By the blessings of heaven I mean to live and die, please God, in the faith of my mother.

The American flag has not been planted on foreign soil to acquire more territory but for humanity's sake.

Unlike any other nation, here the people rule, and their will is the supreme law. It is sometimes sneeringly said by those who do not like free government, that here we count heads. True, heads are counted, but brains also . . .

Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, happiness, and peace to all our neighbors, and like blessings to all the peoples and powers of the earth

I went down on my knees and prayed to Almighty God for light and guidance and one night late it came to me this way. We could not leave (the Philippines) to themselves-they were unfit for self-government-and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was. There was nothing left for us to do but take them all and educate the Filipinos, and uplift and Christianize them.

That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.

The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation.