The Philippines during the American Period

U.S. colony  Civil government was established by the Americans in 1901, with William Howard Taft as the first American Governor-General of the Philippines. English was declared the official language. Six hundred American teachers were imported aboard the USS Thomas. Also, the Catholic Church was disestablished, and a substantial amount of church land was purchased and redistributed. Some measures of Filipino self-rule were allowed, however. An elected Filipino legislature was established in 1907.

1898 political cartoon showing U. S 1898 political cartoon showing U.S. President McKinley with a native child. Here, returning the Philippines to Spain is compared to throwing the child off a cliff.

Consequences of the American colonial rule During the Spanish period the Spaniards had given enormous land properties to the Catholic church. One of the first things the Americans did was to take care for the redistribution of these land properties. To do so they first had to pay an amount of US $7.2million to the Vatican in 1904. The small farmers or tenants didn't get any land however. The land became property of some large landowners. Most of the small farmers couldn't pay the asked price or couldn't prove that they were the former owners of the land.

The Road Towards Philippine Independence 1. Jones Law- the law was approved by President Woodrow Wilson after it was proposed by William Atkinson Jones, an American congressman. The law stated the right of the Filipinos to attain freedom in the near future.2. Tydings-McDuffie Act-This law was proposed by Millard Tydings and congressman John McDuffie of the US. It stated the 10-year preparation for the Philippine independence through a commonwealth government.

In 1916, the Philippine Autonomy Act, widely known as the Jones Law, was passed by the U. S. Congress. The law which served as the new organic act (or constitution) for the Philippines, stated in its preamble that the ultimate independence of the Philippines would be American policy, subject to the establishment of a stable government. The lawplaced executive power in the Governor General of the Philippines, appointed by the President of theUnited States, but established a bicameral Philippine Legislature to replace the elected Philippine Assembly (lower house)

and appointive Philippine Commission (upper house) previously in place and appointive Philippine Commission (upper house) previously in place. The Filipino House of Representatives would be purely elected, while the new Philippine Senate would have the majority of its members elected by senatorial district with senators representing non-Christian areas appointed by the Governor-General.

In 1934, the United States Congress, having originally passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act as a Philippine Independence Act over President Hoover's refusal, only to have the law rejected by the Philippine legislature, finally passed a new Philippine Independence Act, popularly known as the Tydings-McDuffie Act. The law provided for the granting of Philippine independence by 1946.

The Commonwealth Government The Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, passed by Congress in 1932,provided for complete independence of the islands in 1945 after 10 years of self-government under U.S. supervision. The bill had been drawn up with the aid of a commission from the Philippines, but Manuel L. Quezon, the leader of the leading Nationalist party, opposed it, partially because of its threat of 

American tariffs against Philippine products but principally because of the provisions leaving naval bases in U.S. hands. Under his influence, the Philippine legislature rejected the bill. The Tydings-McDuffie Independence Act (1934) closely looks like the Hare-Hawes Cutting Act, but struck the provisions for American bases and carried a promise of further study to correct “imperfections or inequalities.”

On May 14, 1935, an election to fill the newly created office of President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was won by Manuel L. Quezon(Nacionalista Party) and a Filipino government was formed on the basis of principles apparently similar to the US Constitution. When Quezon was inaugurated on Nov. 15, 1935, the Commonwealth was formally established in 1935, featured a very strong executive, a unicameral National Assembly, and a Supreme Court composed entirely of Filipinos for the first time since 1901

Changes in Philippine Cultureduring the American Periodduring the American Period Government-Democracy was the greatest legacy the Americans gave us. The government has three branches: executive (president), legislative (senate and congress)and the judiciary (department of  justice).

Education Schools were built all over the country and making English as a medium of instructions. The first teachers were called Thomasites because they came onboard the SS Thomas. The University of the Philippines, Philippine Normal College and other agricultural schools were established.

Religion Protestantism was introduced. In 1918, more or less than 300,00 Filipinos became protestant. The church an the state (government)were separated. Freedom of religion was practiced. Transportation and Communication was improved. Americans built roads, streets and bridges for efficient movement of products and services. Examples: Burnham Park, Kennon Road, Camp John Hay etc.

Livelihood The Philippine economy was also improved due to increase agricultural production and development of new industries. The Filipino attitude was gradually changed. We learned to be frank, humorous, belief in rights and freedom, and love for sports. “Pagmamano” was replaced by kissing the cheeks of parents and elders as a sign of respect. The English language was widely taught all over the country. Soon, taught all over the country. Soon, some english words became part of some english words became part of our vocabulary. Filipinos adopted our vocabulary. Filipinos adopted American names like Charlie, Anna, American names like Charlie, Anna, Francis, and Cherry. Francis, and Cherry