Philippines

             The war that ensued between the United States and the Philippines at the birth of the twentieth century was an ill-conceived attempt at American colonialism that contradicted American notions of national self-determination and republican democracy. Despite the intention of Filipino revolutionaries to base their new republic on the same standards as the U.S. constitution, the U.S. chose to refuse their national sovereignty on accounts of race, history, and U.S. commercial interests. The pro-expansionist opinions of prominent statesmen Albert Beveridge and Theodore Roosevelt helped define America's position on this issue of American sovereignty by employing justifications such as the proliferation of commercialism, democracy, and Christianity. Critics of American imperialism such as Carl Schurz and the Anti-imperialist League arose during this time period to voice dissent over the subjugation of an entire population. The arguments that critics of imperialism present greatly undermine the proposition that the war with the Philippines was a gesture to advance mankind.
             The Filipino leaders who fought for independence from Spain originally believed that the United States would support their cause. They believed in this because the American Revolution had inspired their own revolution. They thus hoped that the U.S. would support them because they intended to model their constitution after the U.S.'s constitution. However, the U.S. was unwilling to support a revolution modeled after its own because Americans viewed the Philippines as savage and incapable of self-government. An example of this viewpoint is found in Josia Strong's Expansion (1900). Here, he differentiates between the concepts of independence and freedom: real freedom, he argues, is only possible under law, and Anglo-Saxon freedom required intervening upon national independence movements of less capable peoples and imposing Anglo-Saxon governance. Because the Filipino independ...

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Philippines. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 23:56, March 18, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/96488.html