John Lee Carroll's speech about imperialism in 1901

This speech was given at a meeting of the Sons of the Revolution in New York City in 1901. Carroll's reference to imperialism refers to the recently fought and quickly won Spanish American War in which the United States acquired a number of Spanish colonies, among them the Philippines, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Carroll disputes those who would say that such possessions were a violation of the anti-colonial history of the United States. When he refers to the country as being more united than ever before, he was likely thinking of the way in which the war of 1898 reunited North and South, to such an extent that Haper's old commander, General Fitzhugh Lee, commanded the 7th Army Corps.