Philippine Insurrection

During the late 1800's and early 1900's, America was working toward becoming an imperialistic nation. With such a change, government policies must evolve in order to adapt to its country's needs. However, there is a point in which new government policies can be detrimental to those involved. While America's government's changing role was certainly necessary in expanding the country, there were numerous instances in which the government became too imperialistically rapacious.

Scholars typically cite imperialism as a primary cause of World War I, and though controversial, America was no stranger to the practice. In 1898, the United States won the Spanish American War, resulting in the Paris Treaty. America gained several formerly Spanish colonies from their victory, and through the Treaty of Paris, they annexed the Philippines. Filipino insurgents, who had fought for the Philippines ' independence, rebelled against the annexation. This led to the Philippine-American War. However, not all Americans supported the annexation. In fact, the Paris Treaty passed by only one vote, and anti-imperialists such as Mark Twain contended with pro-imperialists like Theodore Roosevelt. Despite the debate, the United States should not have annexed the Philippines, because the decision was unnecessary, hypocritical, and tyrannical.

American imperialism has undergone varying transitions through its developmental stage in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, and it was interpreted to be many things, including controversial to the original colonial beliefs. The United States rapidly took up the sport of becoming involved with foreign nations, and it was clear that through influence on these nations, the United States would grow in both territorial size and power in the global sense. America helped many Polynesian, Latin American, and Asian nations during this period, and most of the conversed issues was trade and foreign relations. The desire of territorial expansion was also in response to the blossoming ideal of Social Darwinism, where expansionism was justified if the United States was aiding struggling nations with their foreign and domestic policies. Although justified, Social Darwinism was an unethical approach to world power, and many perceived this step in American Imperialism as corrupt. The Panama Canal also held a large part in building American Imperialism. Creating this canal would determine which nation dominated the sea, and the United States was more than eager to pounce on the opportunity to increase their global influence. The United States dipped its hand into many global issues during and following the Gilded Age, and these hold the honor of molding American Imperialism, but its change over time was held up to debate by scholars in the Gilded age and by contemporary

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century’s the United States (U.S.) pursued an aggressive policy of expansionism extending its political and economic influence around the world. What is imperialism? Why this policy was adopted and how it was rationalized. The major events that took place and which countries of the world the U.S. became involved due to this policy. Finally, we will see, not everyone supported foreign affairs by the U.S. and in 1899 they founded the American Anti-Imperialist League. I will discuss their view of Imperialism and discuss the outcome of the foreign policy going into the twentieth century.

The Philippine American war is another seductive example of imperialism casted by the United States. The U.S. did not go to war to liberate the Filipinos from Spanish ruling; but rather to acquire naval coaling stations. While the citizens of the Philippines were glad to rid themselves of the tyranny of Spanish rule, they found that there was a great cost for the liberation that the U.S. was allegedly offering.

After the civil war, United States took a turn that led them to solidify as the world power. From the late 1800s, as the US began to collect power through Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines, debate arose among historians about American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority.

According to the United States, democracy and Christianity were principal elements of a successful society. During the end of the eighteen-hundreds and throughout the beginning of the nineteen-hundreds, America tried to colonize and reform less fortunate nations. Following a social-Darwinist point of view, Americans took their “God-given” superiority to those who were incapable of establishing their own self-government (Doc. H). After much debate, American foreign policy towards the Philippines and Cuba was that it is our duty to rule them until they could rule themselves. We pledged to save the indigenous people from their savage, bloody, and corrupt ways of life. President McKinley’s foreign policy towards the Philippines stated that “they would soon have anarchy and misrule…there was nothing left to do but take them all, educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize them” (Doc. A).

The Spanish-American War in 1898 was a point where American’s demonstrated their power and true colors. America wanted to free the Cubans from Spain, but it was not purely out of the interest of the Cubans. America was in it for the Philippines. Spain had control of the Philippines, and the Philippines were located in close proximity to China. The issue here was that the Philippines was not interested in having the U.S. around and rebelled against the American forces (47) .The U.S. wanted to capitalize on the economic struggles in China and the Philippines was

The Spanish-American War began as a humanitarian effort to free Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp and ended with the United States itself acquiring territory overseas and fighting a dirty guerrilla war with Filipino nationalists who, like the Cubans, sought independence. Behind the contradiction stood the twin pillars of American foreign policy: The Monroe Doctrine made Spain’s presence in Cuba unacceptable, and U.S. determination to keep open the door to Asia made the Philippines attractive as a stepping-stone to China.

century, the outcome of the Spanish-American war divided Americans into those for and against the annexation of the Philippines. The masses supporting it saw the islands as a strong foothold for the country in Chinese markets, compared to the minority which believed the United States was founded to escape oppression and should not lead to doing the same upon others. America becoming an imperial power shifted the world stage, and opened opportunity in trade on the other side of the world. Annexing the Philippines changed how other countries saw the United States, but more importantly it changed how Americans feel about their country; citizens rallied around the flag after defeating Spain because surpassing the empire’s navy gave them something positive to think of after all the turmoil over the past hundred years (and still at the time over working/living conditions and inequality between races/genders). It gave the public a reason to be patriotic. If the United States did not annex the Philippines when it did, it would not have had the ability to become the strongest government in the world and increase exports throughout Asia, but at what cost? American leaders decided it would be a good power move, but did

American imperialism were in the western hemisphere and the pacific with Spanish war and the creation of colonial empire by American policies during late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries leading up to world war II imperialistic and forceful acquiring many territories over the span of a short period. By the end of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. was occupying four of Spain’s former colonies Imperialists saw this as an opportunity. And they believed the U.S. should

As a result, varying views began to emerge regarding imperialism and how to govern the new territories. Some individuals deemed imperialism disdainful and oppressive, while others saw it as the nation’s obligation and beneficial to all involved. Great debate arose, especially surrounding the Philippines, which remained restless under America’s rule. Although Americans appeared to be completely divided over imperialism, most individuals, regardless of their position, considered the effects of imperialism on the Filipino people and the American nation as a whole.

American Imperialism has been a part of United States history ever since the American Revolution. Imperialism is the practice by which large, powerful nations seek to expand and maintain control or influence on a weaker nation. Throughout the years, America has had a tendency to take over other people's land. America had its first taste of Imperialistic nature back when Columbus came to America almost five hundred years ago. He fought the inhabitants with no respect for their former way of life, took their land, and proceeded to enslave many of these Native Americans. The impact of the 1820's and 1830's on American Imperialism is undeniable. Although the military power was not fully there during this time period, their ideals and foreign

“Part of what is wrong with the view of American imperialism is that it is antithetical to our interests. We are better off when people are governing themselves” (Paul Wolfowitz). This powerful quote by American political scientist, Paul Wolfowitz, portrays a notion that numerous people felt about the United States’ ambition to take over other countries. In 1898, the United States went to war with Spain fighting to free Spanish colonies of the harsh treatment the received from their Spanish masters. This war was known as the Spanish-American War. When the United States won the war against Spain, the U.S. gained control over Spain’s old colonies such as Cuba and the Philippines (Background Essay). In October 1898, Spain and the U.S. covend to write a peace treaty, in which the United States made the decision to annex, or take over, the Philippine Islands. While the treaty was passed with a two-thirds majority in the Senate, the Filipinos and ample Americans disagreed with the decision to annex the Philippines (Background Essay). The U.S. should not have annexed the Philippines because the action was not consensual, it was not a necessity, and it was hypocritical.

The Philippine Insurrection of 1899-1902 was a little different than most insurgencies. Using Mao’s 3 phases of an insurgency, which I will break down below.