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

start of the conflict between America and the Filipinos. This lead to the eventual annexation of the Philippines. Many Americans supported the annexation, but numerous citizens opposed it. Annexing the Philippines was wrong because The U.S betrayed them, it was hypocritical, and it was not necessary to own them for trade.
It was wrong to betray the Filipinos after America fought alongside them to defeat spain. Rather than end in harmony and solace, The United States initiated further conflict. Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan states, “we had full knowledge that they were fighting for their own independence”(Document D). He confesses that the the Americans were fully aware that the Filipinos had no intention of becoming a U.S territory. They wanted independence from any superior countries. They could have regained the power to self-govern and to control their own nation. Instead America betrayed them by not allowing them to accomplish this and forcing them back into control of a superior country. They have already been controlled by Spain for numerous years, and now they have to withstand the forces of the United States. Their goal of rebelling against spain was to regain independence for themselves. Emilio Aguinaldo a FIlipino, general wanted to march in and fight alongside the Americans in the final battle of the war, Manilla Bay. Instead the Americans let him down and fought the Spanish on their own, which was the first clue that The Unites States would annex them. America was betraying them because they should have realised the issues and removed themselves from the situation.
When annexing the Philippines, America was looked at as being hypocritical.

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

feeling the they had when they gained independence, which is wrong because the Philippines had no opportunity to experience this feeling. The level of hypocrisy during this time period was outrageous and completely ignorant.
It was not necessary to annex the Philippines for trade improvement.

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

money.
The annexation of the Philippines was a controversial topic that americans argued for many years. It was wrong to annex them because Americans were betraying them, it was hypocritical and was not needed to for trade. America was turning on those whom they had just fought alongside and betrayed them. This would be similar to France helping the Americans fight against the british in the revolutionary war, and then taking them over after the war was over . The hypocrisy of the matter is extreme because America was in the same situation themselves and know exactly how the Philippines felt but disregarded it completely. The Annexation was completely unnecessary for trade with the Philippines. The annexation of the Philippines was incorrect and if this annexation did not happen, many other world powers may have followed in America’s footsteps and stopped Imperialism.