Crimson Banners Fly: The Rise of the American Left Revisited

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Raising the American Flag at the Government House in Honolulu, May 10th, 1901 - Source: Wiki Commons

The Beveridge Administration, in order to achieve their ends concerning foreign policy, pointed to the Monroe Doctrine as justification. Monroe's 1823 statement concluded that the United States needed to deter Europe from intervening in or colonizing the Western Hemispheric nations. Although the doctrine was initially established in the context of Latin American countries seeking to gain complete independence from Portugal and Spain, the current Republican president utilized its principles for his own purposes. Beveridge metamorphosed the Monroe Doctrine to more generally claim the right of U.S. intervention.

Secretary Roosevelt provided a statement on the matter, declaring that, "It is incompatible with international equity for the United States to refuse to allow other powers to take the only means at their disposal of satisfying the claims of their creditors and yet to refuse, itself, to take any such steps." The War Secretary found that the only available means to deter European powers from taking hold of small island nations was for the United States to seize authority. "The adherence of the United States to the Monroe Doctrine," he said, "may force the United States, however reluctantly, to the exercise of an international police power." What started as a defense mechanism against direct European intrusion was refined into a broad excuse for U.S. conquest.

Beveridge, as some feared he would, called for a special session of Congress in April of 1901. The order of the day had been finalizing annexation of the Hawaiian Republic and reaffirming U.S. dominance in that island chain. An effort completing the acquisition of Hawaii was painstakingly blockaded by presidents Cleveland and Bryan through the latter part of the 1890s, but such an era now drew to a close. In the impromptu gathering of the national legislature, congressional Republicans introduced a resolution to formally add Hawaii as a territorial possession of the United States. This, the Cullom Resolution, passed both houses with extraordinarily little opposition by the month's end.

Even anti-imperialist Bryan Democrats found difficulty in opposing the incorporation of Hawaii into the United States' sphere of influence. Bryan supported it to an extent, although he stopped short of endorsing full annexation, and conservative Bourbons disinterested in an American Empire found the idea appropriate considering the archipelago's convenient Pacific location. On May 10th, officials representing both the Hawaiian Republic and the Beveridge Administration held a formal state transfer ceremony on the steps of the Iolani Palace in Honolulu. During this symbolic procession, the flag of Hawaii was lowered for the last time, and in its place rose the Stars and Stripes.

Passage of the Cullom Resolution was, without a doubt, a resolute victory for the power-hungry, imperialist president. Hawaii was commonly referred to as a "Gateway to the Pacific," so naturally it was a significant piece of the imperial puzzle, yet the journey to Pacific conquest lied far beyond. Once American dominance of its lands was undisputed, Roosevelt and Mahan began stationing huge quantities of ships, ammunition, weaponry, and other military supplies on a lagoon harbor in Oahu - later known as the Pearl Harbor Pacific Naval Base. [...] Secretary Mahan authorized the establishment of military fortifications on the islands of Jarvis, Howland and Baker. By Beveridge's strict instruction, Mahan ordered his forces to seize control over the Palmyra Atoll territory and Wake Island in the Pacific. By the summer solstice, the U.S. captured the abandoned Spanish territory of Guam. All prizes for the new empire.

         Thomas O'Conner, A Radical History of American Politics: Vol. 4, 2014

Similarly to the situation in Puerto Rico, investment and trading companies consciously explored the Philippine Republic from the moment it attained independence, although American business activity existed in the area long before Spain fled the region. From the onset, these companies discovered profitable economic success. It is estimated that from 1895 to 1901 American enterprises invested millions into building its presence and millions more issued in serviceable loans. Reports started to arise from local depots, however, that the Emilio Aguinaldo government was increasingly antagonistic to American traders arriving from Hawaii. Several investment companies relayed verbal threats handed down from officials in the capital city of Manila.

Beveridge consulted with his Cabinet and thereabout settled on a plan of action. He craved dominance over the Philippines, but realized the spark needed to be a touch more inconspicuous than outright war over unsubstantiated threats. He chose to authorize Mahan's idea to send an envoy to Manila with the express purpose to survey the area and ensure the "protection of American life and property." They would consult with city officials and work out a short-term diplomatic agreement to allow for unimpeded U.S. commerce rights. At the insistence of Roosevelt, Beveridge also ordered a minor naval fleet to patrol the Western seas on the outskirts of the archipelago.

The USS Montgomery, an unprotected Navy cruiser, was dispatched to the Bay of Manila with a small team of emissaries onboard. It arrived in the region by June 4th and sailed toward a dock within the Port of Manila. Then, in a shocking turn of events, an explosion erupted, causing the ship to be engulfed in flames. Attempts to extinguish the fireball were for naught, and the vessel sank into the sea that afternoon. Two-hundred died, including all six civilian diplomats. In a span of two hours, the accompanying patrol changed course, redirecting itself to Manila Bay.

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USS Montgomery, circa 1899 - Source: Wiki Commons

News of American deaths in the Bay of Manila was met with significant outrage. As most understood it, the cruiser's mission was one of peacekeeping and to protect the maintenance of burgeoning commercial endeavors in the Philippines. It appeared as though the Philippine Republic authorized a covert strike on the ship and delivered two hundred men to their untimely graves. The press focused profusely on the event, lauding the heroism of the diplomats and sailors whilst scorning the actions of the Aguinaldo government. As Harper's Weekly described, "[Aguinaldo's] regime is beyond redemption. Justice shan't be served until it is brought to its knees."

For the avid imperialists like President Beveridge, the only thinkable atonement for the sinking of the USS Montgomery was for the Philippine government to be toppled and replaced with U.S. oversight. His administration trashed any plans to subvertly gain a foothold within these territories, either by purposefully bankrupting their governments or supplanting local trade authorities. Beveridge, brash and independent as ever, declared his intent to see justice done for those lives lost. He announced, "In the ideal circumstance, I would rather take part in organizing our colonial system than to do anything else on this earth. I would rather map out and advocate the imperial policy of the Republic than to have been the leading statesman of a war. Upon June the Fourth, a day of tragedy and unwarranted destruction, I would have no greater pleasure than to lead the mission for justice and humanity."

The sinking of the USS Montgomery is a forlorn affair, but it's the consensus today that the fate of that creaking ship was not a result of aggression on the part of the Philippine government, nor was it a tragic accident. Photographic evidence in the mid-1970s revealed to American naval experts that the explosion was, undoubtedly, a deliberate and nefarious operation conducted the United States military. The fire conclusively spread inside of the vessel's coal bunker, presumably sparked by a small mine placed in a tactically advantageous location. Every victim who perished aboard the Montgomery lost their lives, or rather, were intently sacrificed, as part of an imperialist plot to initiate the inevitable capitalist takeover of the Philippines from the Filipinos.

         Benjamin McIntyre, The Workers' Struggle: The Birth of a Columbian International, 2018

What started as a commercial expedition to, presumably, seek the continuation of American strategic and economic interests in the Philippines was now refined into direct military intervention. The whole ordeal was skillfully utilized by the president to further prove his point that the Filipinos could not enact peaceful democracy, and worse, that their "chimera of a republic" threatened the livelihood of the United States. Therefore, the president immediately approved of a sizable increase to the Pacific-based military (conveniently much of it was already stationed at the aforementioned newly incorporated bases). For now, he was already supplied with adequate funding as allocated by Congress during its special session, although the glutenous Beveridge ensured additional appropriations be directed to military expenditures when the Congress met in December.

Rear Admiral Winfield Schley, a strategist during the Spanish-American War, controlled the small fleet patrolling the archipelago at the time of the Montgomery's sinking. He captained the effort to sail toward Manila, rescuing the sparse survivors of the explosion in that process. On explicit orders from Roosevelt, Schley carried out a swift blockade of the region and fired upon several small ships believed to be Philippine Republican Navy vessels. By August, the admiral's forces grew substantially as they were joined by a swathe of warships carrying 15,000 U.S. troops. The naval leadership reportedly sent correspondence to Aguinaldo requesting negotiation, but he declared his unwillingness to discuss terms with an "aggressor nation fueled by an appetite for slavery and a lust for conquest."

In all but name, the United States declared war on the Philippines with a de facto end-goal of complete annexation. August 23rd saw the first major assault on the Philippine Republic as the American fleet drove in to seize control of Manila Bay. They unleashed a barrage upon the city and cleared all visible harbors to dock safely. Led by Generals Elwell S. Otis, Loyd Wheaton, and Arthur MacArthur, ground troops poured into the streets of Manila. The American invasion of the capital city was met with stark resistance from the locals, who organized in rag-tag militias and hoped to defend their homes from total destruction. Trained city guards and police stationed throughout the city returned fire onto the U.S. forces, although they proved unable to hold off the superior weaponry and tactics of Otis' brigades.

The initial fighting escalated throughout the evening until hundreds lied dead in the streets. President Aguinaldo, horrified over the ruthlessness of General Otis and fearing for the lives of his people, sent an emissary to the Americans requesting a ceasefire. Once it was received, Otis responded with a definitive refusal. He wrote, "Our ultimate purpose is redemption for these poor souls you claim to preside over. God shall shine his light over this land, by fire and blood if it must be. [...] We shall not agree to any condition apart from unconditional surrender."

Urban warfare accelerated dramatically with scores of additional troops sent to reinforce the fleet at Schley-controlled Manila Bay. The army pushed through to the Malate district of the city as they pressed onward, firing upon all in their way, combatant and civilian alike. At this point, proceeding rapidly through the swiftly abandoned city streets, the United States forces encountered scant resistance from ill-equipped Filipino guardsmen and civilian forces. The Philippine Republican Army worked heartily to hold off the assault but they too were outmatched. Otis' brigades captured the Malacañang Palace on November 17th and, with it, President Aguinaldo.

