Benevolent Assimilation: a Political Ploy PDF

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Benevolent Assimilation: A Political Ploy After the Proclamation of Independence, the Philippines fell into a treacherous scheme. The Treaty of Paris was signed without Filipinos knowing and ...

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Benevolent Assimilation: A Political Ploy After the Proclamation of Independence, the Philippines fell into a treacherous scheme. The Treaty of Paris was signed without Filipinos knowing and the Americans succeeded in their strategic plan along with the staged Mock Battle of Manila. On the 21st of December 1898, days after the signing of the treaty, the Benevolent Assimilation was proclaimed by President William Mckinley. However, what does the document state? Why is it a controversy? Did it justify the actions of Americans during the American occupation? Let us look back to where it all started. As stated in Sumangil’s article entitled “How the Philippines became the First Colony of the United States”, the Philippine American alliance started when Edward Spencer Pratt, a diplomat came to seek Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and his group who were in exile to form a union against Spain. He told the general that the Americans did not have any plans on annexing the Philippines. Without a doubt Gen. Aguinaldo believed what the consul said. On the 19th of May 1989, Gen. Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines with the hope of achieving peace and freedom by inaugurating a dictatorial government in his public address. After the long accounts of war and celebration of liberty, President Mckinley issued the Benevolent Assimilation. Mckinley affirmed that the United States intended to win the Filipinos respect wherein the liberty of individuals is assured. Mckinley also said that the country itself is unfit to have a government on its own and they could not turn the country over to its rivals in commerce or back to Spain. It is aforementioned that the United States “come not as invaders or conquerors, but as friends, to protect the natives in their homes, in their employment, and their personal and religious rights”. Besides, Gen. Otis sent an altered copy of the proclamation to Gen. Aguinaldo. Nevertheless, did the Americans state their true objective? As mentioned in a secondary historical source entitled “The Philippine American War, 1899-1902”, the Americans desired for commercial possibilities in Asia and their goal was to expand their influence to become economically rich. As one of the leading countries, their motivations include broadening their territory and trading. Also, according to Professor Gabris, the reason as to why the Americans colonized the Philippines was because of the country’s natural resources. It was said in the Benevolent Assimilation that the Americans came as friends, thus, did the proclamation uphold the Americans’ demeanor during the colonization? The article “Philippine Independence Declared” enunciated that during the Philippine American war, more than 20,000 Filipino mutineers were killed and the number of civilians who were butchered is unknown. In Zinn’s article entitled “People’s History of the United States”, it is stated that in Samar, above 10-year-old Filipinos were killed without an apparent reason. As a Filipino, I find this controversy as a ruse strategy. It is because Mckinley promised to substitute “the mild sway of justice and right for the arbitrary rule”, yet our country has the right to be independent and has the right to govern. Also, the Americans came as conquerors as their sole intentions were to obtain such resources and to easily access the land for trading. Besides,

our state was turned over into another colonizer and Filipinos called for war and fought for liberty. Somehow the Americans only called it the insurrection. Substantially, the Benevolent Assimilation was a political ploy. The Americans’ intentions were to fully widen their territory and increase their wealth. When the proclamation was declared in the Philippines, a brutal war broke out. The proclamation represented the end of the alliance and the beginning of imperial sovereignty. The Americans won the war and it took 48 years to achieve the freedom our nation deserves. However, the resistance movement never stopped and Filipinos continued to confront the enemy that once was an ally.

Sources: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2702307?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents https://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/war https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/philippine-independence-declared https://www.crcworks.org/sumangil.pdf https://www.niu.edu/clas/cseas/_pdf/lesson-plans/fulbright-hays/philippine-american-warmini.pdf...