James Madison: 1809-1817

Bank of the United States

The twenty-year charter of the first Bank of the United States was scheduled to expire in
1811, the second year of Madison's administration.
Madison failed in blocking the Bank in 1791, and waited for its charter to expire.
Secretary of the Treasury Gallatin wanted the bank rechartered, and when the War of
1812 broke out, he discovered how difficult it was to finance the war without the Bank.
Gallatin's successor as Treasury Secretary Alexander J. Dallas proposed a replacement in
1814, but Madison vetoed the bill in 1815. By late 1815, however, Madison asked
Congress for a new bank, which had strong support from the younger, nationalistic
republicans such as John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, as well as Federalist Daniel
Webster. Madison signed it into law in 1816 and appointed William Jones as its president.
War of 1812
British insults continued, especially the practice of using the Royal Navy to intercept
unarmed American merchant ships and "impress" (conscript) all sailors who might be
British subjects for service in the British navy. Madison's protests were ignored by the
British, so he helped the nationalist Republicans to stir up public opinion in the west and
south for war.
One argument by the so-called "war hawks" was that an American invasion of British
Canada would be easy and would provide a good bargaining chip. Madison carefully
prepared public opinion for what everyone at the time called "Mr. Madison's War", but
much less time and money was spent building up the army, navy, forts, and state militias.
After he persuaded Congress to declare war, Madison was reelected President over
DeWitt Clinton but by a smaller margin than in 1808 (see U.S. presidential election,
1812). Some historians in 2006 ranked Madison's failure to avoid war as the sixth worst
presidential mistake ever made.[24][25]
In the ensuing War of 1812, the British, Canadians, and First Nations[citation needed]
allies won numerous victories, including the capture of Detroit after the American general
there surrendered to a smaller force without a fight, and the occupation of Washington,
D.C. which forced Madison to flee the city and watch as the White House was set on
fire by British troops. The attack was in retaliation for a U.S. invasion of York, Upper
Canada (now Toronto, Ontario), in which U.S. forces twice occupied the city, burning the
Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada. The British also armed American Indians in the
West, most notably followers of Tecumseh who were defeat at the Battle of the Thames.
The Americans built warships on the Great Lakes faster than the British and Oliver
Hazard Perry defeated the British fleet to avert a major invasion of New York in
1814[citation needed]. At sea, the British blockaded the entire coastline, cutting off both
foreign trade and domestic trade between ports. Economic hardship was severe in New
England, but entrepreneurs built factories that soon became the basis of the industrial
revolution in America.
Madison faced formidable obstaclesa divided cabinet, a factious party, a recalcitrant
Congress, obstructionist governors, and incompetent generals, together with militia who
refused to fight outside their states. Most serious was lack of unified popular support.
There were serious threats of disunion from New England, which engaged in massive
smuggling to Canada and refused to provide financial support or soldiers.[26] However

Andrew Jackson in the South and William Henry Harrison in the West destroyed the main
Indian threats by 1813.
War-weariness led to the end of conflict after the apparent defeat of Napoleon in 1814.
Both the British and American will to continue were exhausted, the causes of the war
were forgotten, the Indian issue was resolved for the time being, and it was time for
peace. New England Federalists, however, set up a defeatist Hartford Convention that
discussed secession. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war in 1815. There were no territorial
gains on either side as both sides returned to status quo ante bellum, that is, the previous
boundaries. The Battle of New Orleans, in which Andrew Jackson defeated the British
regulars, was fought fifteen days after the treaty was signed but before the news of the
signing reached New Orleans.
Postwar
With peace finally established, the U.S. was swept by a sense that it had secured solid
independence from Britain. The Federalist Party collapsed and eventually disappeared
from politics, as an Era of Good Feeling emerged with a much lower level of political
fear and vituperation, although political contention certainly continued.
Although Madison had accepted the necessity of a Hamiltonian national bank, an
effective taxation system based on tariffs, a standing professional army and a strong navy,
he drew the line at internal improvements as advocated by his Treasury Secretary Albert
Gallatin. In his last act before leaving office, Madison vetoed on states' rights grounds a
bill for "internal improvements," including roads, bridges, and canals:

John Quincy Adams: 1825-1829

Modernisation, link to Roosevelt. American system of financial development.