The leader of the opposing nation was arrested and the palace drowned in flame. Military forces relocated Aguinaldo to the Plaza Moriones, haphazardly repurposed into the infamous Santiago Detention Facility. This U.S.-occupied encampment quartered off Filipino prisoners-of-war in barbed wire fencing and conducted some of the most brutal treatment during the war. Prisoners were routinely tortured and starved at the whims of American overseers with no regard for their humanity. Aguinaldo was walked to a cell within this complex.

By all accounts, Aguinaldo was kept in disdainful conditions no different than any other prisoner on-site. He had been under the impression upon capture that either Secretary Hay or General MacArthur would be sent to negotiate peace terms. On the contrary, however there was no consultation and zero expectation to release the Philippine president. Aguinaldo, judging by his own writing while imprisoned, came to realize that the Americans sought to keep him detained indefinitely.

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"Incorrigible," Philippines War Propaganda, 1902 - Source: US National Archives

Chapter VIII: Invasion Vengeance: Crumbling of a Presidency

Once the 57th Congress finally met on December 2nd, 1901, the premier item on the agenda was coordinating a legislative response to the war effort. The Republicans in Congress vastly approved of the ongoing military adventure in the Philippines, as did many Democrats who viewed the conflict as justice for the USS Montgomery. Senator John T. Morgan (D-AL), a Southern Bourbon, relayed his assessment of the war at the start of appropriations debate. Speaking to a colleague from Alabama, he stated "We will burn that damned n***** country to the ground if that is what it must take to achieve adequate retribution. Take the ports, take the cities, do all that is necessary until our flag flies affixed above their capital."

Anti-imperialist hardliners like Representative William Sulzer, in stark disagreement with the administration, attempted to organize a collective move to filibuster expanded military spending. Sulzer believed that Beveridge's call for additional funds was not conceived out of a desire to swiftly end the war, but to establish a permanent American colony in the archipelago. Former President Bryan authored an editorial expressing similar concerns, writing that forced dominion of overseas territory would denote exponentially higher military costs an an unprecedented loss of personnel. He urged his fellow Democrats block the measure and push back against the war before it devolved into deadly calamity. Bryan Democrats, in general, proved divided on the issue of increasing the military presence in the Philippines and, ultimately, did not grant Sulzer sufficient support to push ahead with the delay.

As he desired, President Beveridge was granted an expanded military budget by Congress. With Emilio Aguinaldo captured and U.S. forces pushing through the capital city of Manila, it seemed as if American victory was assured. However, by the end of 1901 General Miguel Malvar and Brigadier General Pío del Pilar assumed control of the Philippine Republic. Malvar, an offensive-minded military tactician, disbanded all remaining regular army units and reorganized Filipino forces into undetectable bands of guerrilla armies. The U.S. Army ground forces were not trained in combating guerrilla offensives as opposed to customary formations, and Generals Otis and MacArthur struggled in maintaining the consistency of U.S. dominance.

When I first started in against these rebels, I believed Aguinaldo's troops represented only a fraction. I did not like to believe that the whole population [...] was opposed to us. I have been reluctantly compelled to believe that the Filipino masses are loyal to Aguinaldo and the government which he leads. The Filipinos are keeping up the struggle, and the people align against us. Our only option is to make the state of war insupportable.

         Arthur MacArthur, Jr., Quoted in The Service of General MacArthur, 1977

For MacArthur, and the other high-ranking officials stationed within or on the outskirts of the Philippines, the turning of the tide toward guerrilla warfare was a disaster in the making. Thus far, Otis' brigades proved capable when encountering minimal irregular resistance, but the prospect of enacting total war against the Filipino citizenry was a daunting one. Their answer, plain and simple, was to keep the population in a state of persistent fear and apprehension. "Our only chance," said MacArthur, "was to keep living conditions unbearable." This meant destroying every resource and targeting all able-bodied civilians.

Starting around January of 1902, Beveridge, Hay and Roosevelt held lengthy discussions regarding how best to end hostilities in an orderly fashion. Secretary Hay extensively disapproved of the malicious tactics being authorized behind the scenes and implored the president to ignore the pleas to utilize such tactics. Secretary Roosevelt partially agreed, explaining that the progress of the war, along with the capture of Aguinaldo, already guaranteed a favorable outcome in peace negotiations. By this point, the U.S. captured the cities of Iloilo, Ilagan, and Tacloban. All three fell in a sea of fire delivered by naval warships. Though nearly as fervently imperialistic as Beveridge, Roosevelt even admitted that complete annexation of the country would require intense suppression of the population.

The president tepidly agreed with his Cabinet, finding their presumptions valid. He thereby issued an order to begin diplomatic talks with Aguinaldo. Malvar may have gained the trust of the nation as a resistance figure, but Aguinaldo, as the first president of the Philippine Republic, remained the undisputed leader. Perhaps a bloodless return to power would lead to partial U.S. economic jurisdiction of Manila ports in a Puerto Rico-like scenario. Beveridge sent notice to the frayed opposition leader that an envoy would remove him from the Santiago Detention Facility.

On February 19th, about two hours after the aforementioned lurch to negotiate, Beveridge retracted the order. "John Hay verified his historical footprint as a fool's fool when he trusted in the word of the American Nero," wrote Benjamin McIntyre. "Never was a man so deluded to believe that Albert Beveridge possessed the sheer mind-power to humanize the Filipinos. He spat out the racist jargon himself. 'We must never forget that in dealing with the Filipinos we deal with children.' He did not view their independent republic as legitimate, so how on God's green earth could famed enlightened progressives like TR and Hay fail to see the contraction, the fallacy, in Beveridge's pledge to negotiate. President Aguinaldo realized his fate from the moment of his shackling. His very existence thwarted the imperialist claim that brown people could not foster a republic all their own."

Under the guise of diplomatic discussion, Aguinaldo was relocated to an undisclosed location and was subsequently executed by hanging. President Beveridge claimed ownership of the order to execute the captured Philippine president, flatly proclaiming that the only presidential sovereignty he recognized over the Philippines was his own.

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US Troops Entrenched Against Filipinos, April 5th, 1902- Source: Wiki Commons

Fueled by rage upon the execution of their national leader, the Filipino forces dug further in the war effort and doubled down on retaliatory action. Filipino commanders, long since utilizing guerrilla war tactics by the spring of 1902, began organizing surprise attacks on Americans. One common strategy, famously enacted in the Giporlos municipality, was to wait until the American camp settled in for the night before unleashing a deadly assault. Among those slain in such strikes included scores of armed men, but also chaplains, surgeons, and wounded soldiers.

The Americans were no less brutal in committing violent atrocities. As the war dragged on, the U.S. Army expanded their scope beyond city guardsmen and company regulars. Every Filipino was a target. Residential areas across the archipelago melted in the aftermath of Navy firebombing. Over half of Manila had been reduced to cinders, with no exception for places of worship or local medical facilities. Following each military advance, U.S. troops were ordered to kill every survivor - men, women and children alike.

Arguably the single most controversial Army officer of the war, General Jacob H. Smith routinely forced his brigades to commit such horrendous deeds. "I want no prisoners," he once screamed. "I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States." He then affirmed that all persons "ten years" or older were to be considered hostile. In recognition of his intent to turn the archipelago into a "howling wilderness", Jacob was nicknamed "Howling Jake" by the press. Others referred to the general as "Hell Roaring Jake" Smith.

Considering the extent to which the U.S. garrison refused to make the distinction between civilian and combatant, General Smith's sentiment was undoubtedly shared by the entire officer class of the Army. The Americans occasionally attempted to isolate the populace from the belligerents in a system of 're-concentration' - that is, herding masses of people into a specified zone and firing upon anyone outside of said zone. More so than not, however, soldiers followed the orders of their superiors and indiscriminately shot all on sight.

With the Pacific war falling into utter disarray, a far-cry from the "orderly" conflict against Spain, the American press pounced on the controversies. William R. Hearst, in particular, highlighted the daily tragedies taking place in the Philippines. He described the horrific crimes perpetrated by United States officers in profound detail, categorizing them as a "natural result" of "black heart imperialism." Hearst placed responsibility squarely at the feet of President Beveridge, often attributing increased tension in the war to his unnecessary execution of Aguinaldo. One article asked, "... and who is to blame? As unharvested crops decay in the fields and homes burn while children cry alone in the city streets, we cannot help but wonder, 'For whom do we fight?'"

Reports recollecting the atrocities in the Philippines inflamed the concerns of anti-imperialists. They were enraged and distraught by the dehumanizing treatment of the Filipinos at the hands of American soldiers. To them, the American military clearly abandoned its tenants to fight for freedom and liberation and now operated solely as a tool of the expansionists. Anti-imperialists frequently compared the role of America in Cuba versus the Philippines, questioning why one nation had the right to govern its own affairs while the other did not.

Not every critic of Beveridge's expansionist foreign policy cited capitalist profit-seeking as a root cause for the war, but leaders of the American Left certainly did. Eugene Debs combined the seemingly disparate causes of socialism and anti-imperialism in an Appeal to Reason editorial.

Every consideration of civilization, every interest of humanity, commands us to cultivate the arts of peace and to discourage the horrors of war, and thus fulfill our national destiny by furnishing a model for the emulation of other nations of the earth. The commercial spirit, born of the capitalist system, has birthed the drive for Pacific expansion. War, all war, is the result of the conquest of capitalism. The exploitation of the Philippines and all the cruel atrocities she is suffering are inflicted by capitalism — the ruling class, the world over, here as elsewhere. With the end of capitalism war will cease. Then it will be in order to “beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks,” and the nations of the earth will dwell together in peace forevermore.

