Annexation Of The Philippines Essay

The beginnings of the Philippine-American War came at a transition of Spanish rule to American occupation. The Filipinos were near to independence after their revolt to Spanish rule; however, under the guise of a mock battle, Spanish General Fermn Jáudenes agrees to surrender to Commodore Dewey and the Americans thus turning over the Philippine Islands to the Americans (Gonzalves). This was then cemented by the purchase of the Philippine Islands under provisions of the Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War. When the Philippine president and revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo learns of this, he declares the United States as an enemy and has Filipino troops surround the city of Manila. The Philippine-American War was initially

Cooperation between the two can be seen with Commodore Dewey bringing Aguinaldo from exile in Hong Kong to Manila and offering him weapons found at the Cavite Naval Station which is used to fight against the Spanish (Delgado). Relationships then sour when Spain surrenders the Philippines to the Americans instead, not the Filipinos. The United States Congress and President McKinley justifies their new claim as part of Benevolent Assimilation. This argues that the annexation of the Philippines is necessary since they view the Filipinos as unfit to rule themselves and the American people are there to uplift them to where they can eventually have self-rule. Additionally, policies within the Navy allowed Filipinos to enlist. President McKinley sent an executive order allowing 500 Filipinos to enlist in the Navy and become part of the Insular Force in 1901 (Filipinos in the United States Navy). The addition of these Filipinos proved useful in the later stages war by filling a lack of manpower, providing cultural and local knowledge, and serving in littoral operations (Bradford). This executive order opened the way for many Filipinos to become part of the US Navy and with now over 15,000 Filipino-Americans currently serving

The mission of the Navy in the war was to support the Army on their ground wars, blockade and control the waters between the islands, and provide supplies. Detailed in Secretary of the Navy John Long’s report to the president, the Navy is “transporting and convoying troops, patrolling a wide area of badly charted waters, sending out landing parties, and keeping the coast clear of the enemy” (Long). Missions like the USS Benington convoying the Army for an expedition south, USS Newark reinforcing an Army garrison, or Army General Smith being responsible for Major Waller’s Marine Unit. These missions demonstrate the interoperability and support achievable between the branches. The American strategy was to isolate the islands and weaken them through blockades. The Navy immediately controlled the sea, allowing them ease of mobility between islands and preventing the Filipinos from doing the same thing. This blockade went through three stages (Holden). First, it was to prevent foreign aid from reaching