Transcript U.S. involvement in the Philippines

U.S. Involvement in
the Philippines
By Tim Caggiano and Alex Kozlowski
How did the U.S. get
involved?
The U.S. got involved because of their desire to
take Spanish colonies.
This started because they believed the Spanish
blew up their ship, the Maine.
This was also caused by Spain’s maltreatment of
their colonies, which were potentially useful to
the U.S.
What were the U.S.
motives?
The U.S. wanted the Philippines
because it would be an effective
navel base
It was also a desirable spot to trade
with the Asian market and cash-in
on the expansion of the far-east.
Did they justify there
actions?
The United States’ main justification
was that they wanted to “spread
democracy”
They believed that if a nation could
not govern themselves effectively,
another nation should “help.”
Reaction of the local
population
The Philippines’ military welcomed American troops and
supported them during the Spanish-American War.
After the war however, the citizens of the Philippines no
longer wanted U.S. assistance.
They used guerilla warfare as an attempt to fight back and
regain control of their country.
Filipinos were then sent to “designated areas”, where
thousands died of starvation and illnesses.
The Final Result
The U.S. crushed the rebellion after killing 20,000
Filipinos and losing 4,000 of their own men.
They spent about $400,000,000 on the war alone.
They then set up a government in which the
President would select an American (i.e. William
Howard Taft 1901-1904) to act as governor of the
island.
Superman VS Mafia Don
In this case, the U.S was the Mafia Don, rather than
Superman. The U.S was looking to branch out and do
good for another country. They wanted to step in and
show the Filipinos how great democracy could be.
However, in return, they expected complete control
of the Philippines as a location for easy trading with
countries in Asia. This desire for control led the two
countries into a bloody and pointless war, which
went against what Americans had believed since
they gained their independence.
Were the actions beneficial?
No, the actions were not beneficial.
The United States ending up spending twenty times
the amount that they had originally spent on the
island ($20,000,000).
Many men were lost in attempt to hold onto the
country.
The Philippines eventually gained independence on
July 4th, 1946
Work Cited
“The Americans” Textbook by McDougal Little.
Various Packets provided by Ms. Weber.