During his term, Adams worked on developing the American System, consisting of a
high tariff to support internal improvements such as road-building, and a national bank to
encourage productive enterprise and form a national currency. In his first annual message
to Congress, Adams presented an ambitious program for modernization that included
roads, canals, a national university, an astronomical observatory, and other initiatives.
The support for his proposals was limited, even from his own party. His critics accused
him of unseemly arrogance because of his narrow victory. Most of his initiatives were
opposed in Congress by Jackson's supporters, who remained outraged over the 1824
election.
Generous policy towards Native Americans-at odds with Jackson. JACKSON
Another blow to Adams' presidency was his generous policy toward Native Americans.
Settlers on the frontier, who were constantly seeking to move westward, cried for a more
expansionist policy. When the federal government tried to assert authority on behalf of
the Cherokees, the governor of Georgia took up arms. In contrast, Andrew Jackson and
Martin Van Buren instigated the policy of Indian removal to the west (i.e. the Trail of
Tears).[20] Adams defended his domestic agenda as continuing Monroe's policies.
Chief designer of the Munroe Doctrine WAR and IR
Adams is regarded as one of the greatest diplomats in American history, and during his
tenure as Secretary of State he was the chief designer of the Monroe Doctrine.[21]
On July 4, 1821, he gave an address to Congress:
... But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the
freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.[22]
During his term as president, however, Adams achieved little of consequence in foreign
affairs. A reason for this was the opposition he faced in Congress, where his rivals
prevented him from succeeding.[21]
Among the few diplomatic achievements of his administration were treaties of reciprocity
with a number of nations, including Denmark, Mexico, the Hanseatic League, the
Scandinavian countries, Prussia and Austria. However, thanks to the successes of Adams'
diplomacy during his previous eight years as Secretary of State, most of the foreign
policy issues he would have faced had been resolved by the time he became President.

Ulysses S. Grant: 1869-1877

The second president from Illinois, Grant was elected the 18th President of the United
States in 1868, and was re-elected to the office in 1872. He served as President from
March 4, 1869, to March 4, 1877. In his re-election campaign, Grant benefited from the
loyal support of Harper's Weekly political cartoonist Thomas Nast.[75]
Although there were initial scandals in his first term, Grant remained popular in the
country and was re-elected a second term in 1872. His notable accomplishments as
President include the enforcement of Civil Rights for African Americans in the
Reconstruction states, the Treaty of Washington in 1871, and the Resumption of Specie
Act in 1875. Grant's reputation as President suffered from scandals caused by many
corrupt appointees and personal associates and for the ruined economy caused by the
Panic of 1873.

Domestic policies
Reconstruction NATIONHOOD, PRESERVATION
Grant presided over the last half of Reconstruction. In the late 1870s, he watched as the
Democrats (called Redeemers) took the control of every state away from his Republican
coalition. When urgent telegrams from state leaders begged for help to put down the
waves of violence by paramilitary groups surrounding elections, his Attorney General,
Edwards Pierrepont, replied that, "the whole public is tired of these annual autumnal
outbreaks in the South,"[76] saying that state militias should handle the problems, not the
Army.
He supported amnesty for former Confederates and signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 to
further this.[77] He favored a limited number of troops to be stationed in the South
sufficient numbers to protect Southern Freedmen, suppress the violent tactics of the
Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and prop up Republican governors, but not so many as to create
resentment in the general population. Grant was confronted by a Northern public tired of
Reconstruction in the former Confederate states, violent paramilitary organization attacks
in the late 1870s from the White League and the Red Shirts, and a factionalized
Republican Party.

