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Mexico's President Herrera Decries the Annexation of Texas
In March 1845, shortly before leaving office, President John Tyler signed a Joint Resolution of Congress offering to annex the Texas Republic to the United States. Mexico, which had never recognized the Republic and still claimed Texas as its [...]
The United States Declares War on Mexico
On April 26, 1846, following a tense stand-off between U.S. and Mexican troops on the banks of the Rio Grande (which the U.S. now claimed as its border with Mexico, having annexed the state of Texas), a small patrol of sixty-three U.S. soldiers was [...]
A Mexican General Issues a Proclamation at Matamoros
Before being replaced by General Arista, General Francisco Mejía was the commander of the Mexican army at Matamoros, facing the American forces at Fort Texas on the opposite side of the Rio Grande. In this elaborately-worded proclamation, General [...]
Democrats Outline their 1856 Party Platform
In an attempt to settle sectional conflicts about the expansion of slavery, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. The act stated that the residents of Kansas and Nebraska, rather than the federal government, would determine the legality [...]
"The Belle of Manilla"
During the 1890s, popular songs and sensationalist news coverage played a large role in drumming up support for U.S. intervention and the Spanish-American War. "The Belle of Manila," written in 1898, was one of many pro-war songs that were played in [...]
President McKinley Puts the Philippines on the U.S. Map
In this account of an 1899 meeting with a delegation of Methodist church leaders, President William McKinley defends his decision to support the annexation of the Philippines in the wake of the U.S. war in that country.
A Filipino Independence Leader Denounces U.S. Intervention
Sixto Lopez (1863-1947) was a prominent and influential leader of the Filipino independence movement who worked closely with the American Anti-Imperialist League. In this article published in Gunton's Magazine (a pro-capitalist, pro-labor journal), [...]
Filipinos Object to "Reconcentration"
During its invasion of the Philippines, the United States ordered Filipinos to be concentrated or restricted in "protected" villages. Anyone not in a village would be considered an enemy insurgent. Although the war was officially declared over in [...]
The President of Union Pacific Praises the Railroads
This excerpt from Sidney Dillon's article "The West and the Railroads," from an 1891 issue of The North American Review, credits the railroad with the growth and positive transformation of the American West. The president of the Union Pacific [...]
The New York Times Reports Battles against Filipino Insurgents
This article provides details of battles between the U.S. Army and the Filipino "insurgents." Many of the reports describe the Filipino soldiers being led by non-Filipino commanders, including David Fagin, an African-American deserter of the U.S. [...]