         Eugene V. Debs, "A Start to Peace", May 29th, 1902

[We Live in Black and White]

All my life, I've wondered how any early 1900s imperialism could possibly match that of Roosevelt. Little did I know.

(Beveridge the Butcher has a ring to it.)

[Pyro]

All my life, I've wondered how any early 1900s imperialism could possibly match that of Roosevelt. Little did I know.

(Beveridge the Butcher has a ring to it.)

Most of my description of the war in the Philippines is based on what happened in our timeline, but turned up to 11 with Beveridge in charge. But, I agree, it definitely puts an uglier face on imperialism than TR's interpretation.

[Pyro]

"Foreign Entanglements," Winsor McCay Cartoon, 1902 - Source: Wiki Commons

Over the span of 1902, the Philippine-American War transitioned from an ostensibly inevitable success for the United States to a muddled, disgraceful mess. The American military, at least from the perspective of an onlooker, firmly controlled several major cities in the archipelago, in addition to Manila, due primarily to its clear technological and military advantage. During daylight hours, U.S. patrols found little contention in the streets as they continuously rounded up civilians and suspected combatants alike. The Americans advanced through the cities in a greater move northward toward Tuguegarao City: Malvar's headquarters and the base of the Philippine Republican Army.

General Malvar, as well as fellow high-ranking army official Artemio Ricarte y Garcia and widower First Lady Hilaria del Rosario de Aguinaldo, reorganized their resistance fighters and employed new raid tactics when conventional warfare no longer seemed applicable. The Filipinos themselves, perhaps inspired by the martyrdom of Emilio Aguinaldo, persisted in employing such strategies as months of occupation drained American morale. The Philippine Army initiated a series of 'Dusk Ambushes' on the occupying forces starting in June, notably targeting prison centers to free their captured citizenry. Unlike prior attacks like the massacre in Giporlos, the Filipinos now took far more care in sparing non-combatants during these hectic raids.

The operations of the Philippine Republican Army evolved in its level of sophistication in order to counter the well-funded American war machine. Between nightly setbacks as a result of the raids and the mental strain on soldiers ordered to murder civilians indiscriminately, U.S. forces started to lose ground. Confidence in the war plummeted on the home front. Generals MacArthur, Otis and Smith, once figures worthy of adoration and praise, were now viewed by all but the most jingoistic Americans as savage and unruly beings. As was written by a contributor to Hearst's Journal, "The Spanish Butcher [General Weyler] is a saint compared with Howling Jake."

Conduct of war overseas also tested the Beveridge Administration. President Beveridge, with his arbitrary order to execute the leader of the Philippine Republic, revealed just how uncaring and flippant he acted toward his own Cabinet. "Not once," according to H. William Ackerman, "did Beveridge discuss the prospect of execution with Secretaries Hay, Roosevelt or Mahan. Obviously, should the matter have arisen, they would have promptly rejected it on the grounds of losing an essential prisoner and bargaining piece. State Secretary Hay, having endured almost one full year dealing with the lone-wolf president, angrily resigned from his position. He did so on February 20th, exactly 24 hours after the president issued his order to hang Aguinaldo."

John M. Hay, several weeks following his resignation, privately authored a letter to his friend, former vice presidential nominee Whitelaw Reid. In this document, Hay teared into Beveridge's many character flaws, referring to his quarrelsome nature and "rat-like" attention span during attempts to conduct foreign policy. The former state secretary had expected that the positive results emanating from Puerto Rico would deter the militaristic leader from instigating war, or that he could sway Beveridge to reassign General Smith. Yet, in all cases, his words reached deaf ears. "I fear [Beveridge's] presidency shall irreparably harm our national image should the war go on. Appropriate measures must be taken to save the party."

Secretaries Roosevelt and Mahan did not resign, although they certainly disapproved of the president's direction and refusal to coordinate his orders with them. Roosevelt expressed to Beveridge his passionate plea that the war must not go on if it failed to retain popular support. He relented, especially in his later years, that the condoning of U.S.-initiated atrocities threatened American moral superiority, and, as thus, the fate of the entire expansionist project. President Beveridge disagreed, insinuating that Filipino atrocities justified any retaliatory action by the occupying forces. Still, the leader acknowledged a gradual loss in public support and, subsequently, concluded that the narrative required adjusting. Just as he once accomplished in his contest against Bryan, Beveridge looked to dramatically shift the tide in his favor.

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President Beveridge in Philadelphia, September 17th, 1902- Source: LOC

In order to challenge anti-war sentiment and drive up jingoist patriotism, President Beveridge chose to embark on a three-month whistle-stop tour in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. He hoped to have the opportunity to do so sooner in his presidency, but the complexities of organizing operations in the Philippines sidetracked the president from the project. Now, as anti-imperialists and opponents to aggressive expansion appeared to gain the upper hand in the realm of public opinion, it was of utmost importance for the president to make his case.

On September 6th, Beveridge departed the Executive Mansion alongside Senator Henry C. Lodge and Secretary Roosevelt. The heavily-publicized federal express carried the party out of D.C. and toward the Exposition Auditorium in Philadelphia. This venue, where Beveridge had solidified the Republican presidential nomination two years prior, held the premier "Our March Goes On" conference. To a crowd of political enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and Pennsylvania GOP officials, the Hoosier presented his featured presentation. Not too dissimilar from his other nationalistic speeches, the stump speech delivered by the president characterized the task of conquest as "world opportunity, world duty, and world glory."

Beveridge dove into the fray directly, citing the gross irresponsibility of the American press to report "misinterpreted fables" as fact. He remarked that the pro-Filipino stories stemming from Hearst, Pulitzer, and others in their league disregarded the conditions that led to the creation of the re-concentration system (albeit, he referred to these men in a broad sense and did not name names). Without hesitation, the president denounced information concerning torture camps and mass murder of civilians as "falsified accounts not worthy of the ink they are printed upon", and furthermore warned his audience to avoid being captivated by "yellow sins."

He assured the crowd that peace would arrive soon and, with it, vast economic opportunity. According to Beveridge, the dramatic entrance of the United States into the lucrative markets of the Pacific practically guaranteed a permanent Pax Americana. He predicted that immense commercial growth could afford Americans an unprecedented degree of prosperity, one that would not be limited to a wealthy minority as was the case in the Gilded Age. "The American race shall have more than enough to supply every human being beneath the flag. There ought not to be in this Republic a single day of bad business, a single unemployed workingman, a single unfed child." Low wages and joblessness, as well as monetary uncertainty, stood to vanish upon successful colonization of the Philippines and the incorporation of American enterprise into the region. For Beveridge, such a utopia was within the grasp of the nation.

My friends, we must press on. Today, our duty is to rise to the occasion. With victory, we may begin our saving, regenerating, and uplifting work. Bloodshed will cease when these deluded children of our islands learn that this is the final word of the of the American people and its representatives in Congress assembled. [...] Every holy memory that glorifies the flag is of those heroes who have died that its onward march might not be stayed. It is the nation's dearest lives yielded for the flag that makes it dear to us; it is the nation's most precious blood poured out for it that makes it precious to us. That flag is woven of heroism and grief, of the bravery of men and women's tears, of righteousness and battle, of sacrifice and anguish, of triumph and of glory. It is these which make our flag a holy thing.

         Albert Beveridge, "Our March Goes On" Speech, September 18th, 1902

Beveridge won ravenous applause in Philadelphia upon the end of his address, and he would continue to garner warm receptions in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Chicago as the whistle-stop tour moved on. As famously documented by a journalist from the Chicago Tribune, however, the president repeatedly refused to respond to questions concerning mismanagement of the war. Several local reporters, first at the Chicago Coliseum then again at Columbia College, asked the elected leader to speak to anti-imperialist accusations of criminal atrocities perpetrated by American generals. Beveridge brushed them off. To save face in the aftermath, Secretary Roosevelt asserted, "The accusation that there had been anything resembling systematic or widespread cruelty by our troops was false."

Energized and prepared for the home stretch of the speaking tour, Beveridge delivered a stump speech outside of the Illinois State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois on November 2nd. Attendance, by historical accounts of the event, far exceeded any political ceremony that year, with 35,000-man crowd spanning far beyond the perimeter of the venue. He completed the address to resoundingly positive reception, and, accompanied by Senator Lodge, Mayor John L. Phillips, Governor Richard Yates, Jr., and former War Secretary Robert Todd Lincoln, returned to his horse-drawn carriage parked nearby. While the president strolled to the cart, shaking hands with presumed supporters along the trail, a man suddenly leaped from the dispersing crowd and opened fire with four ear-piercing shots.

Two individuals were struck by the assailant's bullets, including President Beveridge, who promptly collapsed into the arms of Lodge and Yates. Several men tackled the shooter before he could fire off a fifth shot, beating him nearly to an unconscious state. The general area was swiftly cornered off by local police and the Secret Service, the smirking shooter was taken into custody, and the president was lifted off in a hospital-bound emergency vehicle. Lodge, in a state of shock and disbelief, recalled the president whispering, "By God's graces, be sure the devil is hanged.

Doctors soon discovered that Beveridge had stopped breathing along route to Springfield Hospital. Once the man arrived and was prepped for emergency surgery, the medical staff hurriedly began operating on the president to save his life. Fearing the worst, they incessantly worked to resuscitate the executive, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Surgeons found a bullet lodged in his right lung and determined the shot undoubtedly fatal. Just like that, in the span of an otherwise ordinary afternoon, Albert Beveridge, at only 40 years old, became the third president to be felled by an assassin's bullet.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

This is immaculate!

