Austin Ho

History, Per. 2
02/13/2016

DBQ: Should the United States have annexed the Philippines?

The United States was interested in the Philippine Islands long before the Spanish-

American War. When the Philippines desired independence from the Spanish, the Americans

took the chance to intervene and take the lands. After defeating the Spanish, the country that

controlled the islands, these colonies were able to fall into the American spoils. However,

instead of giving the territories independence like promised, the United States wished to place

these countries under their own control. Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader of the Philippine army felt

betrayed (Background Essay) that the United States was raising their flag instead of providing

them a chance of independence. He was shocked when the Americans did not treat the

Philippines as equals. Hence, the Philippine-American war started due to tensions. Americans

regarded to the Filipinos as people who did not have the same [educational] (Document C)

ideal, and the Filipinos tortured Americans with the same brutality. The United States won at the

end, the country made an unjustified decision at the end by not placing the Philippines under the

rule of the empire. The country should not have annexed the Philippines in order to

maintain the credence and integrity of the Declaration of Independence and distinguish the

Philippines as their own civilization.

The United States is known as a country that enables people to live freely. With the

motto, everyone is created equal, the country advertises to others that they believe in

democracy and freedom. By annexing the Philippines, this would make other countries lose

trust. Our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution do not approve of empires.

This would provoke others in considering the country hypocritical. This [extinguishes] the

spirit of 1776 in those islands (Document A). This would also create despotism (Document
 Austin Ho
History, Per. 2
02/13/2016

A). The Filipinos do not want the country to annex them, and the United States does not have

the right to conquer other countries. The unalienable rights of people would make annexation

illegitimate. The country should not be able to force another country under their rules. The

states knew that the Philippine Islandshad full knowledge that they were fighting for their

own independence, (Document D) not to be assumed under another tyrannical government.

Therefore, annexing the Philippines would stain our history even further, and it is unwise as it is

righteous.

In addition, creating an American empire would not be logical as the Philippines Islands

has their own culture and traditions. Taking over the country would mean re-teaching a different

culture and changing how the country works. It was rather unfair to consider the Filipinos

[uncivilized] (Document C) simply because views differ. They were fit for self-government

(Document C), and there was no need to take them all,educate, the Filipinos, and uplift and

civilize and Christianize them (Document C). Doing so will result in conflicts in between the

two countries. There is no need for the Americans to spend many dollars to own people in

order to trade with them (Document D). It would have been more acceptable to leave the

Philippines to self-government. Though they may have been primitive on the concept of self-

government, they would not prefer the savage, bloody rule (Document B). tTey would soon

learn how to rule themselves, similar to how the Americans decided to break off bonds with the

British. Our country was weak, after the Revolutionary war and then the Civil War, but we were

able to reconstruct and become stronger. This would be what happens to the Philippines if we

leave them on their own.

 Austin Ho
History, Per. 2
02/13/2016

One may refute here that the United States should have annexed the Philippines. After

all, we rescued them from the reeking hands of the Spanish (Document B). The states would

be able to defend them from Germany, England, and Japan hungering from them (Document

B) and give them light and guidance more than one night. The country, after all, cannot rule

themselves, and giving the islands to another country would be a cowardly and dishonorable

act. They would also get more freedoms and opportunities than if they rule by themselves.

However, this claim is invalid because the United States would be brutal to the Philippines. An

American citizen refers to a different skin color and beliefs as incorrect, and attempting to

Christianize them would exhaust many resources and create conflicts between the two.

Creating an American empire would become imperialistic and oxymoronic to the United

States base of government.

Annexing the Philippines was one of the biggest mistakes that the Americans committed.

After noticing that the historical documents that Americans rely on and examining the Filipinos

culture, the so-called liberty no longer exists. By deciding to create an American empire, the

country succumbs to the others, and in turn, makes the country weaker by spreading to a territory

far away. Controlling a nation rather than befriending it results in warfare, killing many innocent

men, women, and children. Liberty and civilization is for the Americans to save (Document

B), not to trash it and repeat an alternative form of slavery.