Civil and human rights NATIONHOOD AND PRESERVATION

A distinguishing characteristic in the Grant Presidency was his concern with the plight
of African Americans and native Indian tribes, in addition to civil rights for all
Americans. Grant's 1868 campaign slogan, "Let us have peace," defined his motivation
and assured his success. As president for two terms, Grant made many advances in civil

and human rights. In 1869 and 1871, he signed bills promoting black voting rights and
prosecuting Klan leaders. He won passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave
freedmen the vote, and the Ku Klux Klan Act, which empowered the president "to arrest
and break up disguised night marauders."[78]
Grant continued to fight for black civil rights when he pressed for the former slaves to be
"possessed of the civil rights which citizenship should carry with it." However, by 1874 a
new wave of paramilitary organizations arose in the Deep South. The Red Shirts and
White League, that conducted insurgency in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina,
and Louisiana, operated openly and were better organized than the Ku Klux Klan had
been. They aimed to turn Republicans out of office, suppress the black vote, and disrupt
elections. In response to the renewed violent outbreaks against African Americans Grant
was the first President to sign a congressional civil rights act. The law was titled the Civil
Rights Act of 1875,[79] which entitled equal treatment in public accommodations and jury
selection.
Grant's attempts to provide justice to Native Americans marked a radical reversal of what
had long been the government's policy: "Wars of extermination... are demoralizing and
wicked," he nobly told Congress. The president lobbied, though not always successfully,
to preserve Native American lands from encroachment by the westward advance of
pioneers.[80]

Foreign policies
Santo Domingo
The Caribbean island of Haiti, was the source of bitter political discussion and
controversy during Grant's first term in office. Grant wanted to annex the island to
allow Freedmen, oppressed in the United States, to work, and to force Brazil to
abandon slavery. Senator Charles Sumner was opposed to annexation because it would
reduce the amount of autonomous nations run by Africans in the western hemisphere.
Also disputed was the unscrupulous annexation process under the supervision of Grant's
private secretary Orville E. Babcock. The annexation treaty was defeated by the Senate in
1871; however, it led to unending political enmity between Senator Sumner and Grant.[88]

Treaty of Washington

IR, BORDERS ergo NATIONHOOD

Historians have heralded the Treaty of Washington for settling the Alabama Claims
dispute between England and the United States by International Arbitration. In 1871,
Grants Secretary of State Hamilton Fish had orchestrated many of the events leading up
to the treaty. The main purpose of the arbitration treaty was to remedy the damages done
to American merchants by three Confederate war ships: CSS Florida, CSS Alabama, and
CSS Shenandoah built by or purchased from the British. These ships had inflicted
tremendous damage to U.S. merchant ships during the Civil War with the result that
relations between Britain and the United States was severely strained.[89]
Negotiations began in January 1871 when Britain sent Sir John Rose to America to meet
with Secretary Fish. A joint high commission was created on February 1871 in
Washington D.C., consisting of representatives from the United Kingdom and the United
States. The commission created a treaty where an international Tribunal would settle the
damage amounts and the British admitted regret, rather than fault, over the destructive
actions of the Confederate war cruisers. President Grant approved and on May 24, 1871,
the Senate ratified the Treaty of Washington.[89] At the end of arbitration, on September 9,
1871, the international Tribunal members awarded United States $15,500,000. Historian
Amos Elwood Corning noted that the Treaty of Washington and arbitration bequeathed
to the world a priceless legacy.[89]
In addition to the $15,500,000 arbitration award, the monumental treaty settled the
following disputes with the United Kingdom and Canada:

Ended immediate threat of war with the United Kingdom.

Settled border dispute between U.S. and Canada.
Settled disputes over fishing rights in the North Pacific.

