bases of american rule
TRANSCRIPT
Bases: AMERICAN RULE
American Policy in the Philippines
O The First Philippine Commission:Schurman Commission
-Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman, president of Cornell University, New York.
O Authority of the US should be extended all over the Philippines in a peaceful manner.
O Secure with the least possible delay the benefits of a wise and generous protection of life and property.
O Customs and traditions of the Filipinos should be respected.
The Schurman CommissionO Arrived in Manila: March 1899.
-conducted an investigation into the condition of the country. Purpose: interviewed the highly educated and wealthy Filipinos; Illustrados.
O Principles:a. The enforcement of American
sovereignty over the entire Philippines.b. Self-government shall be given to the
Filipinos compatible with the maintenance of order and with a wise, just, and economical administration of public affairs.
c. Protection of the Civil Rights of the Filipinos.
d. Promotion of the welfare of the Filipinos.
Taft CommissionSecond Commission of the Philippines
William Howard TaftO 1900: instructed by McKinley to establish a
government for the Filipinos, should be in accordance to its customs and traditions of the people.
O Introduced: Free Primary Education and English language should be the medium of instruction.
-described as an organizing Commission. It did not leave the Philippines but stayed on to organize the civil government.
Military Rule
O General Wesley Merritt, Military Commander
-ordered to establish a military government.
-remained Military Governor until October.
O General Elwell Otis-succeeded Gen. Merritt, remained in
his post up to 1900.O General Arthur MacArthur
-succeeded Gen. Otis.
O Military Governor -representative of the Pres. Of the US in Phil. -exercised wide powers which included =executive, legislative, and judicial .
O 1899 -divested of his judicial powers, transferred to the judiciary. -other powers: taken away from him.
O 1900 -legislative powers were transferred to the Philippine Commission.
O 1901 -executive powers were given to the civil governor.
O Military Governor’s DUTIES: 1. Pacification of the provinces which had not yet recognized the authority of the US. 2. Maintenance of peace and order in areas already pacified. 3. Orders the organization of town under provincial governments.
O Baliwag, Bulakan -the first town under the Americans to hold local elections.
Military Government: introduced public school systems; soldiers acting as
teachers.
Civil governmentO March 1901
- US Congress passed the Army Appropriation Act.O Senator John Spooner (Wisconsin)
- inserted an amendment in the act: Authorize the US Pres. To establish civil government in the Phil.
“Spooner Amendment”Basis of the civil government.
Before approval: Phil. was administered by the US Pres. through the acting representative, the military
governor.After passage: administration of the Phil was passed
to congress.
O July 4, 1901- the civil government was inaugurated.- Howard Taft: the first civil governor. **Chairman of the Philippine
Commission the early-law making body of
the Phil under the Americans. - He exercised legislative powers.
Taft’s policyO Enormity of the Problems:
1. Not all the provinces of the Phil were peaceful and orderly.
2. Guerrilla’s were still fighting the Americans.
3. Famine in some places. 4. Sanitation was very poor.
“There was not enough money to reconstruct and rehabilitate the devastated
country.”
O Taft appealed to the American Congress to appropriate sufficient funds to give relief to the suffering Filipinos.
-given P6,000,000 to help the Filipinos start a new life.
O 1903-Taft went to Rome to negotiate the purchase
of the so-called friar lands so that they could be distributed to the tenants.
-succeeded in purchasing 410,000 acres of the friar lands and had them resold to tenants on easy installment plans.
O Governor Taft- remembered for his “The Philippines is for the
Filipino” Policy.- noted that some Americans were greedy and
wanted to exploit the Filipinos for their own selfish ends.O February 1903
- while in Iloilo City, he boldly exclaimed that Americans and foreigners should leave the Philippines at once if they “found fault in the way the Government was being run.”
- the government is for the Filipinos.- he criticized Americans who were impatient of
his policy of attraction and doctrine of the “Philippines is for the Filipinos.
Banishments of the Patriots
O Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera, Benito Lagarda, Felipe Buencamino, Cayetano Arellano telling the Schurman Commission that the Filipinos are not prepared for self-government.
O Apolinario Mabini- the most irreconcilable of all, wrote articles attacking
the Americans. He urged the Filipinos to continue the struggle against the enemy.
O Americans decided to banish the Filipino leaders who refused to collaborate with them.
O Apolinario Mabini, Artemio Ricarte, Maximo Hizon, Julian Gerona, Pablo Ocampo Were sent to Guam as exiles.
The Philippine Bill of 1902Cooper Law
“Philippine Act of 1902”
1. Approved all acts of the US Pres. relative to the Phil.2. Provided a bill of rights which guaranteed to Filipinos for right of
free speech, free press, and freedom to petition for the redress of grievances.
3. Executive Departments: provided for Department of Commerce and Police, Department of Interior, Department of Finance and Justice, and Department of Public Instruction.
