Philippine–American War

“ You see sights you could hardly believe, and a life is hardly worth a thought. I have seen a shell from our artillery strike a bunch of Filipinos, and then they would go scattering through the air, legs, arms, heads, all disconnected. And such sights actually make our boys laugh and yell, 'That shot was a peach.' A white man seems to forget that he is human.... Hasty intrenchments were thrown up to protect our troops from this fire, the bodies of many slain Filipinos being used as a foundation for this purpose, intrenching tools being scarce. ”

“ The dragging of field pieces to bear upon our pickets was with the purpose of bringing American soldiers into contempt, at once, and to force fighting ultimately. The poor men who became victims were deluded and carried their defiance to an intolerable pitch. In the same style employed when he demanded that General Anderson should consult him about getting on Philippine soil, Aguinaldo attempted to intimidate General Otis by inviting a conference, and avowing that he would make war if any more troops were sent to Manila. ”

“ They are sacrificing their own lives without hesitation, and, so far as any sign appears, without reluctance or regret. But it is a sombre thought that a little tact with the Filipinos might have prevented the rain of 'fire and bullets,' and saved tens of thousands of the natives, and hundreds and thousands of our own brave men. ”

“ The war of 'criminal aggression' against the Filipinos, entailing an annual expense of many millions, has already cost more than any possible profit that could accrue from the entire Philippine trade for years to come. Furthermore, when trade is extended at the expense of liberty the price is always too high. "We are not opposed to territorial expansion, when it takes in desirable territory which can be erected into States in the Union, and whose people are willing and fit to become American citizens. We favor trade expansion by every peaceful and legitimate means. ”

“ In fulfillment of the rights of sovereignty thus acquired and the responsible obligations of government thus assumed, the actual occupation and administration of the entire group of the Philippine Islands become immediately necessary, and the military government heretofore maintained by the United States in the city, harbor, and bay of Manila is to be extended with all possible dispatch to the whole of the ceded territory. ”

“ But the Filipinos themselves were not so informed. They were left to believe that, while fighting in coöperation with the American forces, they were fighting for their own independence. They could not imagine that the Government of the great American Republic, while boasting of having gone to war with Spain under the banner of liberation and humanity in behalf of Cuba, was capable of secretly plotting to turn that war into one for the conquest and subjugation of the Philippines. ”

“ During the dark days of World War II, nearly 100,000 soldiers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army provided a ray of hope in the Pacific as they fought alongside United States and Allied forces for 4 long years to defend and reclaim the Philippine Islands from Japanese aggression. Thousands more Filipinos joined U.S. Armed Forces immediately after the war and served in occupational duty throughout the Pacific Theater. For their extraordinary sacrifices in defense of democracy and liberty, we owe them our undying gratitude. ”

“ Advantages of American Control.—Surely, a people is economically far more privileged if, like the Philippines under the American government, or Australia under the British, they are compelled to sustain no portion of the burden of exterior defense. The navies of the United States to-day protect the integrity of the Philippine archipelago. ”

“ Both Spaniards, and insurgents were thus to have no share in the Government. The Americans were conquerors; the Spaniards, as the conquered, had lost all right to a voice in public affairs. There was, however, some doubt on the part of the American commands as to the status of the insurgents; who, though they had but little part in the capture of Manila, had done effective work in other parts of Luzon, having driven the common enemy step by step to the gates of the capital. The revolution, too, was spreading, and new complications arose every day. ”

“ In the same way the not less known and notorious circumstances, that the American Commanders who came soon after the echoes of the Admiral's victory reached their native shores, namely, Generals Merritt, Anderson and Otis, proclaimed to the people of the Philippines that America did not come to conquer territories, but to liberate its inhabitants from the oppression of Spanish Sovereignty. ”

“ It is not to be conceived of that any American would have sanctioned the surrender of Manila to the insurgents. Our obligations to other nations and to the friendly Filipinos and to ourselves and our flag demanded that force should be met by force. Whatever the future of the Philippines may be, there is no course open to us now except the prosecution of the war until the insurgents are reduced to submission. ”

“ We insist that the subjugation of any people is “criminal aggression” and open disloyalty to the distinctive principles of our Government.
We earnestly condemn the policy of the present National Administration in the Philippines. It seeks to extinguish the spirit of 1776 in those islands. We deplore the sacrifice of our soldiers and sailors, whose bravery deserves admiration even in an unjust war. We denounce the slaughter of the Filipinos as a needless horror. We protest against the extension of American sovereignty by Spanish methods. ”

“ The Americans, not for mercenary motives but for the sake of humanity, in response to the woes of the persecuted, have thought fit to extend their protecting arm to our beloved country, now that they have been obliged to sever their relations with Spain on account of the tyranny practised in Cuba, to the great prejudice of the large commercial interests which the Americans have there. An American squadron is at this moment preparing to sail for the Philippines. We, your brothers, fear you may be induced to fire on the Americans. ”

“ Because the neutralization plan to provide against the Philippines being annexed by some other Power in case we ever give them their independence would, if successfully worked out, reduce by that much the possible area of war, and be a distinct step in the direction of universal peace, it is certainly worthy of careful consideration by the enlightened judgment of the Congress and the world. ”

