U.S.

military government
On August 14, 1898, two days after the capture of Manila, the U.S. established a military
government in the Philippines, with General Merritt acting as military governor.During military
rule (1898–1902), the U.S. military commander governed the Philippines under the authority of
the U.S. president as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces. After the
appointment of a civil Governor-General, the procedure developed that as parts of the country
were pacified and placed firmly under American control, responsibility for the area would be
passed to the civilian.
General Merritt was succeeded by General Otis as military governor, who in turn was succeeded
by General MacArthur. Major General Adna Chaffee was the final military governor. The
position of military governor was abolished in July 1902, after which the civil Governor-General
became the sole executive authority in the Philippines.
Under the military government, an American-style school system was introduced, initially with
soldiers as teachers; civil and criminal courts were reestablished, including a supreme court; and
local governments were established in towns and provinces. The first local election was
conducted by General Harold W. Lawton on May 7, 1899, in Commis

First Philippine Commission

President McKinley had appointed a five-person group headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman, president
of Cornell University, on January 20, 1899, to investigate conditions in the islands and make
recommendations.
1899 political cartoon by Winsor McCay. Uncle Sam (representing the United States), gets entangled with
rope around a tree labelled "Imperialism" while trying to subdue a bucking colt or mule labeled
"Philippines" while a figure representing Spain walks off over the horizon carrying a bag labeled
"$20,000,000".

The three civilian members of the Philippine Commission arrived in Manila on March 4, 1899, a
month after the Battle of Manila which had begun armed conflict between U.S. and revolutionary
Filipino forces. The commission published a proclamation containing assurances that the U.S.
"... is anxious to establish in the Philippine Islands an enlightened system of government under
which the Philippine people may enjoy the largest measure of home rule and the amplest
liberty."
After meetings in April with revolutionary representatives, the commission requested
authorization from McKinley to offer a specific plan. McKinley authorized an offer of a
government consisting of "a Governor-General appointed by the President; cabinet appointed by
the Governor-General; [and] a general advisory council elected by the people." The
Revolutionary Congress voted unanimously to cease fighting and accept peace and, on May 8,
the revolutionary cabinet headed by Apolinario Mabini was replaced by a new "peace" cabinet
headed by Pedro Paterno. At this point, General Antonio Lunaarrested Paterno and most of his
cabinet, returning Mabini and his cabinet to power. After this, the commission concluded that "...
The Filipinos are wholly unprepared for independence ... there being no Philippine nation, but
only a collection of different peoples."
In the report that they issued to the president the following year, the commissioners
acknowledged Filipino aspirations for independence; they declared, however, that the Philippines
was not ready for it.
On November 2, 1899, The commission issued a preliminary report containing the
following statement:

Should our power by any fatality be withdrawn, the commission believe that
the government of the Philippines would speedily lapse into anarchy, which
would excuse, if it did not necessitate, the intervention of other powers and
the eventual division of the islands among them. Only through American
occupation, therefore, is the idea of a free, self-governing, and united
Philippine commonwealth at all conceivable. And the indispensable need from
the Filipino point of view of maintaining American sovereignty over the
archipelago is recognized by all intelligent Filipinos and even by those
insurgents who desire an American protectorate. The latter, it is true, would
take the revenues and leave us the responsibilities. Nevertheless, they
recognize the indubitable fact that the Filipinos cannot stand alone. Thus the
welfare of the Filipinos coincides with the dictates of national honour in
forbidding our abandonment of the archipelago. We cannot from any point of
view escape the responsibilities of government which our sovereignty entails;
and the commission is strongly persuaded that the performance of our
national duty will prove the greatest blessing to the peoples of the Philippine
Islands.
Specific recommendations included the establishment of civilian government as rapidly as
possible (the American chief executive in the islands at that time was the military governor),
including establishment of a bicameral legislature, autonomous governments on the provincial
and municipal levels, and a system of free public elementary schools.

Second Philippine Commission

The Second Philippine Commission (the Taft Commission), appointed by McKinley on March
16, 1900, and headed by William Howard Taft, was granted legislative as well as limited
executive powers. On September 1, the Taft Commission began to exercise legislative
functions. Between September 1900 and August 1902, it issued 499 laws, established a judicial
system, including a supreme court, drew up a legal code, and organized a civil service. The 1901
municipal code provided for popularly elected presidents, vice presidents, and councilors to
serve on municipal boards. The municipal board members were responsible for collecting taxes,
maintaining municipal properties, and undertaking necessary construction projects; they also
elected provincial governors.

Establishment of civil government

Governor General William Howard Taft addressing the audience at the Philippine Assembly in
the Manila Grand Opera House
On March 3, 1901 the U.S. Congress passed the Army Appropriation Act containing (along with
the Platt Amendment on Cuba) the Spooner Amendment which provided the President with
legislative authority to establish of a civil government in the Philippines. Up until this time, the
President been administering the Philippines by virtue of his war powers. On July 1, 1901, civil
government was inaugurated with William H. Taft as the Civil Governor. Later, on February 3,
1903, the U.S. Congress would change the title of Civil Governor to Governor-General.
A highly centralized public school system was installed in 1901, using English as the medium of
instruction. This created a heavy shortage of teachers, and the Philippine Commission authorized
the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring to the Philippines 600 teachers from the U.S.A. —
the so-called Thomasites. Free primary instruction that trained the people for the duties of
citizenship and avocation was enforced by the Taft Commission per instructions of President
McKinley. Also, the Catholic Church was disestablished, and a considerable amount of church
land was purchased and redistributed