The+Phillipine+Question

The Philippine Question was the discusion on how the United States would deal with the Philippines. American Expansionists wanted to annex the Philippines. Senator Lodge said "The Philipines mean a vast future trade and wealth and power." President McKinley supported annexing the Philippines but he also favored the idea of holding on to what we can get. Business leaders also supported annexing the Philippines.
 * __Background__**

Anti-Imperialists opposed annexing the Philippines. Some of these people were minorities, Andrew Carnegie, Samuel Gompers, Senator George Frisbie Hoar, "Pitchfork Ben" Tillman, Southern Democratic firebrand, Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Lincoln Stefens, Jane Addams, Charles W. Eliot, and David Starr Jordan.

The anti-imperialists believed that annexing the Philippines would be unconstitutional unless the Philippines were considered for statehood. President McKinley understood the view of the anti-imperialists but rejected their arguements. He rejected the arguements because many of the anti-imperialists were neither idealists nor constitutionalists and they opposed expansion to people unfit for American citizenship. There was no pratical alternative to annexing the Philippines.

The United States would not let the Spanish restore power in the Philippines and would not let any other power have the Philippines. The United States believed that if the Philippines were granted independence, they would not be to form a stable government. Senator Hoar believed that "for years and for generations, and perhaps for centuries, there would have been turbulence, disorder and revolution."

President McKinley could not find and other solution to the Philippine situation besides annexation. President McKinley sent American peace commisioners to acquire the Philippines. The United States agreed to pay the Spanish $20 million dollars even though it was a forced sale, accepted by Spain under duress.

It was difficult to amass the two-thirds majority to ratify the treaty because there was a combination partisan politics and anticolonialism. William Jennings Bryan could have prevented the ratification, if he persuaded his supporters to vote against the treaty. If he rejected the treaty, the United States would still be at war with Spain and the Philippines future would still be undetermined. Bryan wanted the Philippine question to be determined by the majority of the people at the next presidential election. The treaty was ratified in February 1899 by a vote of 57 to 27.

When the United States never withdrew from the Philippines, the Filipino nationalists became furious and took up arms. A brutal guerilla war took place, which took many lives and cost alot of money. There were many sneak attacks and cruelty to captives. Civilians were captured, prisoners were tortured, and property was destroyed. More than 8,000 Filipinos lost their lives and more than 70,000 American soldiers had to be sent to the Philipines to crush the conflict.
 * __RESULTS__**

In 1900 McKinley sent William Howard Taft to establish a goverment in Philippines. Taft liked the Philippines and his policy of encouraging them to participate in the territorial government attracted many converts. In July 1901, Taft became the first civilian governor of the Philippines.

The American Nation