“ Anti-War Agitators in America.—Through the summer of 1899 the war was not pressed by the American general, nor were the negotiations with the Filipino leaders conducted with success. The Filipinos were by no means dismayed. In spite of their reverses, they believed the conquest of the Islands impossible to foreign troops. Furthermore, the war had met with tremendous opposition in America. Many Americans believed that the war was against the fundamental rights of the Filipino people. They attacked the administration with unspeakable bitterness. ”

“ He was taken, under a strong guard, to Manila, and there, on April 9, 1901, he signed a peace manifesto which virtually brought the war in the Philippines to an end, although it is probable that isolated attacks on United States authority in out-of-the-way places are likely to occur for several years to come. Many of the natives are very ignorant and savage, and they will have to be dealt with very much as our country was compelled to deal with the bloodthirsty Apaches and Modocs of our own West. ”

“ The provincial government was permitted to continue its functions and use its official seal, and during five months there was no manifest anti-American movement. During this period the American commander of the troops adopted tactics similar to those employed by General E. S. Otis in Manila against Aguinaldo prior to the outbreak in February, 1899. Little by little the Americans required the armed Filipinos to retire farther and farther away from the capital. This practical isolation disgusted the several chiefs, who therefore agreed to open the campaign against the invaders. ”

“ The venture assumes, in time, the more dignified name of “mission”; and when the consequent torrents of blood recede from memory with the ebbing tide of forgetfulness, the conqueror soothes his conscience with a profession of “moral duty,” which the conquered seldom appreciate in the first generation. No unforeseen circumstances whatever caused the United States to drift unwillingly into Philippine affairs. The war in Cuba had not the remotest connexion with these Islands. ”

“ Filipino loyalty to America is an incontestable fact. It is the more remarkable when we consider that right from the start of the war the Filipinos were subjected to a terrific barrage of anti-American propaganda. Claiming invincibility and professing a brotherly spirit toward the Philippines, Japan declared that she had come to our country to free us from the American yoke, and offered us a place of honor in here much vaunted Co-Prosperity Sphere. ”

“ A self-governing state cannot accept sovereignty over an unwilling people. The United States cannot act upon the ancient heresy that might makes right.
Imperialists assume that with the destruction of self-government in the Philippines by American hands, all opposition here will cease. This is a grievous error. Much as we abhor the war of “criminal aggression” in the Philippines, greatly as we regret that the blood of the Filipinos is on American hands, we more deeply resent the betrayal of American institutions at
home. The real firing line is not in the suburbs of Manila. ”

“ The American system is in reality not foreign to the Philippines, but it is the highest development, perfected by experience, of the original plan under which the Philippines had prospered and progressed until its benefits were wrongfully withheld from them. Filipino leaders had been vainly asking Spain for the restoration of their rights and the return to the system of the Laws of the Indies. ”

“ At a time when all our military and fiscal experts agree that having the Philippines on our hands is a grave strategic and economic mistake, fraught with peril to the nation’s prestige in the early stages of our next great war, we are keeping the Filipinos in industrial bondage through unrighteous Congressional legislation for which special interests in America are responsible, in bald repudiation of the Open Door policy, and against their helpless but universal protest, a wholly unprotected and easy prey to the first first-class Power with which we become involved in war. ”

“ But, through a subordinate, it became known to the Filipinos, and they understood it as what it was—a declaration of war against them. Then the conflict wantonly provoked by the President's order came. We destroyed by force the government the Filipinos had set up—a very respectable government, as all competent witnesses testify—a far better government than the insurgent Cubans ever had, We carried death and desolation into the towns and villages of our late allies. ”

“ It must also have been the cause of a large percentage of the sickness of the American troops (wrongly attributed to climate) , for it is well known that inebriety in the Philippines is the road to death. With three distinct classes of soldiers in Manila—the Americans, the rebels, and the Spanish prisoners—each living in suspense, awaiting events with divergent interests, there were naturally frequent disputes and collisions, sometimes of a serious nature, which needed great vigilance to suppress. ”

“ Not only was the white man to be destroyed, but all those who sympathised with him—the Filipinos determined to “stagger humanity.” And how they were going to do it is demonstrated in a document signed by Aguinaldo, captured by the American forces and published by the War Department of the U. S. on the 5th of September 1900. The following are a few extracts from it:
“Malolos, Jan. 9, 1899—Instructions to the Brave Soldiers of Sandtahan of Manila.
“Article 1. All Filipinos should observe our fellow-countrymen in order to see whether they are American sympathizers. ”

“ After all this we must not be surprised that the imperialists are so anxious to make the American people believe that there would have been no fight in the Philippines had there been no speeches made in the United States against the policy of conquest and subjugation, and that the authors of such speeches are therefore traitors giving aid and comfort to the enemy. Has it been forgotten that the Filipinos have more than once risen against Spanish tyranny long before we took any interest in those islands and their people? ”

“ On the next day he reports to the king his arrival at Manila, and the present condition of affairs in the islands, which is very disheartening. The Mindanao pirates have ravaged the coasts, and carried away many captives. The richest part of the city, including the merchandise stored in the warehouses, has been destroyed by fire; and the ships from Mexico arrived too late for the merchants to ship goods thither this year. The people are full of anxiety over a possible war with the Chinese ”

“ There were more rations issued to Spanish than to American soldiers, until the division of the Philippine Expedition with Major-General Otis arrived, but the Americans were exclusively responsible for the preservation of the peace between the implacable belligerents, and the sanitary work required could not at once be accomplished, but presently it was visible that something was done every day in the right direction. ”