Name:____________________

Period:____________________
March of the Flag
Introduction: Albert Beveridge gave this speech in 1898 while he was campaigning to become a senator for
Indiana. The speech helped him win the election and made him one of the leading advocates of American
expansion.
Instructions: Read the Following excerpts and take notes on what Beveridge is talking about on the right.
Answer any questions in order to observe and break it down.
Observing the Document
What kind of primary source is
this? (ie. Letter, Speech,
Newspaper etc…)

Who wrote it?

Who read/ heard it?

When is it from?

Where is it from?

Making sense of the primary source.

Excerpt 1 What is he talking about?
"Fellow citizens, —it is a noble land that God has given us; a land
that can feed and clothe the world;… It is a mighty people that he
has planted on this soil… It is a glorious history our God has
bestowed upon his chosen people;…a history of soldiers who
carried the flag across the blazing deserts and through the ranks
of hostile mountains, even to the gates of sunset; a history of a
multiplying people who overran a continent in half a century…

William McKinley is continuing the policy that Jefferson

began…Hawaii is ours; Puerto Rico is to be ours; at the prayer of
her people Cuba finally will be ours; in the islands of the East,
even to the gates of Asia, coaling stations are to be ours at the
very least; the flag of a liberal government is to float over the
Philippines, and may it be the banner that Taylor unfurled in
Texas and Fremont carried to the coast.

Write a one sentence summary

explaining what Beveridge thinks
the US should do and how it is
justified?

Source: Excerpt from Albert J. Beveridge’s Senate campaign speech, September 16, 1898.
 Name:____________________
Period:____________________
Excerpt 2 What is he talking about?
The Opposition tells us that we ought not to govern a people
without their consent. I answer, The rule of liberty that all just
government derives its authority from the consent of the
governed, applies only to those who are capable of
self-government. I answer, We govern the Indians without their
consent, we govern our territories without their consent, we
govern our children without their consent….
They ask us how we will govern these new possessions. I
answer:… If England can govern foreign lands, so can America.
If Germany can govern foreign lands, so can America. If they can
supervise protectorates, so can America. . . .

Write a one sentence

summary explaining
excerpt 2.

Excerpt 3 What is he talking about?

What does all this mean for every one of us?… It means that the
resources and the commerce of these immensely rich dominions
will be increased… In Cuba, alone, there are 15,000,000 acres of
forest unacquainted with the axe. There are exhaustless mines of
iron… There are millions of acres yet unexplored… It means new
employment and better wages for every laboring man in the
Union…

Write a one sentence

summary explaining
excerpt 3.

Putting all it together

Give three pieces of evidence that
explain Beveridge’s argument.
(You can also directly highlight 1-2
sentences that best show his
argument for each excerpt)

What was happening at the time of

this speech?

What did you find out from this

source that you might not learn
anywhere else?

Source: Excerpt from Albert J. Beveridge’s Senate campaign speech, September 16, 1898.