1.

Discuss briefly the objectives/motives of the Americans in coming to the

Philippines.

Answer:

In an effort to become a global imperial and economic powerhouse,

the United States political leaders colonized the Philippines due to its
strategic location in the Pacific Ocean. In an era where imperialism was
strictly a European affair, European economics flourished. This was
mainly due to its nations imperial success, which allowed for easy
access to foreign lands for trade. As the United States itself simply
existed as a result of imperial efforts, its leaders recognized that also
becoming a global imperial presence would be essential to its
economic success. After beginning its quest with the formation of
the Monroe Doctrine and the purchases of Hawaii and Alaska, the
United States looked to colonize outside of North America. An easy
victory came for the United States in the Spanish- Cuban- American
War, and soon US leaders were faced with the decision of what to
do with the island of the Philippines. It was then for economic reasons
that the United States paid Spain, twenty million dollars for rights to the
colony, which was important to American businesspeople and military
leaders because of its strategic position in the South China Sea (B and
Z 747). The United States jumped at the opportunity to claim the
Philippines. Political leaders felt that the island would serve as a prime
port for trade to China as well as other Asian nations. They then
justified their reason for colonization as economic, in that imports and
exports from China had the potential to bring much wealth to the
States. As President McKinley put it, Thus...duty and interest alike,
duty of the highest kind and interest of the highest and best kind,
impose upon us the retention of the Philippines, the development
of the islands, and the expansion of our Eastern commerce. (Digital
History, Using New Technologies to Enhance. President McKinley also
justifies the US claim to the Philippines as an eagerness to expand and
enhance its Eastern commerce. Therefore, a major reason for United
States imperializing the Philippines was its strategic position that
could push America forward in its journey of becoming a global
economic and imperial power. In fact, America successfully utilized
the Philippines. Not only was it useful as a port and coal
replenishment station, but it also, as planned, benefitted the US
economically through trade with China. Soon, the United States
reached its goal and, emerged as a major imperial and colonial
 power (B and Z 747), and continued to seize the economic benefits
presented by the Philippines. Furthermore, recognizing its economic
and imperial success through the Philippines, the United States,
proceeded to claim almost all of the Pacific islands (B and Z 746).
Finally, American leaders clearly showed interest in using the
Philippines for its strategic location in the South Pacific; this interest
was a major contributor to the reason for its acquisition of the
island, and economic benefit.

The Americans needed new market for their products.

The US hoped to use the Philippines as its base in its drive to control the
entire Pacific Ocean and other countries.

2. What are the promises of the American to the Filipino people? Explain each.

Answer:

As history, would tell us, America essentially deceived and lied its way
into occupying the Philippines. With promises of independence and
sovereignty, the Americans gained the cooperation of the Filipinos who
were yearning to be free from Spain.

The declaration of a Philippine Republic should not have come as a

shock to the Americans. No American military commander or politician
had formally promised the Filipinos independence after the end of
fighting, but this is not the impression that motivated Emilio Aguinaldo
and his men. Statements made by several of the participants in these
events suggest that by supporting the armed resistance of Filipinos to
the Spanish, the United States was de facto guaranteeing the Filipinos
their independence. For example, American Consul Wildman in Hong
Kong wrote at the time, "the United States undertook this war [against
Spain] for the sole purpose of relieving the Cubans from the cruelties
under which they were suffering and not for the love of conquests or
the hope of gain. They are actuated by precisely the same feelings for
the Filipinos." Admiral Dewey emphasized that during the liberation of
the islands the Filipinos had cooperated directly with every American
request, as if they were working with an ally and not a ruler. To quote
the admiral, "Up to the time the army came he (i.e. Aguinaldo) did
everything I requested. He was most obedient; whatever I told him to
 do he did. I saw him almost daily." Finally, as General T.M. Anderson,
commander of U.S. forces in the Philippines, later concluded, "Whether
Admiral Dewey and Consuls Pratt (of Singapore), Wildman (Hong Kong)
and Williams (Manila) did or did not give Aguinaldo assurances that a
Filipino government would be recognized, the Filipinos certainly thought
so, probably inferring this from their acts rather than from their
statements."

3. How did the Filipino appreciate or accepted the performance of the

Americans in the Philippines in terms of the following:

Answer:

Government Administration (Political)

The 1902 Philippine Organic Act was a constitution for the Insular
Government, as the U.S. civil administration was known. This was a form
of territorial government that reported to the Bureau of Insular Affairs.
The act provided for a Governor-General appointed by the U.S.
president and an elected lower house, the Philippine Assembly. It also
disestablished the Catholic Church as the state religion. The United
States government, in an effort to resolve the status of the friars,
negotiated with the Vatican. The church agreed to sell the friars' estates
and promised gradual substitution of Filipino and other non-Spanish
priests for the friars. It refused, however, to withdraw the religious orders
from the islands immediately, partly to avoid offending Spain. In 1904
the administration bought for $7.2 million the major part of the friars'
holdings, amounting to some 166,000 hectares (410,000 acres), of which
one-half was in the vicinity of Manila. The land was eventually resold to
Filipinos, some of them tenants but the majority of them estate owners.

o Democracy - Democracy is a form of government in which all

eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect
their lives.
o Executive
o Legislative
o Judiciary
 Social Justice

The formal system of law mirrors that of the United States. A police force,
which has been part of the army since 1991, and a system of trials,
appeals, and prisons are the components of the apparatus for dealing
with crime. Theft is the most common crime. Because the Philippines has
a cash economy, thieves and pick-pockets can easily gain access to
thousands of pesos. Petty thieves are unlikely to be apprehended unless
a theft is discovered immediately. Another common crime is murder,
which often is committed under the influence of alcohol. Guns are
readily available. Incest is punished severely if the victim is younger than
fifteen years old. Capital punishment by lethal injection was restored
during the Ramos administration. Six executions of men convicted of
incest have taken place since 1998. Illicit drugs are found throughout
the archipelago but are more common in the capital area and the
tourist centers. Marijuana and hashish are exported.