4. Given the right to send two representative: “Resident Commissioners” to the US Congress so they could work for the interest of the Philippines.
The Filipinos could not vote. Important provisions of the Cooper Law: The Filipinos could establish
a Philippine Assembly 2 years after peace and order had been proclaimed throughout the Philippines by the US Pres.
Census of 1903O Governor Taft
-recommended to the US President Theodore Roosevelt that peace and order be proclaimed.O March 2, 1903
-proclaimed by Gov. Taft as Census Day.
O Preparation of Census:The Census takers were instructed to note down:
a. The # of inhabitants in the locality they were assigned to;
b. List the # and kind of industries, diseases, and all kinds of information about the people and the country.O 1905
-the results of the Census taking were published in 4 volumes.O Philippine Population (March 2, 1903)
7, 635, 426.
Political PartiesO Sedition Law (1901)
“Any Filipino advocating Independence or separation from the US would be punished severely.”O Brigandage Act
“Severe penalty is provided for those found in company with/were members of armed groups.O Law of 1903
“Reconcentration(Zoning) of the inhabitants of a town known to have thieves and outlaws.”
O Filipinos were allowed to form political parties: platforms were not based on independence.
O Trinidad H, Pardo de Tavera- allowed to form the first officially
recognized political party in the Phil.- founded the “Federal Party” whose
platform was based on: Making the Phil. a state of the US.O Nacionalista Party (1901)
- the first Nacionalista party formed by the Filipinos who opposed the platform.
O The Liberal Party (1902)-favored the American Rule, changed
it’s name: “Progresista Party.”O The First Democratic Party (1902)
O 1907- 2 political parties favoring
independence decided to merge became the 2nd Nationalista Party.
- led by young lawyers: Sergio Osmena (Cebu) & Manuel L. Quezon (Tayabas).
- became popular of it’s independence platform.
The Election of 1907O Cooper Act of the Philippine Bill of 1902
- “The Filipinos could elect delegates to the Philippine Assembly 2 years after peace and order had been proclaimed.”O The issue at hand:
1. Immediate Independence.-Nationalista Party
2. Eventual Independence-Progresista Party.
O Election of July 30, 1907-People: in favor of immediate independence.-Nationalista Party: won 59 seats.-Progresista: 16 seats.-Independence: 5 seats.
The First Philippine Assembly
O Philippine Assembly: Lower HouseO The Philippine Commission: Upper House
-inaugurated at the old Opera House on Rizal Avenue on October 16, 1907.
-William H. Taft(Secretary of War): guest speaker.
“The vowed policy of the national administration under these two Presidents [McKinley and Roosevelt] has been and is to govern the islands, having regard to the interest and welfare of the Filipino people. The policy looks to the improvement of the people both industrially and in self-
governing capacity.”
O Elected officers:1. Sergio Osmena (29 y.o.): Speaker.2. Manuel L. Quezon: Majority Floor Leader.
*They adopted to the rules of the American Congress to guide them in their deliberations.
IMPORTANCE: The first significant step toward Filipino-American cooperation. “Previously performed by the Philippine Commission: dominated by its American members.
O Philippine Assembly: divided into two. Upper house: composed of Americans. Lower house: exclusively for Filipinos.
The Work of the Assembly
Outline of Goals:O Cooperation with the US on the basis of
mutual respect.O Making the Assembly an instrument in
achieving autonomy of the Philippines.O Passing of laws intended to hasten the
economic, social and political development of the country.
O The substitution of the oppressive policy in the past with progressive policy.
Achievements:O Establishment of an agricultural bank.O Construction of new railway linesO Installation of telegraph and telephone line.O Construction of school houses, roads, bridges
& irrigation canals.O Creation of Bureau of Labor for the Protection
of the Laboring Class.O Establishment of the School of Fine Arts of the
University of the Philippines.O Establishment of the National Library.
The Resident Commissioners
O The Philippine Assembly elected 2 Resident Commissioners:
1st Resident Commissioners: 1. Pablo Ocampo (1907-1909) 2. Benito Legarda (1907-1912)
O Manuel L. Quezon-elected resident commissioner in 1902 to replace
Ocampo.
O 1912-Manuel Barnahaw replaced Legarda.
O Other resident commissioners:Teodoro R. Yangco (1917-1920)Jime C. de Veyra (1917-1923)Isauro Cabaldon (1920-1928)Pedro Guevarra (1923-1935)Cantilo Osias (1929-1934)Francisco Delgado (1934-1935)
They worked hard for laws beneficial to the Philippines.
Fought bills presented to Congress which were detrimental to the Filipinos.
Public School SystemO After the Battle of Manila Bay:
-Americans established the first school on Corregidor.O After the Mock Battle of Manila
-schools were established.-free and open to all.