[We Live in Black and White]

Would it be inapropos for me to suggest that maybe Beveridge, from a karmic perspective, had that coming?

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Brilliant! The presence of Robert Todd Lincoln was a nice touch, considering his knack for showing up just when someone was about to get shot IOTL.

[Pyro]

This is immaculate!

Thank you!

Would it be inapropos for me to suggest that maybe Beveridge, from a karmic perspective, had that coming?

That's up to you

Brilliant! The presence of Robert Todd Lincoln was a nice touch, considering his knack for showing up just when someone was about to get shot IOTL.

Thanks! I'm glad someone caught that haha

[Pyro]

Presidential Hearse in Washington, D.C., November 7th, 1902 - Source: Wiki Commons

Beveridge's assassination rocked the nation. Republican loyalists and champions of imperial policies lamented the loss of the vigorously expansionist president. Senator Lodge had been especially shaken by the ordeal, which was certainly expected considering his presence during the traumatic shooting, yet he nonetheless volunteered to act as a liaison with the press. He responded to an assortment of calls and letters addressed to the presidential party in the direct aftermath of the shooting, calling for a period of mourning out of respect to the fallen president.

Political figures in each major party presented statements pertaining to their grief, including former Presidents William J. Bryan and Grover Cleveland (Benjamin Harrison had passed in 1901 from pneumonia). Bryan, who overtly despised Albert Beveridge, held back from relaying any snide remarks and kept his written commentary absent of political conjecture. "I doubt it was easy," Ruth Bryan Roosevelt admitted in an interview with author David Bergman. "My father often confided to us his personal feelings on President Beveridge. Although I feel it would be disrespectful to repeat the words today, I can assure you the public sentiment differed quite a bit." Likewise, Cleveland released a brief note conveying sorrow over the untimely presidential death.

Even the most virulent anti-Beveridge publishers set aside routine criticism of the war to focus on the events of November 2nd, commonly bemoaning the poor security at such venues. "This was no less than an abysmal failure of the Secret Service organization," wrote Washington Post contributor John Travis. "Congress ought to mandate strict training for those persons vested with protecting the president. It is time to consider creating a specialized branch of the U.S. Army to carry out this task. And if we must, shield the president from direct interactivity with the public."

The body of Albert Beveridge, at the time of his declared death and the end of his autopsy, was moved to the state capital for several days of national bereavement. Tens of thousands poured in to Springfield to show their deference to the deceased leader, and more still attended the procession as Beveridge was relocated to Washington. Judging from the sheer size of the audiences as they mourned, ideological differences and general anxiety over the war in the Philippines disappeared for a time. Secretary Roosevelt may have said it best, declaring that, Americans were never more united than they were upon the passing of Beveridge." In death, the late president unified more of the country than he ever could do in life.

Beveridge's assassin was found to be Scott Clarence Leroy, a religious zealot and alleged anti-imperialist. A recluse and an aspiring author, Leroy scribbled a variety of rather nonsensical pamphlets in the late 1890s and worked, unsuccessfully, to have these pieces published by prominent journals and magazines. One such pamphlet, later used as evidence in his murder trial, condemned the firebombing of the Philippines as the work of the Devil in broad daylight. Leroy cited Beveridge and his Cabinet as the "Horsemen of the Apocalypse," an embodiment of evil taken from the Book of Revelation, and envisioned himself as a Jesus-like savior, proclaiming, "God has chosen I to wage the crusade. By His instruction, the Devil must be vanquished from the earth before it is plunged into darkness evermore." He apparently tracked Beveridge down in Illinois and carried out the assassination to fulfill this manic command.

The well-documented trial lasted from November 5th to November 14th. In that time, it swiftly became painfully obvious that the shooter explicitly targeted the president and, thanks to the dozen or so eyewitness accounts of the assassination, that he indeed fired the four shots from a .38 caliber handgun. Leroy's insanity defense failed to win support by the grand jury, and he was sentenced to death on the grounds of first-degree murder. He was thereby executed via electric chair on December 21st, 1902. Leroy's final, unsettling words constituted a short prayer and the acknowledgment of, "Crucifixion for fulfilling my promise on the earth."

[Captain Chaos]

The Curse of Tippecanoe strikes again.

[We Live in Black and White]

Well, congratulations on making me walk back my previous comment. I don't particularly pity Beveridge, who was at least partially unhinged and absolutely a tyrant, but the very idea of someone like Leroy scares the living s**t out of me.

[Pyro]

Chauncey M. Depew, 27th President of the United States - Source: Wiki Commons

Chapter IX: Clawing Back: The Depew Doctrine

Few positions in the federal government of the United States were as powerless as that of the vice presidency. In a handful of past administrations, the second-in-command proved a worthwhile force whilst in office. This was, however, an exception to the rule. Aside from rarities like George Clinton and John Adams, the vice president typically not have have a prominent role in the management of the Executive branch. Levi P. Morton, under President Harrison, had no say in national affairs aside from presiding over the Senate. Likewise, for Adlai Stevenson and John McLean, neither truly accomplished any noteworthy feats in their roles as vice president.

Chauncey Depew, prior to November of 1902, similarly ranked as unimportant to national affairs as his predecessors. The New Yorker was selected by then-Senator Beveridge at the Republican National Convention for a multitude of causes, chief among them his status as a prominent and well-liked individual in business circles. Depew had been a known orator for decades and garnered an unmistakable reputation for enthralling audiences. He was perhaps best known for delivering the stirring 1886 address commemorating the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. From thence on, he presented thousands of speeches to varied organizations and businesses.

Depew's speaking style differed immensely from men like Beveridge and Bryan. Instead of driving up political evangelist fervor or minimizing the inhabitants of other nations, he intently focused on national optimism. According to Ackerman, "Depew viewed the United States not as a singular race of enlightened, chosen peoples. Rather, he characterized American civilization as the culmination of centuries of global progress, encompassing all glorious aspects of previous civilizations within. This natural evolution of humanity, to Depew, fueled the scientific revolution and manifested itself through the expansion of the railroads and the invention of the steamship." He glorified nationalism, of this there is little doubt, but he proved uninterested in utilizing this tool to ferment division and war like his presidential predecessor.

The vice president did not accompany Beveridge on the autumnal whistle-stop tour. At the closing of the first official congressional session on July 1st of 1902, Depew remained in Washington for a brief time before returning to Manhattan. Fascinatingly enough, the vice president corresponded regularly with RNC Chairman McKinley during this period. The two men agreed with former Secretary Hay's disposition regarding Beveridge's worsening mental state and endless fixation on Pacific conquest. His private letters were burned upon his death, but Depew patently despised the policies of President Beveridge and may have concurred that a replacement candidate was necessary in 1904. Hay's "appropriate measures" could have led to a significant challenge to the incumbency at the convening of the upcoming national convention.

Of course, the idea became defunct once Beveridge was slain in Springfield. Depew was notified of the shooting via telegram and rushed to wire Senator Lodge for updates. Lodge soon informed Depew of the hospital's medical report and suggested he immediately locate a judge who could carry out the presidential oath. The mortified vice president complied and his staff frantically searched for a suitable choice. On the evening of November 2nd, New York Supreme Court Justice James A. Blanchard administered the oath of office to Chauncey Depew at his home at 27 W 54th Street in New York City.

Sleepless from shock and rattled over which steps to take, the new president grabbed the next D.C.-bound train the following morning, just beyond dawn. Depew believed that it was necessary to proceed cautiously and present a temperate attitude in the face of such calamity. Therefore, he opted against speaking directly before the public, fearing his doing so would disrupt and distract from the national period of mourning. Roosevelt reached out to Depew first, writing, "In these sorrowful times, we are most fortunate to have your wisdom as we seek to console the nation." Depew responded warmly, thanking the war secretary and ensuring that his advice would be utilized wholeheartedly in the new administration.

Once the dust settled, the Old Guard, at long last, returned to the driver's seat. Beveridge's disruption of national affairs, and the course of the Republican Party, lasted fewer than two years. For Reid, McKinley, and others who sharply opposed the jingo reformism espoused by Albert Beveridge, the assassination relieved from the United States a monstrous burden. Beveridge, after all, started to veer off course domestically. His final few speeches indicated newfound distaste for poverty and sympathy for the jobless. In an alternate circumstance in which he survived the assault, it is certainly possible that Beveridge would have enacted a primitive iteration of welfare.

         David K. Knight, Turbulence on the Wings: The Downfall of Polite Politics in the Twentieth Century, 1999

[We Live in Black and White]

From monstrous, genocidal imperialism back to abject apathy for the working class. Man, the Republican Party of the early 1900s was trash.

[LabourJersey]

From monstrous, genocidal imperialism back to abject apathy for the working class. Man, the Republican Party of the early 1900s was trash.

Not all of them. Just look at Bob LaFollette

[Pyro]

"Survival of the Fittest" from Puck Magazine, December 29th, 1902- Source: Wiki Commons

President Chauncey Depew embodied the very core of the elder Republican leadership and all it represented. Once settled in to his new position, Depew intended on backpedaling from the accused 'absurdities' of the Beveridge Administration. At first, upon his solemn ascension to the presidency, it was not entirely clear how dramatically the new president would shift course. Roosevelt's letters have implied his own belief that the New Yorker could not honorably redirect the aim of the administration, yet time judged this assumption false. Through examining Depew's activities as president, it is safe to infer that he theorized it feasible to spurn his predecessor without enraging the avidly pro-Beveridge GOP electorate.

