THE AMERICAN

COLONIZATION
IN THE
PHILIPPINES
American Period (1898-1946)
RULED BY SPAIN

 The Philippines were a Spanish colony for nearly three

hundred and thirty years, and the locals had been crying for
independence for decades. Finally independence was granted
to the colony in 1898. Expecting support from other countries
such as the United States, the Philippines were celebrating
their newly found independence.
 The Cuban revolution
against the Spaniards
broke out in 1895. The
United States supported
the Cubans because the
latter’s liberation from
Spain would benefit
their trading interests.

 On February 15, 1898,

the warship Maine of the
Americans was blown up
in the Port of Havana.

 On May 1, 1898, the fleet

of Commodore George
Dewey destroyed the
Spanish fleet led by
Admiral Montojo.
  On May 17, 1898, Emilio
Aguinaldo left Hong Kong
aboard the US ship
McCulloch.

• Although he was assured by Dewey that

the US had no plans to colonize the
Philippines, unknown to him, US forged
an agreement with General Fermin
Jaudines where:
– A mock battle between the Spaniards and
the Americans would be conducted.
– The Spaniards would surrender to the
American troops.
– The Filipinos would not be allowed to
participate in the Spaniards’ surrender.
MOCK BATTLE
IN MANILA
 It began on August
13, 1897 at around
9:30 am by the
bombing of Olympia
in Fort San Antonio
Abad.

 After an hour,
General Greene’s
forces attacked from
Malate. General
Arthur MacArthur
troops advanced
from Singalong.

 By 11:20AM, the
 On December 10, 1898, the Treaty of
Paris was signed. It stated that Spain
would turn over the Philippines to the
United States in exchange of
$20,000,000.

 US would recognize the rights of

Spaniards to sell their goods in the
Philippines in the next ten years.

 This anti-Filipino treaty proved that US

imperialists had never recognized the
Republic of the Philippines.
ARRIVAL OF THE
AMERICANS

 The Americans
arrived in the
Philippines on
May 1, 1898 –
11 days after
the declaration
of the Spanish-
American War.
ARRIVAL OF THE
AMERICANS
 Industrialization led America to wage
war against Spain
 America’s victory brought out the
issue: colonize the Philippines or not?
 US decision to colonize the Philippines
was legitimized by:
the decision of Pres. McKinley to colonize
the Philippines after seeking the Lord
through prayer.
the ratification by the US Senate of the
Treaty of Paris
WHAT TO DO WITH
PHILIPPINES?
 This is a political cartoon that
was published in the U.S. in
1898. The cartoon shows
President McKinley taking
the savage (The Philippines)
and debating how to handle
the country. “There was
nothing left for us to do but
to take them all and to
educate the Filipinos, and
uplift, and civilize, and
Christianize them,” said
President McKinley. The U.S.
took the Philippines as their
THE PHILIPPINE
INDEPENDENCE
 On July 12, 1898, Philippine independence
was declared in Kawit, Cavite.

 It was the first time, the Philippine flag

made in Hongkong by Mrs. Marcela Agoncillo
was unfurled, while the “Marcha Nacional
Filipina”, a composition of Juan Felipe, was
playing.

 The Declaration of Independence was

written and read by Ambrosio Rianzares
Bautista.

 Aguinaldo established a republic that was

not sovereign, but a mere “protectorate”,
under the protection of United States.
Revolutionary
Government
 On December 21,
1898, President
McKinley made his
benevolent
assimilation
proclamation.
 He announced that
the US would enforce
its sovereignty over
the Filipinos.
 He also ordered his
military chief in the
Philippines to extend
US rule in the
country through the
 On January 4, 1899, General Elwell
Otis attempted to hide the real
contents of the “Benevolent
Assimilation” by publishing a watered
down version of the proclamation.

 But General Miller, another American

Official, published the proclamation’s
original version.

 When the revolutionary government

had taken hold of the proclamation,
they immediately condemned it.
 Antonio Luna, editor of La
Independencia, led in assailing the
proclamation.

 He called it “a plot to temporarily

silence the people before launching
and unleashing all the hateful
characteristics of governance as
employed by the Spaniards in the
Philippines.”

 On January 5, 1899, Aguinaldo replied

to the proclamation.
THE OUTBREAK OF
THE FILIPINO-
AMERICAN WAR
 The flames of war were
ignited on the eve of
February 4, 1899.
 Private Willie Grayson’s
group patrolled at San
Juan.
 Grayson fired at a
Filipino soldier,
prompting an exchange
of fires between two
groups.
 Gen. MacArthur
ordered to or assault
the Filipino troops.
 Aguinaldo to Otis: “I
had not ordered the
Filipino soldiers to fire”
THE FILIPINO-
AMERICAN WAR
 Pres. McKinley, issuing his benevolent
assimilation policy towards Philippines,
declared it under Military Control
 Filipinos rose up and fought hard in
spite of their scanty arms
 Before the war ended 200,000 Filipino
lives taken.
 4,000 American soldiers, 20,000
Filipino soldiers, 200,000 Filipino
civilians dead
 The Anti-Sedition Law prohibiting
display of Philippine flag, among
others, was passed .
WAR TACTICS

 Filipino leader Emilio Aguinaldo began guerrilla war tactics

against the American, hiding in bamboo thickets and bushes;
both armies commenced war through guerrilla tactics. By the
end of 1902 seven thousand Americans had been killed and
more than two hundred thousand Filipinos had died.
 In order to capture not just Aguinaldo, but the
whole land, the Americans made an extra effort
to use wealthy Filipino traitors.

