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?
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?