The president's conservative colleagues in the federal government trusted in the ability of their leader to adequately enact the deviation, thereby insinuating, as journalist C. Allen Thorndike Rice once had, that Depew's skills with public oratory were unmatched in his time. "He is one of the foremost orators in the country," Rice proclaimed, "and as an after-dinner speaker is unrivaled. He charms a cultivated audience by his subtle humor, and a general audience by his flowing wit; is, in fact, so flexible that he can readily and easily adapt himself to circumstances."

McKinley, likewise, felt enamored with Depew's ascension. On Christmas Eve, 1902, he wrote, "This new year is going to be a year of patriotism and devotion to country. Our devotion to the founding principles of the United States hold true in these tenuous times. I am glad to know that the people in every part of the country mean to be devoted to one flag, the glorious Stars and Stripes; that the people of this country mean to maintain the financial honor of the country as sacredly as they maintain the honor of the flag. In the memory of President Beveridge, we must soundly declare that nothing shall impede our path. There is no man better suited, no man so profoundly prepared, to carry out this task than our current president."

The Depew Cabinet

Office		Name
President		Chauncey M. Depew
Vice President		Vacant
Sec. of State		John Bassett Moore
Sec. of Treasury		William B. Allison
Sec. of War		Theodore Roosevelt
Attorney General		Philander C. Knox
Postmaster General		Charles Emory Smith
Sec. of the Navy		Alfred Thayer Mahan
Sec. of Interior		Lyman J. Gage
Sec. of Agriculture		James Wilson

Depew, with surefire assistance from the party leadership, plotted ahead to the next Congress and focused in on the extent of his legacy. Reinvigorating conservative normalcy was a daunting task, especially when all major presidential candidates in 1900 expressed a degree of reformist ideology. Contrary to his vast proclamations foreseeing vast and sweeping changes in his inaugural address, however, Beveridge woefully neglected domestic affairs whilst in office and chose to focus entirely on his drive for imperialism. No significant legislation was passed by the 57th Congress other than the nonpartisan Cullom Resolution. Even as Beveridge toured the country, all the while consistently communicating with Washington, he refused to dedicate time to domestic reform prior to the completion of the Philippines War.

Few were more excited to witness the change in leadership than Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon. Wholly ashamed of the late president's flagrant disregard for legislative matters and uncaring demeanor toward the Legislative Branch, Cannon was thrilled when Depew swapped in. In an abbreviated discussion, Cannon and Depew worked out a legislative arrangement. With some input from Hanna and McKinley, the president honed in on three key issues to address when the 57th Congress re-convened in December for its brief second, and final, session.

Primarily, Republicans desired passage of an unambiguous gold standard bill to conclude the ceaselessly chaotic chapter of American currency history. Sometime in early December, Secretary Allison submitted an outline of the proposed monetary bill to his friends in the Senate. Senators Orville Platt (R-CT) and John C. Spooner (R-WI) reshaped the idea into a complete bill, formally introducing the measure in Congress on December 10th. This legislation sought to permanently establish a fixed gold standard in the United States and eliminate in its entirety the specter of bimetallism. Western Republicans and Populists balked at the notion, as did Silver Democrats. Men like Senator Henry Teller described the bill as a farce, arguing that the adoption of a strict gold standard needlessly offended farmers and poorer laborers. The majority in Congress, however, disagreed with the likes of Teller and wholeheartedly favored an end to bimetallism.

Depew also tossed aside Beveridge's utopian plan to bring about a bipartisan tariff commission. Republicans generally found this idea ludicrous and opposed input from free-trade Democrats. Depew, in a significant repudiation of his predecessor, signaled his support for partisan tariff legislation. The Currier Tariff bill, named for one of its architects, Representative Frank D. Currier (R-NH), looked to institute a dramatic escalation of import duties upwards of 50%. It specifically targeted woolen goods, iron ore, lumber, coal, and sugar, promptly reversing every last measure of the 1894 Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act. Due to the assistance of a select few retiring Bourbon Democrats, the Republicans secured passage for both the Gold Standard Act and the Currier Act before the end of 1902.

On January 4th, Congress passed its last notable piece of legislation that session: the repeal of the Sulzer-Hepburn Bill. Conservative Republicans and Democrats, having derided the measure since its 1897 introduction as "socialistic in nature" and an unjust expansion of the federal government, managed to twist that act of Congress into a symbol of former President Bryan. Beveridge never appeared willing to fancy its repeal, but Depew proved more than interested. Bryan Democrats fought for its protection to their fiercest degree, but having long since lost their initiative, they could not withstand the zeitgeist. Sulzer-Hepburn was repealed in its totality, gutting the minimal oversight of trusts and eliminating maximum rail rates. Now, following a brief reprieve, the era of profound consolidation of American industry had returned.

[Pyro]

1902 Congressional Elections

Senate
Republican: 45 (+4)
Democratic: 45 (+6)
Populist: 0 (-4)
Silver Republican: 0 (-2)
Silver: 0 (-2)

House
Republican: 200 (+2)
Democratic: 180 (+28)
Independent: 4 (+4)
Populist: 0 (-4)
Silver Republican: 0 (-1)

  House of Representatives Leadership

Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-IL)
Minority Leader John J. Lentz (D-OH)

On November 30th, 1901, the Missouri state government ratified the proposed 16th Amendment to the Constitution, making it the 36th state to do so. With that, State Secretary Hay thereafter certified the the amendment as part of the U.S. Constitution. From thence on, every senator was required to be directly elected to Congress. More so, statewide governors were now required to call for a special election to fill senate vacancies, and, if found necessary, state governments could allow for governors to fill vacant seats with temporary appointments. The 1902 Senate elections were the first in American history in which every senator was popularly elected as opposed to appointed by the state legislatures. Not even the wisest political analyst waged a prediction on the outcome of the nationwide races. The final results, showing a deadlocked 45-45 Senate, appeared to epitomize deep-seated division in the United States at the turn of the century.

Senator James K. Jones of Arkansas, Democratic National Committee Chairman since Bryan's election, faced a tough nomination challenge from former Governor James Paul Clarke (D-AR). Regardless of his status as a Confederate Army veteran and a political moderate, some within the state party disliked Jones' affiliation with former President Bryan and his wing of the party. The incumbent senator denied any accusations that he helped engineer the Nebraskan's crowning in 1896 and reiterated his neutrality concerning the disparate sects of the national organization. Governor Clarke, a self-proclaimed devotee of "upholding white supremacy" and "the white standards of civilization," sparred with Jones in the lead-up to the state party convention, particularly calling to attention Jones' failure to unite Democrats. Overcoming the allegations made against him, however, Jones retained support by the Arkansas Democratic Party and succeeded in winning a third senatorial term.

Alienated from the Republican Party, Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado ran for re-election as a Democrat in 1902. Teller expressed hesitation prior to pursuing this action, likely out of a desire to maintain ties with close Republican colleagues, but eventually chose to abandon the GOP. The Colorado Republican Party selected San Miguel County Attorney Herschel M. Hogg (R-CO) to contest the election. Somewhat of a moderate reformist, Hogg called on Silver Republicans to move on from the currency issue and instead work to enact legislation protecting Coloradan land from federal mining intrusion. On a pro-Silver and anti-imperialist platform, and despite embarrassment at the national level for his defeat on bimetallism, Teller won re-election against Hogg with about 63% of the vote.

In Delaware, with the bickering state General Assembly relieved of its duty to appoint senators, vacant Senate seats were filled in 1902 special elections. Former Attorney General George Gray reluctantly chose to run for his old Senate seat in one of the two elections, easily winning it without worthy opposition. For the other seat, however, a bitter nomination contest materialized between Representative L. Heisler Ball (R-DE) and Businessman Henry A. du Point (R-DE). The latter candidate, a conservative Depew supporter and former military officer, fostered immense support by the local Old Guard of the Delaware Republican Party. Ball, though a youthful reform-minded moderate more in line with the Beveridge mold, had been routinely considered a carpetbagger upon relocating to New Castle County from Philadelphia. The nominating session concluded with the narrow edge granted to Du Pont: the victor in the general election.

With William Allison now serving as Treasury Secretary, his post in the Senate remained vacated until the midterm elections. Former Representative John J. Seerly (D-IA), the middle-of-the-road Democratic nominee, ran in the special election to replace Secretary Allison, yet he proved unable to move the increasingly pro-Republican population of the Hawkeye State. Following a grueling fight for the nomination, Representative William Peters Hepburn became the choice of the state party for Senate. Hepburn was chiefly known for his roles in chairing the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce and co-authoring the Sulzer-Hepburn Act. Perhaps the most likely choice of any Iowan to draw in disaffected Bryan Democrats alongside interventionist Republicans, Hepburn eventually gained the vital support of then-President Beveridge and Secretary Roosevelt, thus propelling him to the finish line during lengthy nomination proceedings.

Former Secretary of State William J. Stone won his election to the U.S. Senate as a Missourian representative, succeeding retiring incumbent George G. Vest (D-MO). Against the advice of his advisers, Stone ran on a platform espousing his experience under President Bryan. He promoted Democratic governance as "Capable [...] of discerning wars which must be waged in defense of liberty [versus] those fought in the name of commerce." Missouri, albeit a solid Bryan state, contained an evenly divided population in terms of political party membership. It was therefore considered foolhardy for Stone to concentrate on controversial national issues instead of relying on his tenure as governor in the 1890s. Nonetheless, Stone handily defeated Republican Richard Kerens (R-MO) and prepared for a contentious 58th Congress.

