Imperialism In The United States

1059 Words3 Pages

In 1889 America colonize the Philippines because of Imperialism. After the colonization of the Philippines the Filipinos could come and work in the United States because they had passports that allowed them. The Filipinos then work in agriculture, Fishery and service Industry, however when they are in the mainland and technically they were not aliens because of Philippines is U.S. territory, the Filipinos weren’t exempted to racism. In 1930’s signs that says “Positively no Filipinos allowed” can be seen in stores, in the United States. The signs shows an example how Filipinos were racially discriminated against. Filipinos were racially discriminated against because they’re not white and pro-imperialism animators created cartoons that depicts …show more content…

By being shown as uneducated people, the Filipinos were then also seen as uncivilized people. The American people seen the Filipinos as “Diminutive black savages”. Among the endless racial cartoons there was one that was most shocking and was used as the cover of “THE FORBIDDEN BOOK”, it was when the Filipino; the naked savage boy, is being cleanse in the water of American civilization. Throughout the portrayals of the Filipinos being uncivilized, the American people began to see Filipinos as animals. In the “FORBIDDEN BOOK” it states that “When Filipinos were not being portrayed as inferior humans, they were seen being depicted as lower forms of animals such as snakes, dogs, or mosquitoes” (pg.83). One illustration in the book has Filipinos shown as monkeys. The pictures show a Filipino in a circus with rope around his neck and being trained by Roosevelt, while training other “Animals”. On another illustration Uncle Sam as barber with a civilization and education scissors and the Filipino being the next customer. Furthermore these stereotypes were familiar to Americans because they did the same to the African Americans. The African American stereotypes were were re-applied to the Filipinos. “Illustrators depicted the African American as “a wild beast” and magazines and popular advertisements portrayed blacks as buffoons. These racist stereotypes …show more content…

The stereotype affected the Filipinos in a harsh way, it lowered their self-esteem and people now think they’re just objects to be used, Because of the cartoons the pro-expansion artist creates; the citizens in America now think that it is right to colonization of the Philippines is right. They dehumanize of the Filipino in the public eye is their number one strategy. In the Book “Homebound,” it says “Both official and popular discourse racialized Filipinos as less than human, portraying them as savages, rapists, uncivilized beings, and even as dogs and monkeys”(pg.51). The Filipinos experience hostility in the mainland because of this stereotypes. President Roosevelt in 1901 described Filipinos as savages, uncivilized and unholy people. According to the book “Home Bound,” “The inclusion of the Filipinos has been possible, even desirable, only when it is coupled the exploitation of their bodies, land and resource” (pg.46). The Filipinos were Colonized by America because for their resources and for manual labor. The Americans tried to justify their means of colonizing other countries by saying they are in a “divine” mission and their mission is to educate and civilize other countries like Cuba, Hawaii and Philippines. The Filipinos now in the mainland were politically, economically and culturally excluded in the United

More about Imperialism In The United States

Open Document