer

than Will Bryan's view of America as an insidious empire. After all, not every Democrat loves Will's anti-imperialism stance. The Democratic newspaper, the Memphis Scimitar, describes WJB's anti-imperialist speeches as being, quote, composed of about equal parts of misapplied sentiment, garbled history, and championship of semi-savages whose hands are red with American blood, which will be welcomed by the Bolo men in the jungles and Europeans who are jealous of our country's progress in wealth, power, and international progress. Close quote. And there you have it. Even some Democrats see the progress in wealth, power, and international affairs that have come under the Republican administration of Will McKinley. Thus, Will Bryan and his anti-imperialist ways are left behind.

But don't worry, WJB fans. This isn't the last we'll hear from the great commoner. Though, for the moment, the men leading the United States into an overseas frontier at the dawn of what might prove to be an American century are William McKinley and his new VP, Theodore Roosevelt. Time to administer the oath of office. It's March 4th, 1901. Surrounded by congressmen, diplomats, other supporters,

and of course, Theodore Roosevelt, President William McKinley stands on a star-spangled platform before the U.S. Capitol's likewise flag-draped East Front. Intermittently but hard-falling rain has chased off some, but a sizable crowd nonetheless stands steady without concern for any heavenly deluge while cameras shudder and the Supreme Court's Chief Justice, Melville Fuller, administers the oath of office to the re-elected president. Having been sworn in, Will leans down and kisses the Bible. The crowd loves it. They look on eagerly as Will moves to the platform's front. It's time for his second

inaugural address. Briefly, the renewed president points to the nation's rising economic prosperity, but he then proceeds to speak of the United States' greater place in the world, of his view of American imperialism as a force for good, particularly in Cuba and the presently war-torn Philippines. Here are some of the more salient parts. My fellow citizens, when we assembled here on the 4th of March, 1897, there is great anxiety with regard to our currency and credit. None exists now.

Then, our treasury receipts were inadequate to meet the current obligations of the government. Now, they are sufficient for all public needs, and we have a surplus instead of a deficit. There are some national questions in the solution of which patriotism should exclude partisanship. Magnifying their difficulties will not take them off our hands nor facilitate their adjustment. Our institutions will not deteriorate by extension, and our sense of justice will not abate under tropic suns in distant seas. As heretofore, so hereafter will the nation demonstrate its fitness to administer any new estate which events devolve upon it, and in the fear of God, will take occasion by the hand and make the bounds of freedom wider yet.

The path of progress is seldom smooth. New things are often found hard to do. Our fathers found them so. We find them so. They are inconvenient. They cost us something. But are we not made better for the effort and sacrifice and are not those we serve lifted up and blessed? My fellow citizens, the public events of the past four years have gone into history. They are too near to justify recital. Some of them were unforeseen, many of them momentous and far-reaching in their consequences to ourselves and our relations with the rest of the world. We face at this moment a most important question, that of the future relations of the United States and Cuba.

With our near neighbors, we must remain close friends. Our enfranchisement of the people will not be completed until free Cuba shall be a reality, not a name. A perfect entity, not a hasty experiment bearing within itself the elements of failure. We are not waging war against the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands. A portion of them are making war against the United States. By far, the greater part of the inhabitants recognize American sovereignty

and welcome it as a guarantee of order and of security for life, property, liberty, freedom of conscience, and the pursuit of happiness. Order under civil institutions will come as soon as those who now break the peace shall keep it. Force will not be needed or used when those who make war against us shall make it no more. May it end without further bloodshed and there be ushered in the reign of peace to be made permanent by a government of liberty under law. Will McKinley is no speechmaker like his rival, William Jennings Bryan, or his now vice president, Theodore Roosevelt.

But he's articulated well why the American electorate has stood by him a second time. A robust economy and support for an American overseas empire. It seems Mark Twain's friends and family might be right. If published, his soon-to-be-written anti-imperialist tale, War Prayer, would likely be taken as sacrilege. Sounds like the famous author, Andrew Carnegie, and the rest of the anti-imperialist league have their work cut out for them. But whatever one's position on imperialism, it's hard to disagree with Will McKinley on one thing. These last four years, the American age of imperialism,

have been full of events, as Will put it, far-reaching in their consequences to ourselves and our relations with the rest of the world. From the Pacific to the Caribbean, U.S. territory is no longer bound to the North American continent, and the nation has proven its war capabilities against that of a European power. Truly, the United States is ascendant. But a question must linger in the minds of Republican Party bosses. Will their gamble of making the cowboy Teddy Roosevelt vice president pay off? Will this really keep him out of the game for the next four years?

I guess we'll just have to find out next time. HTDS is supported by premium membership fans. You can join by clicking the link in the episode description. Thank you. Joe Dobis, John Frugal-Dougal, John Boovey, John Keller, John Oliveros, John Radlavich, John Schaefer, John Sheff, Jordan Corbett, Joshua Steiner, Justin M. Spriggs, Justin May, Kristen Pratt, Karen Bartholomew, Cassie Conecco, Kim R., Kyle Decker, Lawrence Neubauer, Linda Cunningham, Mark Ellis, Matthew Mitchell, Matthew Simmons, Melanie Jan, Nick Seconder, Nick Caffrel, Noah Hoff, Owen Sedlak, Paul Goringer, Randy Guffrey, Reese Humphreys-Wadsworth, Rick Brown, Sarah Trawick, Samuel Lagasa, Sharon Theisen, Sean Baines, Steve Williams, Creepy Girl, Tisha Black, and Zach Jackson. What did it take to survive an ancient siege?

Why was the cult of Dionysus behind so many slaver bolts in ancient Rome? What's the tragic history and mythology behind Japan's most haunted ancient forest? We're Jen and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl. Join us to explore ancient history and mythology from a fun, sometimes tipsy perspective. Find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get your podcasts.