The treaty triggered a movement for countries to seek alternatives to declaring war
through arbitration and the codification of international law. These principles would be
the motivating influences for further peace-keeping institutions such as the Hague
Conventions, the League of Nations, the World Court, and eventually the United Nations.
The renowned scholar in international law, John Bassett Moorein, hailed the Treaty of
Washington as "the greatest treaty of actual and immediate arbitration the world has ever
seen."[90]

Virginius incident DIPLOMACY AND IR/WAR

On October 31, 1873, an independent American steamer, Virginius, carrying war
materials and men to aid the Cuban insurrection was intercepted and held captive in
Santiago by a Spanish warship. Virginius was flying the United States flag and had an
American registry. 53 of the passengers and crew, eight being United States citizens, were
held prisoner and summarily were executed. The immediate impact of these events was
an outcry for war with Spain in the United States. Many prominent men such as William
M. Evarts, Henry Ward Beecher, and even Vice President Henry Wilson made
impassioned speeches to go to war with Spain.[91]
Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, although outraged over the incident, kept a cool
demeanor in the crisis. Upon investigating the incident Fish found out there was question
over whether Virginius had the right to bear the United States flag. Fish informed Daniel
Stickels, the U.S. Spanish ambassador, that reparations were demanded by Spain for this
act of "peculiar brutality". The Spanish Rupublic's President, Emilio Castelar, expressed
profound regret for the tragedy and was willing to make reparations through arbitration.
[91]

Fish finally met with the Spanish Ambassador to the United States, Seor Poly y
Bernabe, in Washington D.C. and negotiated reparations. With President Grant's approval
Spain was to surrender Virginius, make indemnity with the American slain surviving
families, and salute the American flag. Spain made good on the reparations with the
United States with the exception of saluting the American flag. U.S. Attorney General,
George H. Williams, said that saluting the American flag was not necessary since
Virginius, at the time of the incident, was not entitled to carry the flag or to have an
American registry.[91]

Grover Cleveland: 1885-1889 1893-1897

First term as president (18851889)

Soon after taking office, Cleveland was faced with the task of filling all the government
jobs for which the president had the power of appointment. These jobs were typically
filled under the spoils system, but Cleveland announced that he would not fire any
Republican who was doing his job well, and would not appoint anyone solely on the basis
of party service.[82] He also used his appointment powers to reduce the number of federal
employees, as many departments had become bloated with political time-servers.[83] Later
in his term, as his fellow Democrats chafed at being excluded from the spoils, Cleveland
began to replace more of the partisan Republican officeholders with Democrats.[84] While
some of his decisions were influenced by party concerns, more of Cleveland's
appointments were decided by merit alone than was the case in his predecessors'
administrations.[85]
Cleveland also reformed other parts of the government. In 1887 he signed an act creating
the Interstate Commerce Commission.[86] He and Secretary of the Navy William C.
Whitney undertook to modernize the navy and canceled construction contracts that had
resulted in inferior ships.[87] Cleveland angered railroad investors by ordering an
investigation of western lands they held by government grant.[88] Secretary of the Interior
Lucius Q.C. Lamar charged that the rights of way for this land must be returned to the
public because the railroads failed to extend their lines according to agreements.[88] The
lands were forfeited, resulting in the return of approximately 81,000,000 acres
(330,000 km2).[88]

Vetoes
I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe
that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of
individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the public service or
benefit. Federal aid in such cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part
of the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national character, while it prevents
the indulgence among our people of that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens
the bonds of a common brotherhood.
Cleveland's Veto of the Texas Seed Bill
February 16, 1887[89]

Cleveland faced a Republican Senate and often resorted to using his veto powers.[90] He
vetoed hundreds of private pension bills for American Civil War veterans, believing that
if their pensions requests had already been rejected by the Pensions Bureau, Congress
should not attempt to override that decision.[91] When Congress, pressured by the Grand
Army of the Republic, passed a bill granting pensions for disabilities not caused by
military service, Cleveland also vetoed that.[92] Cleveland used the veto far more often
than any president up to that time.[93] In 1887, Cleveland issued his most well-known
veto, that of the Texas Seed Bill.[94] After a drought had ruined crops in several Texas
counties, Congress appropriated $10,000 to purchase seed grain for farmers there.[94]
Cleveland vetoed the expenditure. In his veto message, he espoused a theory of limited

government (at right).

