033 - The Last American Colony

For forty years, The Philippines had been part of America – a landholding that the Americans captured from Spain during the Spanish-American War in 1898. However, to many people of the Philippines, known as Filipinos, they didn’t want to be under anyone’s rule, not the Spanish, not the Americans, not anyone.

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In the early 1890s, many Filipinos wanted independence from Spain. Filipino rebels sought assistance from the Emperor of Japan, who offered monetary and military aid to the Filipinos. However, many other countries, including Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States were also eager to help the Philippines, if only for their own selfish reasons.

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Eventually, the combined fleets defeated the Spanish, which resulted in the signing of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which gave control of the Philippines to the United States. The Americans started right where the Spanish left off, assuming control of police functions and government offices. Soon, fighting broke out and the Philippine-American War began. It lasted for three years, with the Americans emerging victorious on July 4^th, 1902.

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As Filipinos begged for their independence, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had been Secretary of Navy during the Philippine-American War and succeeded President McKinley as President, upheld some of McKinley’s promises, but failed to grant full independence to the Filipinos.

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The struggle for true independence was a hard one, with different American Presidents having different attitudes towards the Philippines. In 1902, a democratically elected Philippine Congress was formed. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson allowed for a complete Filipino-elected Congress, but the Philippines still held little individual powers., with the U.S. retaining a “Governor-General” to the Philippines.

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It was the great Depression and the Sugar Industry’s ties to the Philippines that allowed the Philippines to move to complete freedom. In 1935, the Philippines elected its own President, Manuel Quezon.. However, the treaty signed between America and the Philippines only allowed for complete independence after an 11-year period, to be granted on July 4^th, 1946. Ironically, that timetable was almost perfect for all parties involved.

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