O 1899-1900-Primary Grade: more than 100,000 school children
enrolled.O 1901
-Dep. of Public Instruction was established.-American teachers: brought to the Philippines and
sent to the different provinces of the Philippines to bring to the Filipino children the “ENGLISH LANGUAGE.”
Literacy rose.More and more Filipinos speaking in different native
languages came to understand one another.
Economic Development
O Senator Recto-observed that, “while the oratorical
clamor for independence continued to thunder deafeningly. Economic Policies were silently, but surely chaining the nation to the oars of the Colonial galley.”O Direct result of free trade relations, or the
operation of preferential tariff arrangements, between the US and the Phil.
O Economic policy- implemented at the beginning of the American regime to eliminate competition from other countries.
O 1899-old tariff arrangements under the Spaniards continued.-American products were received on equal footing with foreign products.-old tariff: still satisfactory the Philippines
was enjoying a flourishing foreign trade.O American businessman: demanded that the
old tariff be revised. Purpose: giving protection to the American goods.
O Article IV (Treaty of Paris 1898)-granted Spain “Most favored Nation
Treatment,” in the field of trade for a period of 10 years.
*Obstacle to any such change.
Establishment of Free TradeO April 1, 1909
-restrictive clause in Article IV of the Treaty of Paris was lifted.
O August 1902-partial free trade was established when
US Congress approved the “Payne-Aldrich Act.”
Payne-Aldrich ActAmerican goods of all kinds and in unlimited quantities
could enter the specific quota limitations.*SUGAR: limited to 300,000 long tons annually.
*CIGARS: 150,000,000*WRAPPER TOBACCO: 300,000 pounds*FILLER TOBACCO: 1,000,000 pounds.
O Rice: completely shut-out of the American market. result: of the objection of rice growers in the
Southern states.O 1913
-free trade relations established remained practically unchanged until the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934.
O The Philippine Assembly: vigorously protested the establishment of free trade on the ground that it would have a re-judicial effect on the revenues of the country. Difficult: to protect the native industries.
-passed a resolution expressing itself against free trade for 2 reasons:
1. It would result to, “So tying us up with American economic system to disturb it sometime afterwards would bring about economic ruin to the Phil.”
2. The Filipinos were afraid that the economic association would be an obstacle to the achievement of national independence.
Philippine trade: increased considerably with the establishment of sovereignty in the Phil., adoption of free trade.
O Philippine Imports: increased 91x.-From $1,350,000 (1899) to $92,600,000
(1930)
O Philippine exports to US: increased 32X.-from $3,935,000 to $84, 873,000 (1930).
O Philippine trade to all countries:-$28,751,227 (1899) to $72,734,991 (1930)
O Market for:1. iron and steel products2.automobiles3.cotton goods4. cigarettes5. dairy
O To US:1. sugar2. coconut oil3. copra4. hemp5. tobacco
products
O 1943-constituted more
than 80% of the total exports.
-Americans good purchased by the Philippines constituted about 65% of total imports.
Results of Free TradeO Increase in volume and value of Philippine
trade with the US increased government revenues.
-bought an improvement in the standard living of the Filipinos, was 300% over those of other peoples of Asia.
-income from export trade with US: spent maintenance of public schools, sanitation, public hygiene, and preservation of law and order.
construction of more roads, bridges, railway lines, and other transportation and communication facilities.
O Improvements in public works: insured the continued use of American goods.
O The construction of roads, bridges, railways systems meant the use of American tools, equipment and materials.
O Good roads: the use of more American cars, trucks, and vehicles which used American tires, gasoline, and spare parts.
O Prosperity: not only artificial and illusory, but was dependent upon the continuation of free trade relations between Phil. and US.
O Income from the export of raw materials to the US: nearly always indirect proportion to the income available for the purchase of goods coming form America.
income from free trade: used not only to import consumer goods from the US, but also to maintain and support the Phil. Government.“The closure of the American market upon
achieving independence, would automatically imperil the economic stability of the Filipinos and reduce their ability to
properly maintain and support their government.”
O Filipinos became more Americanized in tastes in habits.
O Debilitating colonial attitude: helped prevent the development of manufacturing in the Philippines.
Filipinos would rather import their basic necessities from the US than embark on the difficult and certainly more expensive path to industrialization.
O Free Trade-reinforced the backward feudal agrarian
system carried over from the Spanish regime and crippled the normal development of Philippine Industry.
-enriched a few Filipinos but it also increased the suffering of the growing number of exploited farmers and workers of the country.
1. Big landlords continued to practice exploitative
techniques they learned from their Spanish masters to the hapless peasentry.
landlords & import export traders exerted little effort to meet the competition in the open world markets by way of mechanization and modernization of agricultural techniques.
