The American Philosophy of Government and its Application to the Annexed Countries

Extract

From the time of the founding of the United States by the Declaration of Independence until the Civil War, the existence of slavery obscured our philosophy of government as set forth in that great document, and as implied in the Constitution and its original amendments. The Civil War abolished slavery and restored our original philosophy. The adoption of the fourteenth amendment, placing upon the United States the responsibility for securing the fundamental rights of the individual, even against state action, was the logical effect of the restored philosophy. The annexation of distant regions, as the result of the Spanish War, and the necessity of applying to them our philosophy and system in some appropriate and permanent manner, compelled us again to consider our fundamental ideas, and again to declare our fundamental principles.