“You write?”

Sea Power by  Alfred T. Mahan
(1890)

"Whoever rules the waves rules the world."

The Annexation Of Hawaii: Excerpts from the Blount Report
(02/16/1893)

"...Until the people of the islands...voluntarily apply for admission into the Union."

The Hawaiian Situation: The Invasion of Hawaii by  Eugene Tyler Chamberlain
(12/1893)

"The Queen was dethroned and the oligarchy established by proclamation."

A Plea for Annexation by  John Stevens
(12/1893)

"These beautiful and sunny isles...must and will be improved and governed by an intelligent and powerful race."

The Hawaiian Situation: Our Present Duty by  William M. Springer
(12/1893)

"We have no more right to overthrow a monarchy in Hawaii...than we have to overthrow a monarchy in Canada or Great Britain, or Russia or Turkey, or Spain..."

Grover Cleveland on the Overthrow of Hawaii's Royal Government by  Grover Cleveland
(12/18/1893)

War Message by  William McKinley
(1898)

"The war in Cuba is of such a nature that short of subjugation or extermination a final military victory for either side seems impracticable."

First Open Door Note by  John Hay
(09/06/1899)

"Will in no way interfere with any...vested interest within any..."sphere of interest"...it may have in China.

Decision on the Philippines by  William McKinley
(1900)

"When next I realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps, I confess I did not know what to do with them."

Platt Amendment by  Elihu Root
(03/02/1901)

"...demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba"

First-Hand Experience of the San Francisco Earthquake by  Emma Burke
(1906)

"The shock came, and hurled my bed against an opposite wall."