As spoils of the Spanish-American War of 1898, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and pacific islands of the Philippine archipelago and Guam were ceded to the United States by Spain by virtue of the Treaty of Paris. Why was Cuba freed in 1902 and the Philippines not until 1946? From the time the Philippines was annexed by the U.S. in 1898 until 1946, Filipinos were hopeful, even if they had lost the Independence War, that the Philippines will eventually be freed from colonial rule, for they believed that they have earned their independence ! P.A.W.C.I.

A cartoon from The Independent, November 20, 1915, one of the early bi-lingual (English and Spanish) Manila weekly journal during the early colonial days. The cartoon depicts three boats named Panama, Cuba and the Philippines. While the two boats (Panama and Cuba) are sailing on its own, the Philippine boat is towed by Uncle Sam with a Filipino passenger begging "Sammy, set me at liberty like Cuba and Panama." "Click" image to view a larger one.

Dewey's Victory Rekindled Manifest Destiny
[Even Before Aguinaldo's Declaration of Philippine Independence ]

"We must on no account let the islands go...We hold the other side of the Pacific, and the value to this country is almost beyond imagination."
 
• Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr., raising the issue of keeping the Philippines after Dewey's naval victory.


"A strong feeling spreading over the land in favor of colonial expansion [is] getting so strong that it will mean the political death of any man to oppose it pretty soon."
 

• Chauncey Depew, New York Central railroad tycoon, addressing Republican stalwarts, May 17, 1898.

Before America Became a Superpower (Pre Spanish-American War)

• The Teller Amendment.  The Congressional resolution attached to McKinley's intervention resolution in the Cuban affairs, the resolution that sparked the Spanish-American War, banned the colonization of Cuba. In effect, the Teller amendment guaranteed independence for Cuba.

• New Duties and Responsibilities. As a newly-emerged superpower, the Philippines treated the Philippines in a different manner.  In a farewell banquet given on September 17, 1898, a day before the U.S. peace commissioners were to depart for Paris,  McKinley told them that the Manila victory had imposed on the United States "new duties and responsibilities, which we must meet and discharge as [the United States] becomes a great nation."

Military Commanders and
Governor-Generals of the Philippines
[From American Occupation to the Commonwealth Period]
 

Term	Military-Governor	Military Commanders (Supervised by Civil-Governor)	Governor-General	High Commissioner (Representing the U.S. President)	Significant Event	U.S. President
July 26, 1898 -Aug. 29, 1898	Gen. Wesley Merritt				Commanded the U.S. land expeditionary forces to the Philippines during the Spanish-American War	William W. McKinley (1897-1901)
Aug 29, 1898 -May 5, 1900	Gen. Elwell S. Otis				War broke out under his  command
May 5, 1900 - July 4, 1901	Gen. Arthur MacArthur				Escalation of guerilla warfare
July 4, 1901 -1904		Gen. Adnan Chaffee	William H. Taft		Lonoy Massacre by the Americans on March 1901; retaliatory Balangiga Massacre on September 27, 1901 by the Filipinos	Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
1904-1906			Luke E. Wright
1906			Henry C. Ide
1906-1909			James F. Smith
1909-1913			W. Cameron Forbes		Battle of Bud Bagsak, Jolo; American troops led by Gen. John Pershing	William H. Taft (1909-1913)
1913-1921			Francis Burton Harrison			Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)
1921-1927			Leonard Wood		Mass resignation of Filipino cabinet members led by Manuel Quezon; death of Leonard Wood in 1927.	Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
						Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
1928-1929			Henry L. Stimson
1929-1932			Dwight F. Davis			Herbert C. Hoover (1929-1933)
1932-1933			Theodore Roosevelt, Jr
1933-1935			Frank Murphy	Frank Murphy	Passing of the Tydings-McDuffie Act on March 24, 1934	Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945)
1937				Paul V. McNutt
				Francis B. Sayre

Notes:

1.  If the U.S. was not considered the established authority of the Philippines at the outbreak of the Philippine-American War, then there was no military-governors in the Philippines, technically.  As a consequence, Generals Merritt, Otis, and MacArthur were merely military commanders of the occupying forces.

2.  General Douglas MacArthur served in the Philippines as military adviser during the Commonwealth Government days of Manuel L. Quezon, prior to World War II.

Significant Constitutional Events Leading to Independence
 

Date	Significant Event
November 1, 1897	Provisional Constitution of the Biak-na-bato Philippine Government
June 6, 1898	Submittal of a constitutional program to the revolutionary government by Apolinario Mabini.
August 13, 1898	Spaniards surrender to the Americans in the 'sham' Battle of Manila; occupation of Manila by U.S. forces
November 29, 1898	Approval of the Malolos Constitution
December 10, 1898	Treaty of Paris signing between Spain and the U.S.
1902	Passing of Philippine Bill, or Cooper Act, or Provisional Organic Law.
1907	Philippine Assembly convened, attended by Secretary of War William Howard Taft, the first civil-governor.
February 9, 1899	Outbreak of the Philippine Independence War
August 29, 1916	Passing of Philippine Autonomy Act, otherwise known as Jones Law
March 24, 1934	Passing of Tydings-McDuffie Law by U.S. Congress creating the Philippine Commonwealth Government
July 30, 1934	Opening of the Constitutional Convention as provided for by the Tydings-McDuffie Law.
February 8, 1935	Approval and signing of the Commonwealth Government Constitution
May 14, 1935	Ratification of the Commonwealth Constitution
September 17, 1935	First elction under the Commonwealth Constitution
November 15, 1935	Inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth Government, with Manuel L. Quezon as the President
December 7, 1941	Japan attacks the U.S. naval base at Peral Harbor, World War II starts
January 1942	Establishment of the wartime Philippine Executive Commission under the auspices of the Japanese occupation forces.
September 1943	First meeting of the wartime National Assembly, and elected Jose Laurel as President of the 2nd Philippine Republic.
July 4, 1946	Independence is granted to the Philippines.

Philippine Presidents
 

Government	Term	President	Remark
First Philippine Republic	January 23, 1899 -March 23, 1901	Emilio Aguinaldo	First President
American Colonial Administration, ruled by 3 Military Governors and 11 Civil Governors	March 23, 1901 -November 15, 1935	N/A	N/A
Commonwealth Government	November 15, 1935 -August 1, 1944	Manuel L. Quezon	First President, Philippine Commonwealth
	August 1, 1944 -May 28, 1946	Sergio S. Osmena	Second President, Philippine Commonwealth
	May 28, 1946-July 4, 1946	Manuel A. Roxas	Third (Last)  President, Philippine Commonwealth
Philippine Republic, Japanese Occupation [Second Philippine Republic?]	October 14, 1943 -August 15, 1945	Jose P. Laurel, Sr.	President, Occupation Government
Third Philippine Republic	July 4, 1946 -April 15, 1948	Manuel A. Roxas	First President, Third Philippine Republic

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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