American Anti Imperialist League Summary

Two cases were made, one for imperialism and one against, but only one truly appealed to the United States citizens of the nineteenth century. The American Anti-Imperialist Leagues’ “Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League” made the best argument for their cause considering American citizens in contrast to “In Support of an American Empire” speech by Senator Albert J. Beveridge of Indiana.
In Senator Beveridge’s speech, although a well composed argument for his political opinion, he only reached out to convince other senators and President McKinley. His audience was strictly government officials and not the American people. The American Anti-Imperialist League paid more attention to American citizens and a drawn empathy for the Filipinos and their human rights given to all people under God. They are reaching out one citizen to another. The League specifically address U.S. citizens by inviting both “men and women who remain loyal to the declaration of independence and the constitution of the United States” to fight for the freedom of the Filipinos because,
The U.S. turned a blind eye to the idea that they had trampled over citizens of a different country for such a foothold. Americans in favor of annexation pursued a desire for commercial trade in Asia and argued that the Filipinos was not ready to be self-govern. They were on a mission to beat Japan and other countries by taking control of the Philippines. Contrarily, Americans against annexation or fearful of it argued that it would eventually allow Filipinos a role in American government. On the same side, many U.S. citizens found it morally wrong to begin colonizing. From a military point of view, the Philippines also offered a strong advantage point to countries like China, Germany, and Russia if the U.S. was to ever engage in such a