Annexation In The Philippines

Annexation in the Philippines

Imperialism is a topic that has changed world History for hundreds of years. American imperialism was a controversial topic during the late 1800’s. One of the largest pieces of American imperialism was the Spanish American War. It was fought in 1898 and won by the Americans. Early in the war there were multiple battles in Cuba, but the more relevant battles took place in the Philippines. The Filipinos had been fighting against the Spanish for multiple years before America got involved. Once America entered, the war became lopsided and they put the FIlipinos ahead of the Spanish. The Americans fought alongside the Filipinos for a handful of battles, until Manila Bay, the final battle of the war. This was the

One of the reasons for annexing the Philippines was because the United States felt it necessary to Educate the Filipinos. William Jennings Bryan, a Democratic candidate stated, “(We) dare not educate them lest they learn to read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and mock them for their inconsistency”(Document D). If America was to educate them they would have to use the American school curriculum. This is not right because they would be robbed of their cultures and customs of schooling. They would not be given the opportunity to decide what the youth of their country is studying. He also claims America would be mocked for their inconsistency. The U.S had just helped them fight for their country to protect their cultures and customs. In the eyes of all other countries America would be looked at as hypocrites because they are now contradicting their own actions. The Anti-Imperialist League stated, “It seeks to extinguish the spirit of 1776 in those islands”(Doc A). When The U.S annexed the Philippines they stole their spirit of 1776, as Britain tried to do to the Americans. The hypocrisy of the matter was outrageous because America had faced the same type of problem when trying to gain their own independence. Now that The United States has the upper hand they feel as if inferior forces can be controlled, such as the Philippines. America stole the amazing

America was completely capable of trading with them without the annexation. William Jennings Bryan stated, “It is not necessary to own people in order to trade with them”(Document D). He says this in attempt to lure Americans away from wanting to Annex the Philippines. It is unclear as to why people think that it is crucial to own the Philippines in order to trade with them. If The U.S was to let them free to there own will, it would be more likely that the Philippines will trade with America than if they had possession of them. If America decided not to annex the Filipinos, America would have been able to peacefully trade with them rather than forcing them into trade. America trade with many other nations that are not U.S owned, it is questioned why many thought it was necessary to own the Philippines to own them. If The U.S could trade with them without going through the process of annexation, it would conserve a great deal of