First—­That the people of the island of Cuba are, and of right ought to be, free and independent.

Second—­That it is the duty of the United States to demand, and the government of the United States does hereby demand, that the government of Spain at once relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba and Cuban waters.

Third—­That the President of the United States be, and hereby is, directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the several States to such an extent as may be necessary to carry these resolutions into effect.

Fourth—­That the United States hereby disclaims any disposition or intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control over said island, except for the pacification thereof, and asserts its determination when that is accomplished to leave the government and control of the island to its people.

The Spanish government was deluded by the belief that in the event of war our country would not be able to present a united front, and that sectional animosities would weaken our strength.  The action of Congress from the time of the first rumors of war to the end of the session snowed how little ground there was for this belief.  The representatives of the people from all sections of our broad land gave President McKinley loyal support in every undertaking, and the South vied with the North, the East with the West, in expressions of devotion to our nation and our flag.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

President McKINLEY acts.

The Message to Congress—­Loss of American Trade—­Terrible Increase in the Death Rate—­American Aid for the Starving—­The President’s Proposition to Spain—­Grounds for Intervention—­The Destruction of the Maine—­The Addenda.

With the press and public of the entire country at a fever heat of indignation, and the evident determination on the part of a large majority of the members of the Congress of the United States to bring matters to a crisis, it was evident to all that the time for action had arrived.

The President yielded to the popular demand, and on April 11 he sent to Congress the following message: 

To the Congress of the United States: 

Obedient to that precept of the Constitution which commands the President to give from time to time to the Congress information of the state of the Union, and to recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient, it becomes my duty now to address your body with regard to the grave crisis that has arisen in the relations of the United States to Spain by reason of the warfare that for more than three years has raged in the neighboring island of Cuba.  I do so because of the intimate connection of the Cuban question with the state of our own Union, and the grave relation the course of which it is now incumbent upon the nation to adopt, must needs bear to the traditional policy of our Government if it is to accord with the precepts laid down by the founders of the Republic and religiously observed by succeeding administrations to the present day.