War in the Philippines

Where are the Philippines?

Background ● The Philippines was a colony of Spain from 1571 to 1898 ● The Philippine Revolution, led by Andres Bonifacio, broke out on Aug. 30, 1896 ● Bonifacio is succeeded by Emilio Aguinaldo who led Filipinos in the Spanish American War ● The rebels attacked but failed to capture the Spanish powder depot and water reservoir in San Juan del Monte, a suburb of Manila, leading to uprisings in other places

Causes ● Filipinos wanted to be independent, hence the start of their revolution against Spain ● U.S. government wanted an overseas colony ● U.S. thought Filipinos were not capable of governing themselves o did not want them to have popular sovereignty

Teddy Roosevelt ● Assistant Secretary of the Navy at the start of the Spanish American War ● Encouraged invading the Philippines once the war broke out as the area’s rugged jungle terrain would provide an ideal training ground for naval and marine forces ● Roosevelt saw a major naval base in the Philippines as a critical strategic asset in light of Japan’s growing military might in the Pacific region

Battle of Manila Bay ● Began May 1, 1898 ● This was the 1st major battle of the Spanish- American War ● American forces planned to destroy Spanish forces in the Pacific ● Spaniards struggled to defend their Philippine outpost

US Infantry to Manila ● The U.S. infantry and naval reinforcements come into Manila, May 25, 1898 ● The U.S. armed forces assembled at the Presidio, or northern tip, of the San Francisco Peninsula, California. ● The Presidio served as home to several army headquarters and units in most of America’s military engagements in the Pacific

Commodore George Dewey ● Gave the command to open fire on the Spanish fleet at Manila, the Philippine capital ● Dewey’s victory allowed U.S. troops to land in the Philippines ● Dewy rose within the navy to become commander of the Asiatic Squadron in o Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt, Dewey prepared the Asiatic Squadron for future conflict

Emilio Aguinaldo ● In 1895 Aguinaldo took up with a secret society of revolutionaries headed by Andres Bonifacio ● Bonifacio was executed in 1897, Aguinaldo assumed total leadership of the revolution against Spain ● In 1898 he achieved independence of the Philippines from Spain and was elected to lead the new republic under the Malolos congress ● Aguinaldo declared Philippine Independence & established a republic after writing a Constitution passed by congress June 12th, 1898 ● Once the U.S. decided to annex the Philippines, Aguinaldo led Filipinos in a war against America in the Philippines

Treaty of Paris ● As covered when we looked at the fighting of the Spanish American War in Cuba, a cease fire was called in August ● Treaty signed December 10, 1898 ● Those present: o U.S. o Spain o French to help represent Spain o Where are the Filipinos ● U.S. and Spanish considered the $20 million dollars given for the Philippines compensation BUT… ● Filipinos thought this was bargaining away Philippine Independence

Is War Over? ● Americans believed they had reason to fear that leaving the Philippines to the designs of the imperial powers might exclude the United States from the Asia-Pacific trade altogether ● With this fear and other interests a debate ensues in America: o Annex the Philippines or leave it be?

Anti-Imperialist League Forms ● Anti-Imperialist League forms at this same time ● Quote from Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) o “You see? This is what happens. If we seize the Philippines to go and become an imperialist power, we’ll no longer have our freedoms.”

President McKinley’s Viewpoint Quote from McKinley: “That 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, and by God’s grace do the very best we could do by them.” -McKinley, 1899

Filipinos Rebel ● Filipinos reacted with outrage to the Treaty of Paris, which many Americans believed called for annexation of the Philippines ● Emilio Aguinaldo believed that the United States had promised independence ● In February 1899, the Filipinos, led by Aguinaldo, rose in revolt o eventually used guerilla warfare

Guerrilla War Phase ● Low on ammunition, Aguinaldo abandons conventional warfare ● Used tactics such as: o Take no prisoners o Burning villages o Concentration camps Philippine trench

Results of the War ● Spanish rule came to an end as a result of the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish American War ● U.S. military rule in the Philippines came to a conclusion in 1901 ● U.S. gained overseas colony, base for business and military in Asia-Pacific ● U.S. made efforts to Americanize the Philippines while they had control of them since the conclusion of the Philippine-American War ● Independence of Philippines was delayed though until 1946