Silver
One of the most volatile issues of the 1880s was whether the currency should be backed
by gold and silver, or by gold alone.[95] The issue cut across party lines, with western
Republicans and southern Democrats joining together in the call for the free coinage of
silver, and both parties' representatives in the northeast holding firm for the gold standard.
[96]
Because silver was worth less than its legal equivalent in gold, taxpayers paid their
government bills in silver, while international creditors demanded payment in gold,
resulting in a depletion of the nation's gold supply.[96]
Cleveland and Treasury Secretary Daniel Manning stood firmly on the side of the gold
standard, and tried to reduce the amount of silver that the government was required to
coin under the Bland-Allison Act of 1878.[97] This angered Westerners and Southerners,
who advocated for cheap money to help their poorer constituents.[98] In reply, one of the
foremost silverites, Richard P. Bland, introduced a bill in 1886 that would require the
government to coin unlimited amounts of silver, inflating the then-deflating currency.[99]
While Bland's bill was defeated, so was a bill the administration favored that would
repeal any silver coinage requirement.[99] The result was a retention of the status quo, and
a postponement of the resolution of the free silver issue.[100]

Tariffs
"When we consider that the theory of our institutions guarantees to every citizen the full
enjoyment of all the fruits of his industry and enterprise, with only such deduction as
may be his share toward the careful and economical maintenance of the Government
which protects him, it is plain that the exaction of more than this is indefensible extortion
and a culpable betrayal of American fairness and justice ... The public Treasury, which
should only exist as a conduit conveying the people's tribute to its legitimate objects of
expenditure, becomes a hoarding place for money needlessly withdrawn from trade and
the people's use, thus crippling our national energies, suspending our country's
development, preventing investment in productive enterprise, threatening financial
disturbance, and inviting schemes of public plunder."
Cleveland's third annual message to Congress,
December 6, 1887.[101]

Another contentious financial issue at the time was the protective tariff. While it had not
been a central point in his campaign, Cleveland's opinion on the tariff was that of most
Democrats: that the tariff ought to be reduced.[102] Republicans generally favored a high
tariff to protect American industries.[102] American tariffs had been high since the Civil
War, and by the 1880s the tariff brought in so much revenue that the government was
running a surplus.[103]
In 1886, a bill to reduce the tariff was narrowly defeated in the House.[104] The tariff issue
was emphasized in the Congressional elections that year, and the forces of protectionism
increased their numbers in the Congress.[105] Nevertheless, Cleveland continued to

advocate tariff reform. As the surplus grew, Cleveland and the reformers called for a tariff
for revenue only.[106] His message to Congress in 1887 (quoted at left) pointed out the
injustice of taking more money from the people than the government needed to pay for its
operating expenses.[107] Republicans, as well as protectionist northern Democrats like
Samuel J. Randall, believed that without high tariffs American industries would fail, and
continued to fight reformers' efforts.[108] Roger Q. Mills, the chairman of the House
Committee on Ways and Means, proposed a bill that would reduce the tariff burden from
about 47% to about 40%.[109] After significant exertions by Cleveland and his allies, the
bill passed the House.[109] The Republican Senate, however, failed to come to agreement
with the Democratic House, and the bill died in the conference committee. Dispute over
the tariff would carry over into the 1888 presidential election.

