History isn't always a neat line of progress. Sometimes, it’s a loud, sweaty room in Indianapolis where a guy with a lot of ambition changes how a country sees itself. That’s basically what happened on September 16, 1898. Albert J. Beveridge, a man who wasn’t even a Senator yet, stood up at Tomlinson Hall and gave a speech called "The March of the Flag."
If you’ve ever wondered why the U.S. started looking past its own coastlines, this is where a lot of that "manifest destiny" energy got its second wind.
What Really Happened in 1898?
The timing of this speech was everything. The Spanish-American War had just wrapped up. The U.S. had kicked Spain out of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. But there was a massive fight brewing back home. People were asking: "Are we an empire now? Do we even want to be?"
Beveridge didn't just say yes. He said it was God's plan.
Honestly, the language he used would make modern readers cringe. He talked about "masterful blood" and "God’s chosen people." He wasn't just talking about trade routes; he was pitching a moral and racial crusade. He argued that the American flag hadn't stopped at the Mississippi or the Rockies, so why should it stop at the Pacific?
He called it a "divine mission."
🔗 Read more: How Much Did Trump Add to the National Debt Explained (Simply)
The Argument for Imperialism (And Its Flaws)
Beveridge was smart. He knew he had to win over the skeptics—the "Anti-Imperialists" who thought taking over islands was against everything the Declaration of Independence stood for.
His rebuttal was blunt.
He basically said that "consent of the governed" only applies to people who are "capable" of self-government. In his eyes, the people in the Philippines or Puerto Rico weren't ready. He compared them to children or "Indians" (Native Americans), arguing the U.S. had a duty to govern them for their own good. It’s a classic example of the "civilizing mission" rhetoric used by European powers like England and Germany, whom he explicitly told his audience to emulate.
But let's be real—it wasn't all about "civilizing."
The Money and the Markets
Beveridge was a pragmatist too. He looked at Cuba and saw 15 million acres of forest "unacquainted with the axe." He saw iron mines. He saw the Philippines as a "base at the door of all the East," a way to get American goods into China.
💡 You might also like: The Galveston Hurricane 1900 Orphanage Story Is More Tragic Than You Realized
- New Markets: The U.S. was producing more than it could consume.
- Resources: Wood, minerals, and sugar.
- Competition: He warned that if the U.S. didn't take these lands, Germany or Japan would.
This wasn't just a "march of the flag"; it was a march of the American dollar.
Why It Still Matters Today
You might think a speech from 1898 is just dusty trivia. But "The March of the Flag" set the stage for how the U.S. treats its territories even now.
Think about it. We still have Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. The legal logic Beveridge used—that the Constitution doesn’t necessarily "follow the flag"—was eventually backed up by the Supreme Court in the "Insular Cases." Those cases basically said that people in these territories don't have the same rights as people in the 50 states.
That 125-year-old speech is still living in our legal system.
The Pushback
Not everyone was buying what Beveridge was selling. Men like William Jennings Bryan and Mark Twain were horrified. Twain, in particular, was biting, suggesting the U.S. should just have a flag with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by a skull and crossbones.
📖 Related: Why the Air France Crash Toronto Miracle Still Changes How We Fly
They saw it as a betrayal of the American Revolution. How can you be a country founded on throwing off a King and then go and become a King to someone else?
The "March of the Flag" won the day, though. Beveridge got his Senate seat. The U.S. kept the Philippines. But it led to a brutal three-year war with Filipino revolutionaries that most Americans have completely forgotten about.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you want to understand this era better, don't just read summaries.
- Read the Primary Source: Look up the full text of the speech. Notice how many times he mentions "God" versus "Commerce." It’s an eye-opener.
- Look into the Insular Cases: If you're interested in law, see how Beveridge’s ideas became actual U.S. law.
- Check out the Anti-Imperialist League: Read the counter-arguments from 1898 to see that the "American mission" was never a consensus.
The "March of the Flag" wasn't just a speech; it was a pivot point. It turned a continental nation into a global one, for better or worse.
To dig deeper, start by researching the Philippine-American War. It’s the direct consequence of the ideas Beveridge championed that day in Indianapolis. You can find digitized archives of letters from soldiers at the time through the Library of Congress to get a "boots on the ground" perspective of what that "march" actually looked like.