1. Grover Cleveland2. 22nd and 24th President, Governor of New York, Vice President of the Anti-

Imperialist League3. Opposed to annexation

I, Grover Cleveland, am against the annexation of the Philippines. I oppose

annexation on economic and moral grounds. Economically, controlling the Philippines

would cost millions of dollars to improve roads, sanitation, education and public health.

Morally, I do not believe that we should control a nation who asks of us nothing but

freedom, as is the American tradition. The annexation is inconsistent with the Teller

Amendment, which opposes the annexation of Cuba and other Spanish colonies.

Filipinos are fighting Americans in the Philippines. This shows me that the Filipinos do

not want to be under American rule. And who are we to violate “the consent of the

governed”, when that is the same thing we fought for before the American Revolution.

The people of the Philippines should be aided in the establishment of a government of

their own, and when this is accomplished, our interference in their domestic rule should

cease. For these reasons, I vote against the annexation of the Philippines because I

believe that the annexation is not justified.