Filipinos
had been fighting the Spanish when the Americans defeated
them in Cuba and Puerto Rico. On December 21, 1898, President
William Mckinley announced his decision to keep the Philippines
as an American colonial possession in the Benevolent
Assimilation Proclamation.
The
United States negotiated the surrender of the Philippines
for a payment of $20 million dollars in the Treaty
of Paris. However the treaty had to be ratified
by the United States Congress.
The
Filipinos did not recognize any American right of possession.
They expected to receive their independence just as other
former Spanish colonies (including Cuba) had done. They had
become suspicious of the Americans when the Filipino forces
were kept out of Manila when it fell. The Filipino envoy was
not allowed to present the their wishes at the peace conference.
Their suspicions were confirmed when they heard of the treaty
provisions. They were outraged that the United States had
"purchased" the Philippines from Spain (see Aguinaldo's
Manifesto). War between the Filipinos and
the Americans was the result.
In
the United States public opinion was divided over the annexation
of the Philippines. Many felt it was important to keep the
Philippines so that America might "civilize" them.
Others argued that imperialism was inconsistent with the American
system of government and Americans' fundamental belief in
self-government.
An
English author and poet, Rudyard Kipling urged America to
play the imperialism game. His famous "The
White Man's Burden," often
called the "Anthem of Imperialism," appeared in
McClure's Magazine in 1899, and was written to appeal to America
keep the Philippines (more on Kipling
and the Poem). The imperialists prevailed
in the end and the treaty was ratified.
One
of the most famous anti-imperialists was Mark Twain. He adamantly
oppeeeeeeeeeeef;'/IOOOmkosed the Philippine War and became
President of the Anti-Imperialist League until his death in
1910. He commented frequently on his opposition to the annexation
of the Philippines (See Mark
Twain and Imperialism). Some of his writings
on imperialism are not very well known, because his executors
suppressed some of his more controversial social and political
writings after his death. His most famous essay satirizing
the war in the Philippines was To
the Person Sitting in Darkness.
Spain
surrendered the island, but the Filipinos did not. They didn't
want to be "civilized" and fought back. It took
three years for America to win the Philippine-American war. It
cost the Americans 10,000 casualties and $600 million. 16,000
soldiers were killed, and about 200,000 civilians died of
pestilence, disease, and accident.
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