The result of the Spanish-American War was the transfer of sovereignty of the Philippines to the United States for $20 million dollars. The takeover of the Philippines positioned the United States to secure a naval base in the Pacific and protect their business interests with China and Japan, expanding the American empire.
During the war the United States misrepresented its intentions toward Philippines independence.
During the war the United States misrepresented its intentions toward Philippines independence.
President McKinley before the Spanish-American War
The U.S. have come not as invaders or conquerors, but as friends, to protect the natives in their homes, in their employment, and in their personal and religious rights. - President McKinley Dec 21, 1898 Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation |
Other Americans felt different than McKinley
We do not want the Filipinos. We want the Philippines. The islands are enormously rich, but unfortunately, they are infested with Filipinos...the more of them killed the better. -San Francisco Argonaut, quoted in Houston Daily Post 1902 |
Thoughts from Mark Twain
I have read carefully the treaty of Paris, and I have seen that we do not intend to free, but to subjugate the people of the Philippines. We have gone there to conquer, not to redeem. - Mark Twain New York Herald, October 15, 1900 |