The Philippine–American War was an armed conflict between the First Philippine Republic and the United

States that lasted from February 4, 1899, to July 2, 1902.

Beginnings (1898)

• On 12 June 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence at his house in Cavite El Viejo. This
declaration was not recognized by either the United States or Spain.
• Prior to this declaration, Aguinaldo’s revolution had been on the verge of defeat, and he had
accepted exile to Hong Kong. However, upon the prompting of U.S. officials such as Commodore
George Dewey, Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines, again taking up leadership of the revolution,
and aiding American forces in the capture of Manila.
• Before the Battle of Manila Bay, Americans and Filipinos cooperated to force back Spanish troops
from north Luzon and Cavite.
• However, after the Battle, rather than surrendering to the Filipino Revolutionary Army under
Aguinaldo, Fermin Jaudenes surrendered Intramuros, the center of Manila Bay, to the Americans,
in August of 1898.
• In December of that same year, President McKinley proclaimed the U.S. policy of benevolent
assimilation—essentially, annexation for the purpose of modernization and development.
• In line with this, that same month, the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the United States
in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, in consideration for an indemnity for Spanish expenses and assets lost.
• The Filipino revolutionaries, who at last had won a war they had spent over a hundred years
fighting, were denied entry into Manila, leading to the beginning of a tense new year, in 1899.
First Shots (1899)

• In February of 1899, Private William W. Grayson, an American soldier, opened fire on Filipino troops
in Santa Mesa, killing two. These were the first shots of the war.
• Initially, Aguinaldo had sought peace, but his messages were rejected by American General Elwell
Otis, who said that the "fighting, having begun, must go on to the grim end"
• One week later, American naval vessels would bombard Iloilo City, and General Otis stated that
American forces would continue to seize Filipino targets until the Philippine Revolutionary Army
surrendered and laid down its arms.
Guerilla Movement (1899-1900)

• The Filipino army, on the other hand, was poorly equipped. Though they numbered in the tens of
thousands, most members of the Revolutionary Army did not have modern guns, and instead relied
on bolos and improvised cannons. Therefore, the General Staff under Aguinaldo adopted a
strategy of avoiding direct field combat. Large-scale battles in this era primarily consisted of
troops in ordered formations marching toward each other, firing one volley, and then maybe
charging with bayonets or bolos. However, Filipino soldiers were vulnerable to American artillery
and cavalry, which they did not possess.
• So, the Philippine Revolutionary Army adopted a strategy of hit-and-run attacks, attacking
American supply convoys and avoiding the main bulk of American forces.
• In response, General Otis reorganized the towns and barangays, and restricted civilian populations
to several key areas they called “zones of protection”—both to prevent Filipino guerillas from
attacking civilians, and to prevent sympathetic civilians from providing aid to the guerillas.
• General Otis also adopted an aggressive strategy in dealing with Filipino attacks, ordering troops
to burn villages, fields, and forests, in order to deny Filipino soldiers any means of fighting on. He
also suppressed reports from American soldiers who objected to these methods, and instead
 accused the Philippine Revolutionary Army of acts of torture and cruelty against Americans,
though no evidence of this has ever been produced.
Retreat, Retreat, Retreat (1900-1901)

• Throughout 1899 and 1900, the Filipino forces were continuously defeated in open combat, forcing
it to rely solely on guerilla tactics to fight the Americans. Filipino strategy was not aimed to defeat
the Americans, but rather to convince them that holding the Philippines would not be worth it,
prompting them to leave the Philippines alone.
• However, President McKinley was re-elected into office in 1900, and he continued his policy of
benevolent assimilation, increasing pressure in the Philippines through new U.S. forces under General
Arthur McArthur.
• Eventually, American forces caught up with the Philippine Army. In March 1901, the Macabebe
Scouts of Pampanga, who were secretly loyal to the U.S., entered Aguinaldo’s camp in Isabela,
pretending to have captured U.S. General Frederick Funston. However, as soon as the scouts were
let in, they showed their true colors, turned on the Revolutionary Army soldiers in the camp, and
captured Emilio Aguinaldo, first President of the Republic.
• In April that same year, Aguinaldo was forced to sign an oath of allegiance to the United States,
and ordered other Filipinos to surrender and do the same.
Winding-Down of Hostilities (1902)

• Some generals surrendered, but others, such as General Miguel Malvar in Batangas, continued to
fight on, until they were surrounded and forced into surrender by the American forces.
• Most Filipinos, tired of war after almost five years of constant fighting, first against the Spanish
then the Americans, were willing to lay down their arms. Some, however, continued the fight and
refused to surrender.
• General Macario Sakay established the Tagalog Republic in the lower Sierra Madre mountains,
and continued fighting American forces until 1906, when he was lured to Manila on false promises
of amnesty, and was arrested, tried, and then executed by the American forces.
• Another Filipino revolutionary, General Artemio Ricarte, had been captured by the Americans in
1900. However, he refused to sign an oath to the U.S., and was exiled to Guam with Apolinario
Mabini. He was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1902, but again refused to make an oath to
the U.S., and was again exiled to Hong Kong. He returned to the Philippines in disguise in 1903, and
was captured by the Americans after he got sick while attempting to assemble more soldiers to
fight the Americans. He was imprisoned then again exiled to Japan in 1910, where he would stay for
several more years, all the while continuing to write about and advocate for an independent
Philippines.
Consequences

• After the official declaration of the end of the war in 1902, U.S. President Roosevelt proclaimed an
amnesty for all Filipinos who fought in the war.
• All told, the war cost the lives of 20,000 Filipino soldiers and up to 200,000 Filipino civilians, who
died of starvation and hunger caused by the U.S.’ burn and kill strategy. U.S. forces, on the other
hand, lost up to 7,000 soldiers in the fighting.
• In the aftermath of the war, the U.S. Congress enacted the Philippine Organic Act of 1902,
establishing the beginning of modern governance in the Philippines, through the Philippine Assembly,
the first version of today’s Philippine Congress, governed by Filipinos.
• This was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Philippines which, while forced upon
it by foreign powers, nonetheless began the Philippines’ history of democracy and representative
government. Further, the U.S. government officially removed the Catholic Church as a state religion,
introduced English as the primary language of government, education, business, industry, and
established democratic governance as the basis by which future Filipino governments would be
built.