Populists experienced their greatest downfall in the 1902 elections, stumbling to total decimation. Of the eight representatives of the People's Party stationed in the 57th Congress, none were re-elected as Populists. Senator James H. Kyle of South Dakota died in 1901, prompting a special election for his seat (won by a Republican). Senators Heitfeld and Harris, both avid Populists and proponents of the Farmer's Alliance, learned that their sole chance of victory wholly depended upon fusion with state Democratic parties. In an unenthusiastic motion, these two incumbents (as well as fellow Populist Senator William Allen) abandoned the People's Party moniker. By slim margins, the former Populists won re-election as Democrats.

As a result of the 1900 U.S. Census, the House of Representatives too endured a significant change. Census reapportionment led to an increase in the amount of total House seats, from 357 to 386. This, in addition to the benefits won through redistricting, set a spark amongst Democrats - a sliver of hope. Considering the abundance of new seats were set to be located in areas with large second-wave immigrant populations, the Democratic Party thought it possible to expand their paltry representation in the lower house regardless of mass public sympathy toward the late president.

Minority Leader John J. Lentz found himself in the midst of an intra-party revolt as the Bourbons sided closer to the Republican Party with each passing day. Firm in his belief that the issue of ongoing conflict in the Philippines would negate popular favor for expansionism and, more so, trusting that the electorate remained receptive to Bryanist populist rhetoric, Lentz instructed House candidates to promote the Bryan brand of Democracy moving forward. On the whole, judging by the final, state-by-state results, it appeared as though the strategy did indeed work as intended. Democrats won 28 seats while Republicans managed a far smaller two-seat win.

Some notable House races included the election of Charles Hamlin (R-ME), Union Army veteran and the son of former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin, as well as four "Anti-Machine" Republicans in Pennsylvania to the federal legislature. One of the more fascinating developments had undoubtedly been the surprise election of publisher and Bryan-ally William Randolph Hearst to the U.S. House. Running as a Bryan Democrat in New York's 11th District, Hearst proclaimed the urgent need establish worker protections, mandate the 8-hour working day, and nationalize the telegraph industry. He also railed against the Philippine-American War, citing "Thousands of American lives needlessly lost in the racket of war." Largely self-funded, Hearst succeeded in swaying the electorate to his side.

  

Senators Elected in 1902 (Class 3)

Edmund Pettus (D-AL): Democratic Hold, Unopposed
James K. Jones (D-AR): Democratic Hold, 81%
George Perkins (R-CA): Republican Hold, 56%
Henry M. Teller (D-CO): Democratic Gain, 63%
Orville H. Platt (R-CT): Republican Hold, 74%
*George Gray (D-DE): Democratic Gain, 68%
*Henry A. du Pont (R-DE): Republican Gain, 60%
Stephen Mallory II (D-FL): Democratic Hold, Unopposed
Alexander S. Clay (D-GA): Democratic Hold, 93%
Henry Heitfeld (D-ID): Democratic Gain, 51%
Albert J. Hopkins (R-IL): Republican Hold, 58%
Charles W. Fairbanks (R-IN): Republican Hold, 58%
*Jonathan P. Dolliver (R-IA): Republican Hold, 65%
*William P. Hepburn (R-IA): Republican Hold, 77%
William A. Harris (P-KS): Democratic Gain, 52%
James B. McCreary (D-KY): Democratic Gain
Samuel D. McEnery (D-LA): Democratic Hold, 88%
George L. Wellington (R-MD): Republican Hold, 53%
*Russell A. Alger (R-MI): Republican Hold, 64%
William J. Stone (D-MO): Democratic Hold, 61%
Francis G. Newlands (D-NV): Democratic Gain, 56%
Jacob Gallinger (R-NH): Republican Hold, 74%
*John F. Dryden (R-NJ): Republican Hold, 60%
Thomas C. Platt (R-NY): Republican Hold, 57%
Lee Overman (D-NC): Democratic Gain, 82%
Henry C. Hansbrough (R-ND): Republican Hold, 53%
Joseph B. Foraker (R-OH): Republican Hold, 55%
Charles W. Fulton (R-OR): Republican Hold, 52%
Boies Penrose (R-PA): Republican Hold, 62%
Asbury Latimer (D-SC): Democratic Hold, Unopposed
Alfred B. Kittredge (R-SD): Republican Gain, 61%
Reed Smoot (R-UT): Republican Gain, 53%
William P. Dilingham (R-VT): Republican Hold, 80%
Levi Ankeny (R-WA): Republican Gain, 55%
John C. Spooner (R-WI): Republican Hold, 59%

*Special Election

[Pyro]

Article in "The Washington Times" Describing an End to Hostilities, July 18th, 1903 - Source: LoC

President Depew, albeit not nearly the imperialist Beveridge had been, wished not to abandon the Philippine venture altogether. He understood that the Republican Party and, truthfully, the country as a whole desperately needed the violent affairs to come to a close. The list of American atrocities piled up and only served to vindicate anti-imperialists like William J. Bryan in their constant derision of contemporary foreign policy. Depew, spurning the demands of the jingoist sect which demanded bloody vengeance for their fallen president, searched for an opportunity to conclude the conflict in such a way that reflected his interest in assisting the growth of American entrepreneurship.

Racial pseudoscience - popularized and socially embraced by the 1900s in world's fairs, political illustrations, common postcards, and children's textbooks - reinforced the vision of American Whites as the saviors of civilization. President Beveridge crafted his foreign policy through the lens of this 'race thinking,' constantly working out excuses and justifications for domination and war in place of fair negotiation and diplomacy. The late president characterized the building of an American Empire as an inevitable outcome of Manifest Destiny, but failed to address the dire consequences of such a project. Most Americans seemed to applaud expansionism but became rather uneasy whenever it gave way to undisguised imperialism - that is, undermining the sovereignty of independent nations and usurping their freedom to make their own decisions.

Controlling several minor islands and possessing trading depots was one thing, but the brutality instituted by the Army under Beveridge and Generals Otis, MacArthur and Smith was another entirely. Anti-imperialists gained the upper hand in public opinion precisely due to these aforementioned atrocities. The United States, they felt, ought not to operate as a sprawling empire if it meant vast destruction and expansive physical and psychological torture. Depew himself found issue with both wings of the debate, outright distrusting the foundation of the anti-imperialist claims as naive yet not quite coming to terms with the Social Darwinist position. Unlike his deeply ideological predecessors, the president candidly aspired to end the bloodshed while maintaining a U.S. economic presence in the Philippines.

As far as the actual progress of the war was concerned, U.S. forces stationed in the archipelago endured as the stalemate continued. For both the Filipinos as well as the Americans, distressing conditions plagued every province. Poor sanitation, starvation, and outbreaks of malaria and cholera killed thousands with no regard to nationality. The order from U.S. generals to decimate local food and medicinal supplies over the course of the occupation now seemed to backfire as guerrilla insurgents began cutting off American bases from waterfronts and drop zones. Just when the situation seemed its bleakest, however, brigades serving under General MacArthur managed to discover and ransack the operating residence of General Miguel Malvar.

On May 6th, 1903, Malvar's base was captured and the military leader surrendered to American authorities. His capitulation meant a total collapse in Filipino morale and a prompt end to organized Philippine resistance. The Philippine general declared a ceasefire. Depew did the same, calling for an end to hostilities. With the surrender unconditional, it was up to the United States to conjure together a worthy arrangement before guerrilla warfare erupted once more. The president, alongside John Hay's Cabinet replacement, John Bassett Moore, believed the prospect of pure annexation (the end-goal as proclaimed by Beveridge) a preposterous one, as doing so would surely inflame tensions to a boiling point. Retreating from the jingoist line, Depew and Moore looked to initiate American oversight without resorting to total domination.

The Depew Administration oversaw the creation of the Philippine Committee in mid-June in order to construct a satisfactory policy to be implemented in the Philippines. Various, theoretical strategies for implementation in the island territories were considered during the sessions of this committee. One unnamed State Department staff member apparently asked Secretary Moore to consider his concept of segmenting the archipelago in three parts. The U.S. would annex Luzon whilst the Philippine Republic retained control over Mindanao, with outlying Visayan Islands operating as a "neutral zone." Moore, who apparently found the concept unrealistic and impossible to implement, promptly fired the staffer and famously defenestrated the man's hat and jacket.

When time arrived for the committee to present its determination to the president, Depew was thrilled with their work. Their finalized arrangement called for limited civilian government in tandem with recognition of the authority of the United States.

The Philippines Organization Act, upon its passage through Congress with near-unanimity, established a bicameral legislature for the native population and the promise of amnesty for revolutionaries. It created an Americanized Bill of Rights for the Filipino people specifically tuned to award more liberties to wealthier residents and non-Catholics. Corporations were the true winner of the war, having been assured that no limits were placed on the maximum allowable investment nor on the degree of land ownership by corporate interests. Two of the most influential Filipinos in the post-war legislature were also two of its wealthiest and corrupt inhabitants: Benito Legarda and Felipe Buencamino.

In the aftermath of passage, the Manila Trading Company, an American investment group, worked alongside the Depew Administration to purchase about 100,000 acres of land previously controlled by the Spanish Catholic Church. By 1910, the Manila Trading Co. operated as the de facto private government in many parts of the archipelago. This end result, although far from the ideal pure annexation as popularized by Beveridge and Lodge, satisfied markets. [...] As one may insinuate, a significant contingent of Filipinos refused to accept American authority despite the surrender of Malvar and his call for a ceasefire. Sporadic guerrilla raids went on throughout 1903 and beyond as the torch of resistance stayed lit.

