The American Colony
 

Spain's reprieve was brief. In May 1898 an American fleet under Commodore George Dewey steamed into Manila Bay and destroyed the Spanish fleet. This was the Far Eastern military action of the Spanish-American War. Aguinaldo then returned from exile and, expecting support from the United States, reestablished his military forces. Filipinos rallied to Aguinaldo, and on Jan. 23, 1899, at the city of Malos, a Philippine constitution was put into effect. Aguinaldo was elected president of the new republic.

Officials in the United States had other ideas, however. After liberating the islands from Spain, the United States refused to accept the notion of Philippine independence. The United States wanted to establish a military and commercial presence in the Far East, and the island nation seemed to be the perfect outpost. Thus, a Filipino war for independence resumed, now directed against the United States. It was one of the fiercest wars ever waged by the United States. More than 1 million Filipinos died in the fighting. Some estimates place the number as high as 3 million. Protests against the war in the United States were nearly as vehement as those against the Vietnam War three or four generations later. Hostilities ended in March 1901, when Aguinaldo was captured.

William Howard Taft, a future president, was appointed the first civil governor of the Philippines. In order to counter the embarrassing domestic and foreign criticism of its imperialism, the United States worked out a plan that guaranteed Philippine independence when the Filipinos were prepared for it. Meanwhile, the United States governed within the existing structures of Philippine society. Gradually the Filipino elites were granted increased authority by gaining representation in government. By 1907 a national assembly had been elected. The Nationalist Party, led by Sergio Osmena and Manuel L. Quezon became the dominant political force in the islands.

In 1934 the United States Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act, whereby the Philippines was to obtain independence after a ten-year interval of self-government. In 1935 the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established, and Quezon was elected its first president. He held office until his death in 1944; but he died in exile in the United States, since the Philippines had been occupied by Japan in early 1942.

When the Japanese attacked early in December 1941, the American armed forces under Gen. Douglas MacArthur were forced gradually to give way before superior firepower. MacArthur left the Philippines from Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, vowing as he departed: "I shall return." Allied forces did return in October 1944 to defeat the Japanese. Many Filipino and American lives were lost at the hands of the Japanese. The infamous Bataan Death March will long be remembered for the atrocities that occurred. Because of the war, Philippine independence had to be delayed two years.

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