Anti-Imperialist League, formed in 1899 by prominent citizens such as Andrew Carnegie and William James, held the belief that American Imperialism went against the spirit of those that fought the Revolutionary War and participated in the creation of the Declaration of Independence (Halsall, 1997). Specifically, they asserted that the American government's actions in places such as Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico represented a hostile attitude toward liberty and step in the direction of militarism (Halsall, 1997). Moreover, they argued, the American Government derived its power from the consent of the governed, and imperialism denied man's natural right to either govern himself or choose to be governed (Halsall, 1997). Instead, it promoted a form of despotism (Halsall, 1997). They maintained that, through imperialistic policies, the United States was practicing truth-suppressing censorship and the deliberation of war, and they called for an immediate end to the United States' presence in the...
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