         Thomas O'Conner, A Radical History of American Politics: Vol. 4, 2014

[Pyro]

John Mitchell of the UMW Arrives in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, April 17th, 1902 - Source: Wiki Commons

Anthracite, otherwise known as hard coal, was an invaluable resource in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, powering factories and providing homes across the industrialized world with a basic source of heat. Mines in northeastern Pennsylvania were the primary source of this substance within the continental United States. Workers assigned to these dangerous and unsafe mines, mostly first-generation Eastern European and Italian immigrants, were expected to procure the coal for a pittance.

The United Mine Workers of America, or UMW/UMWA, entered the arena in the 1880s as a counterbalance to hegemonic coal mine operators and owners. With no exception for race or national origin, nor skilled versus unskilled, the union effectively organized over 140,000 anthracite coal miners in this period. Led by John Mitchell, the union found tremendous success in its organizing drive and began securing minor victories in the 1890s. It became apparent by the spring of 1902, however, that the UMW-affiliated laborers were no longer willing to settle for half-measures and inadequate conditions. They fiercely desired recognition of the union and a joint-agreement to collectively bargain with the mine owners. The miners agreed upon several other demands, including a pay raise, a shortened work week, and an honest weighing of each day's coal (the basis for their earnings.)

In April, representatives of the UMW approached George F. Baer, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and offered to arrange fair arbitration to discuss the workers' demands. Insisting the illegitimacy of the union and the impossibility of granting raises to the miners employed by his company, Baer laughed off the deal. His dismissive opinion was that the workers did not suffer whatsoever, "Why, hell, half of them can't even speak English." In prompt response, the anthracite miners in Scranton, Pennsylvania declared a work-stoppage. With neither side willing to budge an inch, tensions erupted into a full-fledged labor strike.

No end appeared in sight as the summer months flashed by. The miners' determination to succeed was surely matched by Baer's unending arrogance. In the belief that the status quo was pre-determined by divine action, Baer declared, "The rights and all interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for - not by the labor agitators - but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given the control of property interests of the country, and upon the successful management of which so much depends." The miners were not dealing with your average, everyday hubris. This was advanced hubris.

As the months carried on and coal prices steadily rose, the tide of public opinion began shifting in favor of the strikers against the elite owners. Hearst egged on the persistent workers and called for then-President Beveridge to consider federal intervention in the matter. The publisher implored the federal government to prosecute Baer and the owner of Reading Railroad, J.P. Morgan, for their role in prolonging the strike. "Divine Right Baer," he stated, "has made the fateful choice that Americans will need to survive this winter with no heat. Do not fret, so says Baer, for the Omnipotent shall keep us warm with his glorious light."

Beveridge finally admitted in late October that the problem deserved attention. Winter lied on the horizon, and as the nation delved into an unprecedented coal shortage, Northern states faced a cataclysmic coal famine. Beveridge handed to Interior Secretary Lyman Gage a decree to explore all available options for arbitration in order to swiftly resolve the strike. The Hoosier, seemingly confiding in Gage his alignment with public sentiment, indicated his intention to hold accountable the mine owners. He wrote, "Upon my return to Washington, the matter will be addressed and Morgan will sit at the table." To the detriment of the anthracite miners, Beveridge died prior to settling the case. Accordingly, the responsibility fell to President Depew.

Depew, monitoring the situation closely alongside his personal friend, J.P. Morgan, came to the conclusion that little could be done legally. He was vastly distrustful of political interference in the affairs of private businesses and sharply disagreed with those who wanted intervention. Insofar as the federal government was concerned (at least under the Depew Administration), any and all plausibility for neutral arbitration halted in its tracks.

To address our viewer's question, I would say no. Not every household knew exactly what and who Depew represented, politically. Even those who familiarized themselves with his famous speeches were unlikely to associate his name with arch conservatism and corporatism in the same regard we do today. Much of that association was born with his response to the Anthracite Coal Strike. With the entire country calling out for the president to do something - anything, really - do intervene in Pennsylvania, many had trouble fathoming continued inaction. His abject refusal to break from the ranks of the wealthy aristocracy did a number on his reputation.

Theodore Roosevelt, then serving as the nation's War Secretary, observed the phenomenon as well as the president's reaction to it. He asked Depew, over and over to the point of annoyance, to consider peaceful mediation for the sake of preventing calamity. Roosevelt viewed the issue as one that required government intervention as the operators were disallowing negotiation, especially in the case of coal which could be seen as a public service. He believed it absolutely necessary to disrupt private business to preserve the public welfare. It was a moment that greatly refined Roosevelt's thoughts on labor and the role of the federal government to guide change.

         Marvin Everett, UBS American Presidents: Life Portrait of Chauncey Depew, Aired 2000

President Depew ignored the recommendations of his allies. It was inappropriate, he declared, to mandate a settlement on behalf of the respective parties. The New Yorker represented the prevailing philosophy of government in which representatives in federal and state legislatures protected the interests of businesses rather than individuals. To Depew, the UMW-affiliated miners courted anarchy and were instigating socialistic action while the benevolent owners merely wished to remain afloat. He wholeheartedly agreed with Baer that, "The duty of the hour is not to waste time negotiating with the fomenters of this anarchy and insolent defiance of law, but to do as was done in the Civil War, restore the majesty of law."

Although unable to declare an injunction as a result of the American Safeguards Act, the president eventually did endorse the strategy of Governor William A. Stone (R-PA) to call upon the Pennsylvania National Guard. Stone planned to station these forces at the anthracite mines to protect a small contingent of strikebreakers. In utilizing this method, they believed, the operators could guarantee an adequate sum of coal was extracted to end the fuel shortage and, thereby, prevent a calamitous winter famine. Therefore, hundreds of strikebreakers, guarded by members of the National Guard and the private Coal and Iron Police, were sent into the mines to resume coal production. Intimidated by police firepower and warned against initiating conflict by the UMW, strikers could do little but somberly observe.

The Coal Strike endured throughout the winter before its inevitable fade in early 1903. Thousands of miners moved on to other professions and others opted to return to their respective home countries. Mitchell did nothing as the strike waned from national significance, aside from issuing repetitious pleas that President Depew defend the rights of the workers. This, the failure of the UMW, served to radicalize scores of unionized workers who grew disillusioned with the nature of begging for arbitration and moderate change within the framework of reform capitalism. In March of 1903, three weeks after the disappointing end to the strike, membership in the newly founded Socialist Party of America skyrocketed.

[TheOnlyOne234]

John Mitchell of the UMW Arrives in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, April 17th, 1902 - Source: Wiki Commons

Anthracite, otherwise known as hard coal, was an invaluable resource in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, powering factories and providing homes across the industrialized world with a basic source of heat. Mines in northeastern Pennsylvania were the primary source of this substance within the continental United States. Workers assigned to these dangerous and unsafe mines, mostly first-generation Eastern European and Italian immigrants, were expected to procure the coal for a pittance.

The United Mine Workers of America, or UMW/UMWA, entered the arena in the 1880s as a counterbalance to hegemonic coal mine operators and owners. With no exception for race or national origin, nor skilled versus unskilled, the union effectively organized over 140,000 anthracite coal miners in this period. Led by John Mitchell, the union found tremendous success in its organizing drive and began securing minor victories in the 1890s. It became apparent by the spring of 1902, however, that the UMW-affiliated laborers were no longer willing to settle for half-measures and inadequate conditions. They fiercely desired recognition of the union and a joint-agreement to collectively bargain with the mine owners. The miners agreed upon several other demands, including a pay raise, a shortened work week, and an honest weighing of each day's coal (the basis for their earnings.)

In April, representatives of the UMW approached George F. Baer, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, and offered to arrange fair arbitration to discuss the workers' demands. Insisting the illegitimacy of the union and the impossibility of granting raises to the miners employed by his company, Baer laughed off the deal. His dismissive opinion was that the workers did not suffer whatsoever, "Why, hell, half of them can't even speak English." In prompt response, the anthracite miners in Scranton, Pennsylvania declared a work-stoppage. With neither side willing to budge an inch, tensions erupted into a full-fledged labor strike.

No end appeared in sight as the summer months flashed by. The miners' determination to succeed was surely matched by Baer's unending arrogance. In the belief that the status quo was pre-determined by divine action, Baer declared, "The rights and all interests of the laboring man will be protected and cared for - not by the labor agitators - but by the Christian men to whom God in His infinite wisdom has given the control of property interests of the country, and upon the successful management of which so much depends." The miners were not dealing with your average, everyday hubris. This was advanced hubris.

As the months carried on and coal prices steadily rose, the tide of public opinion began shifting in favor of the strikers against the elite owners. Hearst egged on the persistent workers and called for then-President Beveridge to consider federal intervention in the matter. The publisher implored the federal government to prosecute Baer and the owner of Reading Railroad, J.P. Morgan, for their role in prolonging the strike. "Divine Right Baer," he stated, "has made the fateful choice that Americans will need to survive this winter with no heat. Do not fret, so says Baer, for the Omnipotent shall keep us warm with his glorious light."

Beveridge finally admitted in late October that the problem deserved attention. Winter lied on the horizon, and as the nation delved into an unprecedented coal shortage, Northern states faced a cataclysmic coal famine. Beveridge handed to Interior Secretary Lyman Gage a decree to explore all available options for arbitration in order to swiftly resolve the strike. The Hoosier, seemingly confiding in Gage his alignment with public sentiment, indicated his intention to hold accountable the mine owners. He wrote, "Upon my return to Washington, the matter will be addressed and Morgan will sit at the table." To the detriment of the anthracite miners, Beveridge died prior to settling the case. Accordingly, the responsibility fell to President Depew.

