William McKinley

It is our duty so to treat them that our flag may be no less beloved in the mountains of Luzon and the fertile zones of Mindanao and Negros than it is at home, that there as here it shall be the revered symbol of liberty, enlightenment…

Our obligation as guardian was not lightly assumed; it must not be otherwise than honestly fulfilled, aiming first of all to benefit those who have come under our fostering care.

The fortune of war has thrown upon this nation an unsought trust which should be unselfishly discharged, and devolved upon this Government a moral as well as material responsibility toward these millions whom we have freed from an…

I would impress upon the Congress that whatever legislation may be enacted in respect to the Philippine Islands should be along these generous lines.

As high and sacred an obligation rests upon the Government of the United States to give protection for property and life, civil and religious freedom, and wise, firm, and unselfish guidance in the paths of peace and prosperity to all the…

Changes made should be mainly in procedure, and in the criminal laws to secure speedy and impartial trials, and at the same time effective administration and respect for individual rights.

Especial attention should be at once given to affording full opportunity to all the people of the islands to acquire the use of the English language.

In view of the great number of languages spoken by the different tribes, it is especially important to the prosperity of the islands that a common medium of communication may be established, and it is obviously desirable that this medium…

In doing this they should regard as of first importance the extension of a system of primary education which shall be free to all, and which shall tend to fit the people for the duties of citizenship and for the ordinary avocations of a…

As soon as practicable a system for ascertaining the merit and fitness of candidates for civil office should be put in force.

Restraint upon such combinations as are injurious, and which are within Federal jurisdiction, should be promptly applied by the Congress.

It will increase the transportation facilities and reduce freight charges on the vast volume of products brought from the interior to the seaboard for export, and will strengthen an arm of the national defense upon which the founders of…

Besides realizing a proper national aspiration this will mean the establishment and healthy growth along all our coasts of a distinctive national industry, expanding the field for the profitable employment of labor and capital.

The remarkable growth of our steel industries, the progress of shipbuilding for the domestic trade, and our steadily maintained expenditures for the Navy have created an opportunity to place the United States in the first rank of…

Foreign ships should carry the least, not the greatest, part of American trade.

I specially urge that there be included in whatever reduction is made the legacy tax on bequests for public uses of a literary, educational, or charitable character.

This reduction should be secured by the remission of those taxes which experience has shown to be the most burdensome to the industries of the people.

The party in power is committed to such legislation as will better make the currency responsive to the varying needs of business at all seasons and in all sections.

This Government desires to preserve the most just and amicable commercial relations with all foreign countries, unmoved by the industrial rivalries necessarily developed in the expansion of international trade.

The policy of reciprocity so manifestly rests upon the principles of international equity and has been so repeatedly approved by the people of the United States that there ought to be no hesitation in either branch of the Congress in…

I feel that we should not suffer to pass any opportunity to reaffirm the cordial ties that existed between us and Spain from the time of our earliest independence, and to enhance the mutual benefits of that commercial intercourse which is…

I commend to the early attention of the Senate the Convention with Great Britain to facilitate the construction of such a canal and to remove any objection which might arise out of the Convention commonly called the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty.

This I most urgently reiterate and again invite the attention of my countrymen to this reproach upon our civilization.

The preservation of public order, the right of discussion, the integrity of courts, and the orderly administration of justice must continue forever the rock of safety upon which our Government securely rests.

In my inaugural address I referred to the general subject of lynching in these words: Lynching must not be tolerated in a great and civilized country like the United States; courts, not mobs, must execute the penalties of the law.