Colony,--or Free State? Dependence,--or Just Connection? Empire,--or Union?

The disputed status of Porto Rico and the Philippines after their acquisition in 1898 gives Alpheus Henry Snow his starting point. He examines the relationship between the American Union and its island territories through the principles of the Declaration of Independence. The volume pairs a political essay with an address on terminology delivered in 1906, asking how the language of colonies, free states and union shapes ideas about government.

Snow seeks a basis for authority that protects both individual rights and the political rights of communities. His discussion moves from the American Revolution to practical questions about tariffs, common defense and administrative tribunals. He argues that shared principles of justice can govern relationships among connected states. For readers interested in the history of American political thought, the essay offers a sustained attempt to reconcile territorial expansion with human equality and local self-government.