Depew, monitoring the situation closely alongside his personal friend, J.P. Morgan, came to the conclusion that little could be done legally. He was vastly distrustful of political interference in the affairs of private businesses and sharply disagreed with those who wanted intervention. Insofar as the federal government was concerned (at least under the Depew Administration), any and all plausibility for neutral arbitration halted in its tracks.

To address our viewer's question, I would say no. Not every household knew exactly what and who Depew represented, politically. Even those who familiarized themselves with his famous speeches were unlikely to associate his name with arch conservatism and corporatism in the same regard we do today. Much of that association was born with his response to the Anthracite Coal Strike. With the entire country calling out for the president to do something - anything, really - do intervene in Pennsylvania, many had trouble fathoming continued inaction. His abject refusal to break from the ranks of the wealthy aristocracy did a number on his reputation.

Theodore Roosevelt, then serving as the nation's War Secretary, observed the phenomenon as well as the president's reaction to it. He asked Depew, over and over to the point of annoyance, to consider peaceful mediation for the sake of preventing calamity. Roosevelt viewed the issue as one that required government intervention as the operators were disallowing negotiation, especially in the case of coal which could be seen as a public service. He believed it absolutely necessary to disrupt private business to preserve the public welfare. It was a moment that greatly refined Roosevelt's thoughts on labor and the role of the federal government to guide change.

         Marvin Everett, UBS American Presidents: Life Portrait of Chauncey Depew, Aired 2000

President Depew ignored the recommendations of his allies. It was inappropriate, he declared, to mandate a settlement on behalf of the respective parties. The New Yorker represented the prevailing philosophy of government in which representatives in federal and state legislatures protected the interests of businesses rather than individuals. To Depew, the UMW-affiliated miners courted anarchy and were instigating socialistic action while the benevolent owners merely wished to remain afloat. He wholeheartedly agreed with Baer that, "The duty of the hour is not to waste time negotiating with the fomenters of this anarchy and insolent defiance of law, but to do as was done in the Civil War, restore the majesty of law."

Although unable to declare an injunction as a result of the American Safeguards Act, the president eventually did endorse the strategy of Governor William A. Stone (R-PA) to call upon the Pennsylvania National Guard. Stone planned to station these forces at the anthracite mines to protect a small contingent of strikebreakers. In utilizing this method, they believed, the operators could guarantee an adequate sum of coal was extracted to end the fuel shortage and, thereby, prevent a calamitous winter famine. Therefore, hundreds of strikebreakers, guarded by members of the National Guard and the private Coal and Iron Police, were sent into the mines to resume coal production. Intimidated by police firepower and warned against initiating conflict by the UMW, strikers could do little but somberly observe.

The Coal Strike endured throughout the winter before its inevitable fade in early 1903. Thousands of miners moved on to other professions and others opted to return to their respective home countries. Mitchell did nothing as the strike waned from national significance, aside from issuing repetitious pleas that President Depew defend the rights of the workers. This, the failure of the UMW, served to radicalize scores of unionized workers who grew disillusioned with the nature of begging for arbitration and moderate change within the framework of reform capitalism. In March of 1903, three weeks after the disappointing end to the strike, membership in the newly founded Socialist Party of America skyrocketed.

*insert spongebob voice* "The miners were not dealing with your average, everyday hubris. This was advanced hubris."

[Pyro]

*insert spongebob voice* "The miners were not dealing with your average, everyday hubris. This was advanced hubris."

😜

[Pyro]

"Alice in Plunderland" Anti-Trust Cartoon, Published 1903- Source: Wiki Commons

The U.S. economy had undergone tremendous growth since the 1890s. Corporate profitability and the general prosperity of business owners reached new heights, with the unchecked consolidation of several hundred American industries aggregating over $8.8 billion by 1903. These trusts acquired unfathomable wealth over the past decade, with the stipulations in the Sulzer-Hepburn Act accounting for an indiscernible hiccup in the merger wave prior to its repeal. Over the course of the Depew presidency, an estimated 30% of American companies vanished via consolidation. Roughly two-thirds of all U.S. workers at this time were employed by fewer than 100 firms.

Domination of trusts, monopolies and pools in the economy meant newfound power for the owner class as they learned to dictate terms to the railroads. Regulation of the rail rates as described in Sulzer-Hepburn attempted to curtail the ability of these trusts, but now, with that measure eliminated, the capitalists had free reign to adjust rates at will. The Harriman-Gould-Rock Island and the Morgan-Hill-Vanderbilt-Pennsylvania, two of the most prominent railroad companies, controlled more than 60% of all railways in the United States.

J.P. Morgan, himself the very symbol of late-Gilded Age America, controlled several similarly giant trusts in this period. His claws dug deep into a sea of financial institutions ranging from banking networks to investment firms and insurance companies. In 1901, he assembled the vast United States Steel Corporation and absorbed the manufacturing plants once owned by fellow financial giant Andrew Carnegie. U.S. Steel became the world's first billion-dollar corporation and, upon its creation, held a commanding 60% market share. In finances, transportation, communications, and manufacturing, Morgan's trusts outweighed all others.

The post-Sulzer-Hepburn merger movement went unchallenged until one particular formation which threatened complete monopolization of all rail traffic from Chicago to the West Coast. This, the Northern Securities Company, had been formed by Morgan, E.H. Harriman, James J. Hill and various Rockefeller interests. Its assemblage set Western state governments in a frenzy, fearing that the monopolization of their railways would lead to high shipping fees set with legal immunity. Governors of these states plead with President Depew to explore the prospect of prosecution, but the president would hear none of it.

President Depew was of the mind, not uncommon for the Republican Party in this era, that the consolidation spree is precisely what allowed the economy to escape the imprisonment of the 1890s depression. He believed it gravely essential to retain a hands-off laissez-faire policy as to avoid the disruption of economic growth and, consequentially, being irrefutably held responsible for future turmoil. A majority of congressmen, in stark disagreement with Depew's perspective, considered legislative methods to impede the merger wave in 1903 and 1904.

Bryan Democrats, who all along had leveled accusations at these trusts for rising prices and heinous working conditions, eagerly pasted together legislation to solve the dire economic predicament. Working alongside reform-minded Republicans, Democrats crafted a bill to address mergers and the intimidation tactics frequently employed by trusts against local governments. First, it forbade rebates - a tactic often used by corporations to extort railroads - and empowered the Interstate Commerce Commission to impose fines on transport companies that offered these rebates. Second, the bill mandated that the Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce launch investigations into any consolidation that resulted in a state-wide monopoly (clearly singling out the Northern Securities Company in all but name).

Senator Thomas M. Patterson (D-CO) introduced the legislation in December of 1903, ushering in a period of exhausting senatorial debate. Conservatives in both parties sharply opposed the measure, likening its passage to treason for the American economy. Senator Platt, an opponent to economic reform, referred to the measure as "dynamite" meant to "erupt American commerce." Platt's thoughts were certainly shared by Southern Bourbons who likewise fought the Patterson bill, but Western delegates like Senators Addison Foster (R-CA) and A. S. Bennett (D-OR) faced extreme pressure by their constituents to vote in favor of passage. In early January, just when it appeared as though these vacillating Westerners were willing to proceed, President Depew authored a message to Congress revealing his resolved intention to veto the bill should it arrive to his desk as-is.

As if tainted by poison, nearly every Republican immediately backed away from the reform and, furthermore, declined to pursue any amendments to soften the proposed regulations. Democrats were enraged. Minority Leader Lentz remarked upon the tabling of the Patterson bill, "Our obligation is to defend the principles of the Constitution of the United States and deliver to the American people ordinances that seek to uphold our sacred rights. These robber barons who shadow our government have darkened the halls of Congress and hushed out the light of Constitutional responsibility." Lentz' opinion was not his alone. Bryan Democrats had ramped up criticisms of Depew and the Republicans as puppets of Morgan, Carnegie, and Rockefeller. In this time, when the economy seemed under threat by mergers and unfettered capitalism, the president's acclaimed notions concerning laissez-faire economics seemed tone deaf.

Depew's disinterest in prosecution against Northern Securities Trust, his pillaging of the Philippines, and his inaction during the Anthracite Strike irreparably tarnished the New Yorker's notoriety. Political cartoons depicting the president as unquestionably beholden to the moneyed interests became commonplace in the political press throughout the end of 1903 and into 1904. It gifted to the Democratic Party a cache of ammunition to utilize against the presumed Depew candidacy unseen since James G. Blaine's ill-fated run for the Executive Mansion in 1884. The reformist faction of the GOP, one which often overlapped with the imperialist sect, could no longer stomach further support to the accidental president and penned an ultimatum to Chairman McKinley: Either the RNC dissuade Depew from running or they would consider supporting a third-party candidacy.

Somewhere in the depths of a smoke-filled, D.C. Republican National Committee meeting, McKinley, Lodge, Cannon and a host of others settled their deal. The United States could not afford, they concluded, a disunited and squabbling Republican Party. At any cost, the likes of William Jennings Bryan must never be allowed to return to Washington. McKinley issued the decisive call, cementing the policy that whomever won the 1904 nomination would be wholeheartedly supported by the entirety of the national party. "It was on February 10th, 1904," historian Jay Morgan wrote, "that President Depew announced his disinterest in seeking an additional presidential term. He cited personal health concerns (likely entirely fabricated) and his wish to return to private life (also a lie). One of the more intriguing elements of the committee arrangement was that the conservatives bet the farm without a farmer while the progressive wing identified their favorite long ago."