A History of the Republican PartyPlatt, George Washington
History
A History of the Republican Party
Platt, George Washington
Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- History
We declare again that all governments instituted among men derive their
just powers from the consent of the governed; that any government not
based upon the consent of the governed is a tyranny, and that to impose
upon any people a government of force is to substitute the methods of
imperialism for those of a republic. We hold that the constitution
follows the flag, and denounce the doctrine that an executive or
Congress, deriving their existence and their powers from the
constitution, can exercise lawful authority beyond it, or in violation
of it.
We assert that no nation can long endure half republic and half empire,
and we warn the American people that imperialism abroad will lead
quickly and inevitably to despotism at home.
PORTO RICO LAW DENOUNCED.
Believing in these fundamental principles, we denounce the Porto Rico
law, enacted by a Republican Congress against the protest and opposition
of the Democratic minority, as a bold and open violation of the nation's
organic law, and a flagrant breach of the national good faith.
It imposes upon the people of Porto Rico a government without their
consent, and taxation without representation. It dishonors the American
people by repudiating a solemn pledge made in their behalf by the
commanding General of our army, which the Porto Ricans welcomed to a
peaceful and unresisted occupation of their land. It doomed to poverty
and distress a people whose helplessness appeals with peculiar force to
our justice and magnanimity.
In this, the first act of its imperialistic programme, the Republican
party seeks to commit the United States to a colonial policy,
inconsistent with Republican institutions, and condemned by the Supreme
Court in numerous decisions.
PLEDGES TO THE CUBANS.
We demand the prompt and honest fulfillment of our pledge to the Cuban
people and the world that the United States has no disposition or
intention to exercise sovereignity, jurisdiction, or control over the
Island of Cuba, except for its pacification. The war ended nearly two
years ago, profound peace reigns over all the island, and still the
administration keeps the government of the island from its people, while
Republican carpet-bag officials plunder its revenues and exploit the
colonial theory, to the disgrace of the American people.
THE PHILIPPINE QUESTION.
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