Foreign policy, 18851889

Cleveland was a committed non-interventionist who had campaigned in opposition to
expansion and imperialism. He refused to promote the previous administration's
Nicaragua canal treaty, and generally was less of an expansionist in foreign relations.[110]
Cleveland's Secretary of State, Thomas F. Bayard, negotiated with Joseph Chamberlain of
the United Kingdom over fishing rights in the waters off Canada, and struck a
conciliatory note, despite the opposition of New England's Republican Senators.[111]
Cleveland also withdrew from Senate consideration the Berlin Conference treaty which
guaranteed an open door for U.S. interests in the Congo.[112]

Civil rights
Cleveland, like a growing number of Northerners (and nearly all white Southerners) saw
Reconstruction as a failed experiment, and was reluctant to use federal power to enforce
the 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed voting rights to African
Americans.[113] Cleveland initially appointed no black Americans to patronage jobs, but
did allow Frederick Douglass to continue in his post as recorder of deeds in Washington,
D.C.[113] When Douglass later resigned, Cleveland appointed another black man to replace
him.[113]
Although Cleveland had condemned the "outrages" against Chinese immigrants, he
believed that Chinese immigrants were unwilling to assimilate into white society.[114]
Secretary of State Bayard negotiated an extension to the Chinese Exclusion Act, and
Cleveland lobbied the Congress to pass the Scott Act, written by Congressman William
Lawrence Scott, which would prevent Chinese immigrants who left the United States
from returning.[115] The Scott Act easily passed both houses of Congress, and Cleveland
signed it into law on October 1, 1888.[115]
Cleveland viewed Native Americans as wards of the state, saying in his first inaugural
address that "[t]his guardianship involves, on our part, efforts for the improvement of
their condition and enforcement of their rights."[116] He encouraged the idea of cultural
assimilation, pushing for the passage of the Dawes Act, which provided for distribution
of Indian lands to individual members of tribes, rather than having them continued to be

held in trust for the tribes by the federal government.[116] While a conference of Native
leaders endorsed the act, in practice the majority of Native Americans disapproved of it.
[117]
Cleveland believed the Dawes Act would lift Native Americans out of poverty and
encourage their assimilation into white society, but its ultimate effect was to weaken the
tribal governments and allow individual Indians to sell land and keep the money.[116]

Second term as president (18931897)

Economic panic and the silver issue
Shortly after Cleveland's second term began, the Panic of 1893 struck the stock market,
and he soon faced an acute economic depression.[149] The panic was worsened by the
acute shortage of gold that resulted from the free coinage of silver, and Cleveland called
Congress into session early to deal with the problem.[150] The debate over the coinage was
as heated as ever, but the effects of the panic had driven more moderates to support
repealing the free coinage provisions of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act.[150] Even so, the
silverites rallied their following at a convention in Chicago, and the House of
Representatives debated for fifteen weeks before passing the repeal by a considerable
margin.[151] In the Senate, the repeal of free coinage was equally contentious, but
Cleveland convinced enough Democrats to stand by him that they, along with eastern
Republicans, formed a 4837 majority.[152] With the passage of the repeal, the Treasury's
gold reserves were restored to safe levels.[153] At the time the repeal seemed a minor
setback to silverites, but it marked the beginning of the end of silver as a basis for
American currency.[154]

Tariff reform
Having succeeded in reversing the Harrison administration's silver policy, Cleveland
sought next to reverse the effects of the McKinley tariff. What would become the WilsonGorman Tariff Act was introduced by West Virginian Representative William L. Wilson
in December 1893.[155] After lengthy debate, the bill passed the House by a considerable
margin.[156] The bill proposed moderate downward revisions in the tariff, especially on
raw materials.[157] The shortfall in revenue was to be made up by an income tax of two
percent on income above $4,000.[157]
The bill was next considered in the Senate, where opposition was stronger.[158] Many
Senators, led by Arthur Pue Gorman of Maryland, wanted more protection for their states'
industries than the Wilson bill allowed.[158] Others, such as Morgan and Hill, opposed
partly out of a personal enmity toward Cleveland.[158] By the time the bill left the Senate,
it had more than 600 amendments attached that nullified most of the reforms.[159] The
Sugar Trust in particular lobbied for changes that favored it at the expense of the
consumer.[160] Cleveland was unhappy with the result, and denounced the revised measure
as a disgraceful product of the control of the Senate by trusts and business interests.[161]
Even so, he believed it was an improvement over the McKinley tariff and allowed it to
become law without his signature.[162]

