What if William Jennings Bryan totally opposed the Peace Treaty with Spain

What if William Jennings Bryan totally opposed the Peace Treaty with Spain?

  • a) It passes unaltered

    Votes: 2 100.0%
  • b) It does not pass with any annexations

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • c) It passes with fewer annexations

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • d) The stand is helpful to Bryan politically

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • e) The stand is harmful to Bryan politically

    Votes: 1 50.0%
  • f) Other powers meddle more than OTL

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • g) Other powers meddle no more than OTL

    Votes: 1 50.0%

  • Total voters
    2

raharris1973

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Even though he did not oppose the war with Spain, William Jennings Bryan did oppose American annexations and colonialism.

However, in OTL he encouraged the passage of a peace treaty with Spain that involved both, promising to make an issue of anti-imperialism in the 1900 election.

Bryan's move was seen as a non-principled tactic for his own political advantage, so the colonial expansion ended up going forward, and Bryan was not able to parlay anti-imperialism into electoral victory in 1900.

What if he opposed any treaty involving territorial acquisition for the US consistently?

What does that stand achieve legally? What does it do for his next Presidential campaign, and what does it do to the geopolitics of the Caribbean and Pacific?
 
The Treaty was ratified by the Senate in the closing days of the 55th Congress (February 1899). The 56th Congress would be much more Republican.
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/one_item_and_teasers/partydiv.htm

Given the change from 44 Republicans in the 55th Congress to 53 (not counting Silver Republicans) in the 56th, it seems very likely that the Treaty would pass the 56th Congress if it couldn't pass in the 55th. "Moreover, if the pre-vote estimate had indicated the nonacceptance of the treaty, McKinley would certainly have withdrawn it from Senate consideration and awaited the arrival of the 56th Congress, which was due to convene on 4 March 1899." https://www.google.com/search?biw=1.....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..49.0.0....0.rSYdQQvyIic

It is true that even in the new Congress a unified front by all Democrats and Populists could defeat the treaty. But such unity was extremely unlikely--even if Bryan had come out against the Treaty. (Eight of the ten Democrats who in OTL voted for the Treaty announced they would do so before Bryan came out for ratification.)
 
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