Education

o Public Schools were opened up.

o First teachers were called Thomasites.
o Medium of instruction used was English.
o Schools Established:
o University of the Philippines
o Philippine Normal College
o Other Agricultural School
o The Monroe Commission on Philippine Education was created in
1925 with the aim of reporting on the effectiveness of the
education in the Philippines during the period of U.S. annexation.
It was headed by Paul Monroe, who at the time was the Director
of the International Institute of Teachers College, Columbia
University, and it was composed by a total of 23 education
professionals, mostly from the U.S. and some from the Philippines.
During 1925 the Commission visited schools all throughout the
Philippines, interviewing a total of 32,000 pupils and 1,077
teachers. The commission found that in the 24 years since the U.S.
education system had been established, 530,000 Filipinos had
completed elementary school, 160,000 intermediate school, and
15,500 high school.
o The Commission declared that although Filipino students were on
the same level as their American counterparts in subjects like
 Math or Science, they lagged far behind in English-language
related subjects. George Counts, a Yale professor and a member
of the Commission wrote on 1925 in The Elementary School
Journal that "Half of the children were outside the reach of
schools. Pupil performance was generally low in subjects that
relied on English, although the achievement in Math and Science
was at par with the average performance of American school
children..." Counts also described the Filipino children of the 1920s
as handicapped because not only were they trying to learn new
concepts in a foreign language but they were also being forced
to do so from the point of view of a different culture, due to the
fact that they were using materials originally designed for pupils
in the United States.

Agrarian

Land reform in the Philippines has long been a contentious issue

rooted in the Philippines's Spanish Colonial Period. Some efforts began
during the American Colonial Period with renewed efforts during the
Commonwealth, following independence, during Martial Law and
especially following the People Power Revolution in 1986. The current
law, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, was passed
following the revolution and recently extended until 2014.

The United States of America took possession of the Philippines

following the SpanishAmerican War in 1898 and after putting down the
subsequent rebellion in the PhilippineAmerican War. The Second
Philippine Commission, the Taft Commission, viewed economic
development as one of its top three goals. In 1901 93% of the islands'
land area was held by the government and William Howard
Taft, Governor-General of the Philippines, argued for a liberal policy
so that a good portion could be sold off to American investors. Instead,
the United States Congress, influenced by agricultural interests that did
not want competition from the Philippines, in the 1902 Land Act, set a
limit of 16 hectares of land to be sold or leased to American individuals
and 1,024 hectares to American corporations. This and a downturn in
the investment environment discouraged the foreign-owned
plantations common in British Malaya, the Dutch East Indies,
and French Indochina.
Further the U.S. Federal Government faced the problem of much
of the private land being owned by the Roman Catholic Church and
controlled by Spanish clerics. The American governmentofficially
 secular, hostile to continued Spanish control of much of the land of the
now-American colony, and long hostile to Catholicsnegotiated a
settlement with the Church handing over its land.
The 1902 Philippine Organic Act was a constitution for the Insular
Government, as the U.S. civil administration was known. This act, among
other actions, disestablished the Catholic Church as the state religion.
The United States government, in an effort to resolve the status of the
friars, negotiated with the Vatican. The church agreed to sell the friars'
estates and promised gradual substitution of Filipino and other non-
Spanish priests for the friars. It refused, however, to withdraw the religious
orders from the islands immediately, partly to avoid offending Spain. In
1904 the administration bought for $7.2 million the major part of the friars'
holdings, amounting to some 166,000 hectares (410,000 acres), of which
one-half was in the vicinity of Manila. The land was eventually resold to
Filipinos, some of them tenants but the majority of them estate owners.

Trade and Industry

Metropolitan Manila is the primary manufacturing area, with 10 percent

of the population living there. Manila and the adjacent ports are the
best equipped to ship manufactured goods. Manufacturing plants
produce electrical and electronic components, chemicals, clothing,
and machinery. The provinces produce processed foods, textiles,
tobacco products, and construction materials. Manufacturing in the
home continues to be common in remote areas.

Rice, bananas, cashews, pineapple, mangoes, and coconut products

are the agricultural products exported to neighboring countries.
Exported manufactured products include electronic equipment,
machinery, and clothing. The United States, members of the European
Union, and Japan are the major trading partners. Imports consists of
consumer goods and fuel. The country has mineral and petroleum
reserves that have not been developed because of the mountainous
terrain and a lack of funding.
Transportation of products is difficult since the highway system beyond
metropolitan Manila consists of two-lane roads that are under constant
repair and sometimes are washed out by typhoons. Interisland shipping
costs add to the expense of manufacturing. Congress, governmental
agencies, and the financial community are attempting to find solutions
to these problems. The rate of road construction is accelerating and a
light rail system is planned. Filipino membership in the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional trade organization, is an
 important factor in the development of trade policies.

Health

o Filipinos learned the value of cleanliness, proper hygiene and

healthy practices.

o Hospitals, clinics and health centers were established including

public hospitals for lepers.

o The American media, including The Manila Times, blamed the

outbreak of epidemics on the poor Filipinos for their unsanitary
habits and surroundings, their lack of education, and their belief
in superstitions. The newspaper had then recommended that
during a cholera outbreak, Filipino servants should not stay in the
same quarters as their American employers and that a massive
campaign be waged urging the natives to clean their nipa
shacks and dirty surroundings to save Manila and the Americans
living in the city.