eastiseverywhere:American political cartoons from the period of the Philippine-American War. Click
eastiseverywhere: American political cartoons from the period of the Philippine-American War. Click on them for the full horror. Cartoon from Puck Magazine: the American image of erstwhile ally Emilio Aguinaldo once he began his rebellion against American occupation of the Philippines. US (1890s)From here Victor GillamJudge Magazine: Our New TopsyUS (1899)From here Charles NelanTroubles which May Follow an Imperial PolicyUS (1898)From here Charles BartholomewMinneapolis Journal: Hawaii, Cuba, and the Philippines celebrate the Independence Day of the United States. US (1898)From here School Begins - Uncle Sam (in his class in civilization)US (1890s)From here Julian Abagond summarises the war beautifully on his blog: In the Philippine-American War (1899-1902) America crushed Philippine independence, leaving between 200,000 and a million dead. Theodore Roosevelt called it “a war to extend Anglo-American progress and decency”. America ruled the Philippines till the 1940s. In 1898 America went to war with Spain. It mainly wanted Cuba. But Spain also ruled the Philippines. There America destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. President McKinley said it was to protect Oregon and California. America backed the Philippine Revolution, which overthrew Spanish rule in the countryside. America took Manila. McKinley said he did not want the Philippines. But then one night in the White House, when he was down on his knees praying to God, it came to him: That we could not give them back to Spain – that would be cowardly and dishonorable; that we could not turn them over to France and Germany – our commercial rivals in the Orient – that would be bad business and discreditable; 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; and that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow-men for whom Christ also died. In 1899 America made war on the Philippines to prevent the anarchy and misrule of self-government. To uplift and civilize and Christianize the Christians of the Philippines: In Samar, American soldiers were ordered to make it a “howling wilderness” and kill “everything over ten”. In Batangas province a third of the people, 100,000, died. In Caloocan all 17,000 people were killed, wounded or driven off, men, women and children, their houses set on fire. A common practice of the Americans. Thousands of ordinary Filipinos died in American “protection zones” (prison camps). One reporter saw Filipinos put up their hands up to surrender only to be taken to a bridge and shot down one by one, their bodies falling into the river. Secretary of War Elihu Root: The war in the Philippines has been conducted by the American army with scrupulous regard for the rules of civilized warfare, with self-restraint, and with humanity never surpassed. Black Americans, wanting to fight for their country, got there only to hear White American soldiers call the Filipinos “niggers” day after day. Many white officers called the war “nigger killing business”. One white soldier said: Our fighting blood was up, and we wanted to kill niggers. This shooting human beings beats rabbit hunting all to pieces. Some black soldiers, like David Fagen of the 24th Infantry, deserted and fought for the Filipinos. The Filipinos were outgunned, but they could keep going through guerrilla warfare so long as they had good generals. The last of these, Miguel Malvar, surrendered in 1902. Some fighting continued till 1913 but the war was over. The writer Mark Twain supported the Spanish-American War, but was shocked to see it devolve into a movement of American imperialism. In his 1901 essay, To the Person Sitting in Darkness, he wrote: And as for a flag for the Philippine Province, it is easily managed. We can have a special one—our States do it: we can have just our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones. From here -- source link
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