Annexation Of The Philippines Essay

During the 20th Century the United States was going through big changes. Imperialism was a big thing going on during this time. The US was imperialistic because it was constantly annexing new states and discovering new territories. After the Spanish-American war, the US acquired a few new territories, one of which being the Philippines. The annexation of the Philippines was a big debate in the USA during 1898. Some Americans believed that the US should acquire the Philippines in order to save them from other countries, to help govern them, and of course, in order to expand and grow our country. Whereas others believed that America should leave the Philippines alone because they should be allowed to have independence, the same way America gained

This argument can be seen in the document titled, “The March of the Flag.” This document was written by Albert J. Beveridge. In the document he argues that only those who are capable of self government, should be able to determine who they want to be governed by. The text states, “The opposition tells us that we ought not to govern a people without their consent. I answer, The rule … that all just government derives its authority from the consent of the governed, applies only to those who are capable of self-government.” (The March of the Flag). In addition, a document that was a speech given by President William McKinley also states that the Filipinos were unfit for self government. McKinley states, “...that we could not leave them to themselves – they were unfit for self-government – and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain’s was…” (Document C). Both documents show that the US believed the Filipinos were somehow incapable of governing themselves, so they felt that us Americans should step in and do it for

Many others believed that the US should not annex the Philippines. One of the main arguments was that it was immoral and hypocritical to do so. This is seen in the document titled, “Platform of the American Anti-Imperialist League.” The document shows reasons why it would be ignorant to annex the Philippines. The text states, “We hold with Abraham Lincoln, that ‘no man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. When the white man governs himself, that is self-government, but when he governs himself and also governs another man, that is more than self-government – that is despotism [rule by a tyrant].’” (Document A). The American Anti-Imperialist League shows why it would be wrong to annex the Philippines. Furthermore, the document titled “Paralyzing Influence of Imperialism,” adds to the Anti-Imperialist League’s thoughts and ideas. The document, written by William Jennings Bryan, states “Some argue that American rule in the Philippine Islands will result in the better education of the Filipinos. Be not deceived…. [We] dare not educate them lest they learn to read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States and mock us for our inconsistency.” He rebukes the argument (that the US should annex the Philippines in order to better educate them) by pointing out how we will look foolish once the Filipinos learn how to read our Declaration of Independence when we did not allow