History of the Philippines (1898–1946)
The history of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 is known as the American colonial period, and began with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, when the Philippines was still a colony of the Spanish East Indies, and concluded when the United States formally recognized the independence of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.
With the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898, Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States. The interim U.S. military government of the Philippine Islands experienced a period of great political turbulence, characterized by the Philippine–American War.
A series of insurgent governments that lacked significant international and diplomatic recognition also existed between 1898 and 1904.
Following the passage of the Philippine Independence Act in 1934, a Philippine presidential election was held in 1935. Manuel L. Quezon was elected and inaugurated as the second president of the Philippines on November 15, 1935. The Insular Government was dissolved and the Commonwealth of the Philippines, intended to be a transitional government in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence in 1946, was brought into existence.
After the World War II Japanese invasion in 1941 and subsequent occupation of the Philippines, the United States and Philippine Commonwealth military completed the recapture of the Philippines after Japan's surrender and spent nearly a year dealing with Japanese troops who were not aware of the war's end, leading up to U.S. recognition of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.
Philippine Revolution and the Spanish–American War
The Philippine Revolution began in August 1896. The Pact of Biak-na-Bato, a ceasefire between the Spanish colonial governor-general Fernando Primo de Rivera and the revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo that was signed on December 15, 1897. The terms of the pact called for Aguinaldo and his militia to surrender. Other revolutionary leaders were given amnesty and a monetary indemnity by the Spanish government in return for which the rebel government agreed to go into exile in Hong Kong.Concurrently, the failure of Spain to engage in active social reforms in Cuba as demanded by the United States government was the basic cause for the Spanish–American War. President William McKinley issued an ultimatum to Spain on April 19, 1898. Spain found it had no diplomatic support in Europe, but nevertheless declared war; the U.S. followed on April 25 with its own declaration of war. Theodore Roosevelt, who was at that time Assistant Secretary of the Navy, had ordered Commodore George Dewey, commanding the Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy, to Hong Kong before the declaration of war. From there, Dewey's squadron departed on April 27 for the Philippines, reaching Manila Bay on the evening of April 30. The Battle of Manila Bay took place on May 1, 1898, with American victory being achieved in a matter of hours.
The unexpected rapidity and completeness of Dewey's victory in the first engagement of the war prompted the McKinley administration to make the decision to capture Manila from the Spanish. While awaiting the arrival of troops from the Eighth Corps, Dewey dispatched the cutter USRC McCulloch to Hong Kong to transport Aguinaldo back to the Philippines. Aguinaldo arrived on May 19 and, after a brief meeting with Dewey, resumed revolutionary activities against the Spanish. On May 24, Aguinaldo issued a proclamation in which he assumed command of all Philippine forces and announced his intention to establish a dictatorial government with himself as dictator, saying that he would resign in favor of a duly elected president. Public jubilation marked Aguinaldo's return. Many Filipino enlisted men deserted local Spanish army units to join Aguinaldo's command and the Philippine Revolution against Spain resumed, capturing many cities and some entire provinces.
File:Pic geo photos - ph=cavite=kawit=aguinaldo shrine - front view -philippines--2015-0611--ls-.JPG|thumb|Aguinaldo Shrine, where the flag of the Philippines was raised during the declaration of independence from Spain|left
On June 12, 1898, Aguinaldo proclaimed the independence of the Philippines at his house in Cavite El Viejo. The "Acta de la Proclamacion de Independencia del Pueblo Filipino" in Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista's penmanship was signed by 98 natives on June 12, 1898, thereat. The only copy thereof, "The Birth Certificate of the Filipino Nation" is handwritten by Lt. Col. Jose Bañuelo. On June 18, Aguinaldo issued a decree formally establishing his dictatorial government. On June 23, Aguinaldo issued another decree, this time replacing the dictatorial government with a revolutionary government. On July 15, Aguinaldo issued three organic decrees assuming civil authority of the Philippines.
