Project Gutenberg 2005-10-14 Public domain in the USA. 105 Snow, Alpheus Henry 1859 1920 "Colony,"--or "Free State"? "Dependence,"--or "Just Connection"? "Empire,"--or "Union"? Produced by Digital & Multimedia Center, Michigan State University Libraries, Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Sankar Viswanathan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Colony, or Free State? Dependence, or Just Connection? Empire, or Union?" by Alpheus H. Snow is a political essay written in the early 20th century that examines the philosophical foundations of the relationship between the United States and its annexed territories following the Spanish-American War. The work analyzes the implications of American governance over regions like Puerto Rico and the Philippines, spotlighting the tension between ideals of self-governance and the reality of colonial administration. This inquiry encourages readers to reconsider the terms used to describe such relationships, advocating for concepts like "free state" and "just connection" over more imperialistic language. The opening of the essay sets the stage for a nuanced discussion regarding the political dynamics that emerged from America's colonial expansion in the late 19th century. It highlights the differing views of the Republican and Democratic parties concerning governance and imperialism, and emphasizes the legacy of the American Revolution's philosophical ideals. Snow presents the Declaration of Independence as a critical text for understanding America's entitlement to self-determination and equality, framing his discussion around the necessity of clarifying the relationship between the American Union and its distant territories. His examination of terminology and philosophical interpretations of governance promises to provoke thoughtful reflection on the inherent principles guiding American democracy. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 27.2 (College graduate level). Very difficult to read. en United States -- Colonial question E660 Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: History - American Category: Politics 185127 2025-07-07T08:59:50.693234 text/html 183688 2020-12-12T17:54:12 text/html 167510 2025-07-07T08:59:57.109221 application/epub+zip 169443 2025-07-07T08:59:54.221216 application/epub+zip 120381 2025-07-07T08:59:53.002204 application/epub+zip 402770 2025-07-07T08:59:59.204176 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 389012 2025-07-07T08:59:56.311172 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 151620 2022-09-08T08:02:50.932393 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 175005 2025-07-07T08:59:50.395222 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 175395 2020-12-12T17:54:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19553 2025-07-07T08:59:59.324154 application/rdf+xml 25906 2025-07-07T08:59:53.493203 image/jpeg 4590 2025-07-07T08:59:53.246214 image/jpeg 56212 2020-12-12T17:54:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 54093 2020-12-12T17:54:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 163780 2025-07-07T08:59:50.706232 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia