Mckinley
Mckinley
dent signed the joint resolutions of congress
declaring the people of Cuba free and directing
the President to use the land and naval forces of
the United States to compel Spain to witlidraw
from the island. On April 23 a call for 125,000
volunteers was issued by the President. On
April 24 Spain also declared war against the
United States and the next day the President
recommended a formal declaration of war by
congress and issued a call for 75,000 more volun-
teers. On April 30 congress authorized an issue
of $500,000,000 in bonds, which issue was speedily
taken up by prominent financiers. In his proc-
lamation of April 26, 1898, the President adopted
the essential principles as laid down by the
Declaration of Paris of 1856, as to rights of
neutrals in naval warfare, although neither the
United States nor Spain was a party to that agree-
ment between the nations. The victory of the
U.S. navy in destroying the Spanish fleet at
Manila on May 1, 1898, followed by the still more
decisive victory over the Spanish fleet at San-
tiago, July 3, 1898, marked the beginning and
end of the war, the other incidents of the cam-
paign of historic imix>rt being the battle of El
Caney and San Juan, where on July 1-2, 1898, the
U.S. army lost 230 killed, 1284 wounded and 79
missing, and gained a decisive victory over the
Spanish troops. On July 26 the French minister
at Washington made known the desire of Spain
to negotiate for peace and President McKinley
named the conditions that the United States
would insist upon as a basis of negotiations.
Tliese included the evacuation of Cuba, the
ceding of Porto Rico and other Spanish islands
in the West Indies, and that the city, bay and
harbor of Manila should be continued in the pos-
session of the United States pending the conclu-
sion of the treaty. These terms were accepted
by Spain, Aug. 9, 1898, the peace protocol was
signed on August 12 by Secretary Day and the
French ambassador Carabon, and the Cuban
blockade was raised, October 1 following being
named as the time for the meeting to arrange the
details of settlement. On August 26 the Presi-
dent appoitjted William R. Day, Cushman K.
Davis, William P. Frye, Whitelaw Reid and
Edward D. White, peace commissioners, and on
September 9 George Gray was substituted for
Mr. Justice White. They met in Paris, Oct. 1,
and adjourned Dec. 10, 1898. The treaty, signed
on the latter date, provided the relinquishment
by Spain of all claims of sovereignty over and
title to Cuba, the surrender of all other of the
West India islands held by Spain, and of the island
of Guam in the Ladrone group, and the cession
of the Philippines to the United States. The
United States agreed to pay to Spain for the islands
$20,000,000, to repatriate all Spanish soldiers at
its expense, and to various minor provisions. On
Jan. 4, 1899, the President transmitted the treaty
to the senate, which body referred it to the
committee on foreign affairs and it was ratified
Feb. 6, 1899. Meantime hostilities had broken
out in the Philippine islands between the natives
and the U.S. troops, and the President appointed
Admiral George Dewey, Gen. Elwell S. Otis,
President J. G. Shurman, of Cornell university.
Dean C. Worcester of the faculty of the Univer-
sity of Michigan, and Charles Denby, former
U.S. minister to China, a commission to study
the situation there and advise as to the best
method for governing the newly acquired terri-
tory. The President approved the joint resolu-
tion of congress providing for the annexation of
Hawaii, July 7, 1898, and in the same year he
appointed a delegation to represent the United
States at the peace-conference called by the
Czar of Russia in 1898, to meet at The Hague in
May, 1899. The delegation was as follows:
Andrew D. White, U.S. ambassador to Germany;
Stanford Newel, U.S. minister to the Nether-
lands; Seth Low, president of Columbia uni-
versity; Capt. A. T. Mahan, U.S.N, (retired),
and Capt. William Crozier, U.S.A.; with Frederick
W. Holls as secretary and counsel. On March
4, 1900, the President signed the gold standard,
currency act. In 1897-98, when the whole com-
mercial world was watching the Russian and
German governments, looking for relief from
industrial depression through some excuse to
invade northern China, and thus prepare the
way for unlimited expansion. President Mc-
Kinley saw the danger that threatened Amer-
ican commerce should the integrity of the
Chinese empire be endangered, and in 1900 he
promptly met the condition that was presented
by the acts of the Chinese themselves in allow-
ing the uprising of the Boxers, and adopted what
proved to be the only plan of action possible for
the United States to preserve its commercial
interests. He did not hesitate to assume the
responsibility thrust upon him, and by ordering
an advance on Pekin without w^aiting to learn if
he would have the co-operation of the other
powers, he solved the problem of preserving
peace by acting as an ally of the Chinese gov-
ernment and preventing other nations, led by
Germany, from carrying out their purpose of par-
tition. The action of the United States relieved
the legations before the German marshal arrived,
and the President took the next step in diplo-
macy by removing the army of occupation and
leaving the nations opposed to his policy unsup-
ported. The Republican national convention
which met at Philadelphia, June 25, 1900, gave
President McKinley every one of the 930 votes of
the delegates for renomination as the party
