When the American fathers of the Declaration of Independence, they made it their purpose that they would stay isolated from the world, so that they could focus on their nation and make it stronger. At the time, America would have needed a lot of attention to become the superpower it is today, however in the late 1890’s the American soldiers and political leaders broke the foreign policy by taking over the Philippines. Even though the men who spoke of the ceded Philippine, they had different messages through their tone.
The first Spaniard to set foot on the Philippines was Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, however the actual invasion did not begin until 1564. Spanish power in the Philippines soon started to fall as other nations were starting to practice their spread of power in the mid 1700s.
When the U.S.S Maine sunk in an American attempt to relieve the tension between Cuba and
Spain exploded, the U.S. declared war on Spain and won a naval battle against them in Manila
Bay, May 1, 1898. By the time U.S. got to the Philippines, the Filipinos has already declared their independence from Spain. However, their celebration did not last long when the Treaty of
Paris 1898 transferred the Philippines to under the U.S.’s power.
Wesley Merritt, William Mckinley, and Otis all had the same message to the Filipinos.
Everyone pretty much said the same thing, but at the different times, to remind the Filipinos that the Americans were not their enemy. However, when Merritt made the first announcement, he was smooth, took some time to explain what was going to be happening on the islands. He mentioned that as long as the Filipinos respected the United States that they would, in return,
“protect them in their homes, in their employments, and in their personal and religious rights.”
This was pretty much repeated two more times with the other political figures, however later

security grew tighter and when Mckinley came into give his speech, he announced, “the taxes and duties heretofore payable by the inhabitants to the late government payable to the authorities of the United States.” By this time, America was becoming power hungry. Her leaders wanted to take advantage of this by getting money and dominating the government. McKinley’s
“Benevolent Assimilation” meant the start of America’s true mission, which was to take over the
Philippines officially. McKinley left a bad picture for Otis to recover in which he does by stating that the Americans would take out most of their troops to let the Filipinos breathe and become more of a liberal government, for maximum representation for the islands’ people.
In response to the American’s rules, one Filipino fought for his country’s once celebrated independence, in a response to Otis’s speech. He claimed that the United States stated that they were for freedom and independence, but how could the Filipinos be free when they had
American soldiers watching their every move to make sure that they were following the rules and respecting the American legislation. He blatantly asked how a man could ride without fear when they will “be conducted under the military authorities”, he truly wanted to know how could the Filipinos be free when their hard earned independence was stripped away from them after just signing a piece of paper.
Over all before the Spanish rule of the Philippines declined, there were very little to no violence between the Spanish and the Filipinos. The Filipinos were mostly unarmed so the
Spanish did not find them dangerous or worth the time fighting. Of course, there were riots and complaints about the Spanish ruling, but when they were the top trading country at the time, they could not help but take orders from the ones with guns. Since there were little to no violence, the
Spanish seem like they were only in the Philippines for the trade.

The Americans did break their tradition to stay out of the world’s problems, which caused a terrible relationship with the Philippines, which would alleviate in the later years.
America is a country that is all about freedom and making choices that is beneficial to oneself, however, they did not enforce their beliefs when they were in the Philippines. It is like giving a thirsty animal water, they keep wanting more till they are full.
Overall, this chapter in US History was very interesting. Progressive Era and the start of the World Wars are my favorite subject in history since so much happens to the U.S. that causes change and perspectives on many different subjects such as how involvement in the world is not always bad. I look forward to more fun subjects now that we are heading into World War 2 and the Vietnam War.

"America's Founders and the Principles of Foreign Policy: Sovereign Independence, National
Interests, and the Cause of Liberty in the World."
The Heritage Foundation
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"Philippine History ­ Spanish Colonization."
Philippine History Spanish Colonization
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Mar. 2015. .
"Philippine­American War, 1899­1902."
Philippine­American War, 1899­1902
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2015. .