The first contingent of American troops arrived on June 30 under the command of Brigadier General Thomas McArthur Anderson. Anderson wrote to Aguinaldo, requesting his cooperation in military operations against the Spanish forces. Aguinaldo responded, thanking General Anderson, but saying nothing about military cooperation. General Anderson did not renew the request. American generals suspected Aguinaldo was attempting to take Manila without American assistance, had restricted supplies to American forces, and was secretly negotiating with Spanish authorities while informing them of American troop movements. Aguinaldo warned that American troops should not disembark in places conquered by the Filipinos without first communicating in writing, and did not offer his full service to arriving American forces. By June, U.S. and Filipino forces had taken control of most of the islands, except for the walled city of Intramuros. Admiral Dewey and General Merritt were able to work out a bloodless secret agreement with acting governor-general Fermín Jáudenes, staging a mock battle in which the Spanish forces would be defeated by the American forces, but the Filipino forces would not be allowed to enter the city.
On the evening of August 12, the Americans notified Aguinaldo to forbid the insurgents under his command from entering Manila without American permission. On August 13, unaware of the peace protocol signing, U.S. forces began the Battle of Manila by capturing Spanish positions in the city. While the plan was for a mock battle and simple surrender, the insurgents made an independent attack of their own, which led to confrontations with the Spanish in which some American soldiers were killed and wounded. The Spanish formally surrendered Manila to U.S. forces. Aguinaldo demanded joint occupation of the city, however U.S. commanders pressed Aguinaldo to withdraw his forces from Manila.
Peace protocol between the U.S. and Spain
On August 12, 1898, a peace protocol was signed in Washington between the U.S. and Spain. The full text of the protocol was not made public until November 5, but Article III read: "The United States will occupy and hold the City, Bay, and Harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of a treaty of peace, which shall determine the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines." General Merritt received news of the peace protocol on August 16, three days after the surrender of Manila. Admiral Dewey and General Merritt were informed by a telegram dated August 17 that the president of the United States had directed that the United States should have full control over Manila, with no joint occupation permissible. After further negotiations, insurgent forces withdrew from the city on September 15. The Battle of Manila marked the end of Filipino-American collaboration.On August 14, 1898, two days after the capture of Manila, the U.S. established a military government in the Philippines, with General Merritt acting as military governor. During military rule, the U.S. military commander governed the Philippines under the authority of the U.S. president as commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces. After the appointment of a civil governor-general, the procedure developed that as parts of the country were pacified and placed firmly under American control, responsibility for the area would be passed to the civilians.
File:José Alejandrino.jpg|thumb|General José Alejandrino - Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of the First Philippine Republic
Under the military government, an American-style school system was introduced, initially with soldiers as teachers; civil and criminal courts were reestablished, including a supreme court; and local governments were established in towns and provinces. The first local election was conducted by General Harold W. Lawton on May 7, 1899, in Baliuag, Bulacan. The position of military governor was abolished in July 1902, after which the civil governor-general became the sole executive authority in the Philippines.
Elections were held by the revolutionary government between June and September 10, resulting in the seating of a legislature known as the Malolos Congress. In a session between September 15 and November 13, 1898, the Malolos Constitution was adopted. It was promulgated on January 21, 1899,
creating the First Philippine Republic with Emilio Aguinaldo as president.
While the initial instructions of the American commission undertaking peace negotiators with Spain was to seek only Luzon and Guam, which could serve as harbours and communication links, President McKinley later wired instructions to demand the entire archipelago. The resultant Treaty of Paris, signed in December 1898, formally ended the Spanish–American War. Its provisions included the cession of the archipelago to the United States, for which $20 million would be paid as compensation. The treaty took effect on April 11, 1899 with the exchange of ratifications, establishing the U.S. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, with William Howard Taft serving as its first governor-general. The Treaty of Washington of 1900, clarified that Spanish territories in the archipelago which lay outside the geographical boundaries noted in the Treaty of Paris were also ceded to the U.S.
On December 21, 1898, president McKinley proclaimed a policy of benevolent assimilation with regards to the Philippines. This was announced in the Philippines on January 4, 1899. Under this policy, the Philippines was to come under the sovereignty of the United States, with American forces instructed to declare themselves as friends rather than invaders.