 Finally, Aguinaldo fell into the hands of

Americans, but the other generals continued the
struggles.

 US imperialism only managed to colonize the

Philippines after thorough and merciless wars.

 130,000 US troops ( seven thousand were killed

and wounded) vs 7 M Filipinos (more than
50,000 were killed).

 They used several methods of cruelty: massacre,

rape, zoning, torture and concentration camps.
UNITED STATES’ OBJECTIVE IN
COLONIZING THE PHILIPPINES
 The Americans needed new market for
their products.

 They were also on the lookout for new

sources of cheap raw materials.

 The US hoped to use the Philippines as its

base in its drive to control the entire
Pacific Ocean and other countries.

 However, President McKinley and

President Wilson made the Filipino believe
that the Americans intention was to teach
the latter about democracy and
governance.
ECONOMIC POLICIES
•With the Americans’ direct control of the
country, they invested directly in:
1) Increasing raw materials production
2) Trading in light manufactures
3) Infrastructure development

• To facilitate transportation and

communication, which were necessary in
trading, the colonial government and the
American firms built and profited from
infrastructure projects.

• They utilized loans from foreign banks

which resulted to Philippines incurring huge
deficits since the cost of import products was
more than that of the country’s earnings from
POLITICAL
POLICIES
The Civil Government
 Even as the American troops were still fighting the
Filipino revolutionaries, Pres. McKinley had sent two
Philippine Commissions tasked to establish a civil
government. The first failed to achieve anything
significant, but the second was more successful.

 The Philippine Commission composed mostly of

American civilians and military personnel, performed
the executive and legislative functions.

 Dr. T.H. Pardo Tavera, Felipe Buencamino and Dr.

Pedro Paterno among others founded the first
political party in the country, the Partido Liberal,
which called for collaboration with the U.S. In 1901,
the Americans installed some of the party’s members
in the Philippine Commission.

 The Philippine Commission passed the Sedition Act,

 The Philippine Assembly was established in
1902 and served as the Lower Chamber. It took
on the roles of facilitating tax collection and
allocating government revenues.

 In 1916, the U. S. Congress passed the Jones

Law, also known as the Law on Philippine
Autonomy. It was the first formal and official
American commitment to grant independence
to the Philippines, “ as soon as a stable
government can be established herein.”

 In 1901, the U.S. colonialists formed the

Philippine Constabulary which was headed by
American officials until 1917. It was used by
U.S. colonialists to violently crush the peoples’
Cultural Policies
INDEPENDENCE MISSIONS
HARE-HAWES-CUTTING ACT AND
TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE ACT ON
PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE
 The ninth Mission known as
“OSROX” (Osmeña and Roxas)
brought home the Hare-Hawes-
Cutting Act.

 After that, Quezon, in his solo

Independence Mission, asked for
another law that will grant
freedom to the Filipinos. He
successfully brought home the
Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934.

 The Tydings- McDuffie Act

allowed for a ten-year transition
under a Philippine
Commonwealth in preparing for
the granting of freedom on July
4, 1946.
 Pursuant to the new Act, and after American
Governor General Frank Murphy set the
elections for the delegates to the convention in
1934, the Philippine Legislature called for a
convention to draft a Constitution.
 After six months, the Convention finished and
agreed on the Philippine Constitution in
February 1935.
 First election - September 1935
 Quezon and Osmeῆa joined forces
against the Nationalist Socialist
Party and Republican Party = victory
 Commonwealth Government was
inaugurated in Manila
 Sec. George Dern (Secretary of War)
read the proclamation under the
Jones Law:
Ending the US government in the
Phil.
Start of Phil. Commonwealth
EDUCATION
 They adapted college or higher
level education in the colony
and taught them better ways to
survive
 Education became a right of all
people. In 1901, 600 volunteer
American teachers, the
“Thomasites”, came to
the Philippines..
 Public education became a right
of all people
GOVERNMENT

 The Americans trained the Filipinos in

the “democratic” form of political
governance.
 Establishment of one national
government throughout the whole
archipelago
 Establishment of the Philippine
presidency
NATION
 The English language was extensively
propagated in the country, making the
Philippines today the third largest English-
speaking nation in the whole world.

 Public health was promoted, leading to the

wiping out of epidemics of cholera, small
pox and bubonic plague.
NATION
 Major improvements were made in transportation and
communication facilities. Roads, bridges and railway
systems were constructed; telephone, radio and wireless
telegraph services were introduced; air transportation was
also introduced.

 Biblical Christianity was introduced. In August 1898,

immediately upon the arrival of American forces in Manila,
two Protestant services were conducted at Intramuros led
by American chaplains. Missionaries began to arrive
mainly during 1899-1905 (Presbyterians, Methodists,
Episcopalians, Alliance, etc). Other evangelical missions
also came during the 1920’s and 1930’s (Assemblies of
God, Four-Square, Fundamental Baptists, etc.).
THE AMERICAN TARES
 American military conquest &
suppressive laws subverted growth
of nationalism
 Filipino consensual democracy was
further subverted with introduction
of a large middle class in the cities
 Corruption in top rung of
government was covered up by
existence of this middle class
 The public school system induced
Filipinos to regard American culture
as “superior”
 Filipinos, in becoming avid
consumers of American products,