The "anti-imperialists" were branded as traitors by "pro-expansionists" and Filipinos were depicted as savages in order to de-legitimize their resistance to American occupation. Opposition to the war was led by the Anti-Imperialist League whose members included many prominent Americans including presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, suffragist Jane Addams, labor leader Samuel Gompers, African American activist Ida Wells Barnett, and writer Mark Twain. What was really behind the annexation was the need for overseas markets and raw materials for American industry. President McKinley would later justify the war by claiming that God had counseled him to take the Philippines in order to civilize and Christianize the Filipinos. Misled by false reports, the Senate passed (by one vote) a treaty to annex the Philippines. military to precipitate a war as soon as an incident was provoked. The first shots were actually fired by an American soldier as Filipinos crossed a bridge, and historians would later discover a "prearranged plan" by the U.S. On February 4, 1899, the United States went to war based on a false claim that Filipinos began attacking American soldiers in Manila. 41 Chicago Chronicle cartoon in January 1900 showed President McKinley preventing Uncle Sam from reading the "Forbidden Book" about the "true history of the war in the Philippines." This book reproduces many of the cartoons that appeared in the American press about a war (1899-1914) with the Philippines that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos and 5,000 Americans. THE FORBIDDEN BOOK: The Philippine-American War in Political Cartoonsīy Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel, and Helen Toribio When Spain discovered Katipunan they killed many of its members including Rizal.The Philippine-American War (1899-1914) in Political CartoonsĪ colloquium and book-launching with Professor Enrique de la Cruz, Department of Asian American Studies, California State University, Northridge He advocated for the Philippines to be an autonomous colony, and in this way represented the ideal person for America's purposes. Rizal was famous for his writing and non-violence. The group was founded on the day that Rizal, an educated ilustrado and national hero, was banished. Aguinaldo was a member of Katipunan a religio- revolutionary sect founded by Andres Bonifacio. General Emilio Aguinaldo, a Chinese mestizo of wealth and status, was the Filipino military leader and President. The ilustrados, hispanicized mestizos and indios remained in the upper classes, with more political power.
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The lower and middle classes were breaking out of their isolation from years of Spanish colonial policies. This change fed the revolutionary energy of oppressed people in the Philippines. After decades of oppression there was a brief period of relief, where a liberal government took over. Miller argues the seeds of rebellion had been sprouting in the later part of the 19th century in the Philippines. Many people from the states viewed the conquest as an expansion of civilization, and saw their involvement as necessary in bettering the world. As the United States entered the Philippines the government, military and public became more invested, and slowly people began advocating keeping the Philippines in U.S. Many other historians argue that imperialism was a short lived mistake in American …show more content… became involved in the Philippines because of their conflict with Spain.
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Other historians look to the war as a part of American imperialism linked to its capitalist and racist nature.
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America's involvement in the Philippines is sometimes remembered as an act to protect Filipino's from Spain, and to "teach' them American democracy. Miller provides both a military history as well as a demonstration of the way America lied and forgot its history, justifying war and colonization as a step for greater good. Miller provides an account of the American-Philippines war from 1899-1903, revealing aspects of United States imperialism that are often forgotten. Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903