Although
the United States achieved victory in the Spanish-American War, gaining
new territory and establishing itself as an imperial power, it soon found
itself engaged in another conflict as The Philippines began to rebel against
its new American rulers.
After a historic naval victory during the Spanish-American
War, American Commodore George Dewey had aided the Filipinos and encouraged
them to rise up against their Spanish rulers. As a direct result, General
Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spain on June 12,
1898 and established the first known Asian republic with a democratic
constitution.
However, as part of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the US
obtained ownership of the Philippines. Shortly after President McKinley
made it clear that the Philippines would not be granted independence,
fighting broke out, and the subsequent war would cost the lives of over
4,000 American troops, 20,000 Filipino soldiers, and 500,000 Filipino
civilians.
After suffering several defeats, the Filipinos resorted
to guerilla warfare under the leadership of General Vincente Lukban. After
the infamous "Balangiga Massacre," the Americans intensified their campaign
and eventually brought about the surrender of Lukban on April 16, 1902.
Even after the war was officially over, Americans continued
to fight the Muslim Moros in the south until 1913. As time progressed,
the Filipinos continued to seek independence, which was eventually established
in 1935 with the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
Related
Links
Philippine
Insurrection - Thorough resource offers articles that examine the
struggle between the US and the Philippines.
The
History Guy - Details the causes and consequences of the insurrection
in the Philippines against the US.
Philippine-American
War Centennial - Find a chronology of events along with an archive
of articles that explore various issues of the conflict.
Philippine-American
War - Locate official documents from the war and view an overview
of the major events.
Fighting
a New Conqueror - Read documents from the Philippine-American war
and view a timeline of major events.