Labor unrest
The Panic of 1893 had damaged labor conditions across the United States, and the victory
of anti-silver legislation worsened the mood of western laborers.[164] A group of
workingmen led by Jacob S. Coxey began to march east toward Washington, D.C. to
protest Cleveland's policies.[164] This group, known as Coxey's Army, agitated in favor of
a national roads program to give jobs to workingmen, and a weakened currency to help
farmers pay their debts.[164] By the time they reached Washington, only a few hundred
remained and when they were arrested the next day for walking on the grass of the United
States Capitol, the group scattered.[164] Coxey's Army was never a threat to the
government, but it showed a growing dissatisfaction in the West with Eastern monetary
policies.[165]
The Pullman Strike had a significantly greater impact than Coxey's Army. A strike began
against the Pullman Company over low wages and twelve-hour workdays, and sympathy
strikes, encouraged by American Railway Union leader Eugene V. Debs, soon followed.
[166]
By June 1894, 125,000 railroad workers were on strike, paralyzing the nation's
commerce.[167] Because the railroads carried the mail, and because several of the affected
lines were in federal receivership, Cleveland believed a federal solution was appropriate.
[168]
Cleveland obtained an injunction in federal court and when the strikers refused to
obey it, he sent in federal troops to Chicago and other rail centers.[169] Leading
newspapers of both parties applauded Cleveland's actions, but the use of troops hardened
the attitude of organized labor toward his administration.[170]

[edit] Foreign policy, 18931897

"I suppose that right and justice should determine the path to be followed in treating this
subject. If national honesty is to be disregarded and a desire for territorial expansion or
dissatisfaction with a form of government not our own ought to regulate our conduct, I
have entirely misapprehended the mission and character of our government and the
behavior which the conscience of the people demands of their public servants."
Cleveland's message to Congress on the Hawaiian question, December 18, 1893.[171]

In January 1893, a group of Americans living in Hawai'i overthrew Queen Liliuokalani

and established a provisional government under Sanford Dole.[172] By February, the
Harrison administration had agreed with representatives of the new government on a
treaty of annexation and submitted it to the Senate for approval.[172] Five days after taking
office, Cleveland withdrew the treaty from the Senate and sent former Congressman
James Henderson Blount to Hawai'i to investigate the conditions there.[173]
In his first term, Cleveland had supported free trade with Hawai'i and accepted an
amendment that gave the United States a coaling and naval station in Pearl Harbor.[112]
Now, however, Cleveland agreed with Blount's report, which found the populace to be
opposed to annexation.[173] Liliuokalani refused to grant amnesty as a condition of her
reinstatement, saying that she would execute the current government in Honolulu, and
Dole's government refused to yield their position.[174] By December 1893, the matter was
still unresolved, and Cleveland referred the issue to Congress.[174] In his message to

Congress, Cleveland rejected the idea of annexation and encouraged the Congress to
continue the American tradition of non-intervention (see excerpt at right).[171] Many in
Congress, led by Senator John Tyler Morgan, favored annexation, and the report
Congress eventually issued favored neither annexation of Hawaii nor the use of American
force to restore the Hawaiian monarch.[175]
Closer to home, Cleveland adopted a broad interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine that did
not just simply forbid new European colonies but declared an American interest in any
matter within the hemisphere.[176] When Britain and Venezuela disagreed over the
boundary between the latter nation and British Guiana, Cleveland and Secretary of State
Richard Olney pressured Britain into agreeing to arbitration.[177] A tribunal convened in
Paris in 1898 to decide the matter, and issued its award in 1899.[178] The tribunal awarded
the bulk of the disputed territory to British Guiana.[179] By standing with a Latin American
nation against the encroachment of a colonial power, Cleveland improved relations with
the United States' southern neighbors, but the cordial manner in which the negotiations
were conducted also made for good relations with Britain.[180]