France in 1857 to cooperate with them in an expedition to Tientsin, he replied that, although the objects sought to be gained by the United States were the same as those entertained by the allies, the executive branch of the government was not the war-making power, and that military expeditions into Chinese territory could not be undertaken without the authority of Congress.[1] Doubtless that body would have been consulted by the President had it been in session when the crisis came in 1900; but the emergency was great, and if the government of the United States was to participate in the relief of its minister and citizens besieged at Peking, no time was to be lost. Duty, interest, and convenience called for the immediate transfer to China of a portion of the army then in the Philippines. The President acted with commendable promptness, and the American forces were enabled to bear an honorable part in the campaign. The circumstances which called for the action of 1900 were quite different from those attending the expedition of 1857. In the latter case it was a deliberate act of war against the Chinese government. In 1900 the American forces were sent to China to protect American citizens and their interests in extreme peril, at a time when the authority of the Chinese government was suspended and unable to afford them protection. There are many such precedents in American history, though none calling for such a display of military force. The approval which the President received from the people was an evidence that the situation justified his conduct.
- ↑ Supra, p. 232.