O Trade Preferences-required unskilled labor and low wage rates,
precluded the growth of manufacturing and industrialization. Result: poor living conditions, agrarian unrest, and periodic peasant uprisings and labour strikes (1920,1930)O Export crops: sugar, principal output of the country.
-tariff protection resulted in undue increase in investment in sugar-producing lands and machinery, heavily financed by the Philippine government through the Philippine National Bank, as well as American and foreign investors.
-led to the growth of a powerful native sugar bloc, along with other Philippine vested interests, resisted real freedom by pleading for the extension of free trade after independence.
O Leaders of the country debated whether the Filipinos could afford to be independent or not of the American market, pleaded fro the retention of free trade relations for fear of losing tariff protection for Philippine export products.
O Having to “dispense” with American goods to which the Filipinos had been so accustomed and which they could not produce.
CommonwealthO Administrative body that governed the
Philippines (1935-1946)
Problems of Economic Readjustments
O Commonwealth1. economic readjustments (independent
status)2. elimination of foreign domination of certain
sectors of the national economy.O Philippine Economy
-built upon complete dependence on the American market which free trade arrangements established between the Phil and US (1909).
-In accordance with the constitutional injunction that the national patrimony must be preserved for the Filipino people.
TRADE RELATIONS with the UNITED STATES
O Provision of the Tydings-McDuffie Law-established a transitional period from the
sixth to the tenth year after the inauguration of the Commonwealth.
Government would collect export taxes on Philippine exports to the US.O Imposition of duties: 5% (1940), increase by 5%
each year, of the regular rates of duties collected by the US.
O Until 25% is reached in the 10th year or the last year prior to the establishment of independence.
O Jones-Castigan Act (1934)-provided for the imposition of duty-
free quotas on sugar and the laws imposing excise taxes on coconut oil and cordage exports to the US; would take effect at the same time.
“The Philippines would pay full-duty on all it’s exports to the US while
products of the US would enter the country duty-free.”
O Increasing of duties on major exports: included in the Tydings-McDuffie Law
1. compel the Phil. To diversify its products.
2. decrease the cost of production3. seek non-American products
O Sugar, coconut, cordage industries: comprised 90% of all Phil. Exports and depended the very financial structure of municipal and provincial government, Commonwealth.
O Commonwealth expected:1. expenses of an independent
existence after 1945-1946.2, industrialization program3. maintenance of an expensive
diplomatic consular service4. national defense.
O Manuel QuezonSection 13 “Tydings-McDuffie Law”: Joint US and Phil. Conference to be held in the latter part
of the Commonwealth to: remedy the “Imperfections and inequalities” of the law.
-after the inauguration, made representations with President Roosevelt requesting the conference be held earlier.
-issued early in 1935: executive order (No. 780) creating: “Technical Trade Committee” purpose: gathering and interpreting statistical information to be used in the joint conference.
O Composed of representatives: sugar and other agricultural interests.
1. Conclusion: application of the export taxes would seriously “cripple, completely annihilate” most of the major industries of the country. “Reduce government revenues, increase unemployment, prevent the payment of the country’s indebtedness.”
2. Under existing international economic conditions: impossible to find new markets for Philippine sugar, copra, coconut oil and cordage.
O 1937-Quezon & Pres. Roosevelt agreed to establish
a joint Philippine-American committee to study:1. economic problems2. recommend a program for economic
adjustment.O Joint Preparatory Committee on Philippine Affairs
(JPCPA)-April 14, 1937: hearings were held in
Washington, San Francisco & Manila over a year.-recommended (1938) the grant of political
independence to the Phil. “July 4, 1946” and extension of free trade relations between the US and Phil. Up to 1960.
O August 7, 1939-The US Congress enacted:
“Tydings-Kocialkowski Act” (AKA: Philippine Economic Adjustment Act)
-modified certain provisions of the previous Law.O Provided:
1. Abaca: exempted from export duties.2. Cigar, scrap tobacco, filler tobacco,
coconut oil, pearl or shell buttons: enter the US under decreasing quotas.
3. aimed for preparing the country in 1946.
O The law did not embody the JPCPA’s recommendation:
“Free trade relations be extended beyond the Commonwealth period.”(Provide for a trade conference between
representatives of the US and Phil. To be held not later than 1944.
Purpose: formulating recommendations on trade relations.)
O Remedial Legislation (1939)-gave Filipino producers and exporters a
chance to make necessary adjustments preparatory to independence in 1946.
O Commonwealth-recognized the necessity of
overhauling the economy and wearing it away from independence on the American Market.
-carried out an economic readjustment plan: using the funds transferred by the US to the Phil. (collection of excise taxes on coconut oil)
O Included:1. diversification and increase of
agricultural production.2. development of various natural
resources of the country.3. expansion of domestic market
through increased consumption of local products.
4. development and improvement of transportation and communication facilities.
5. scientific reasearch.6. industrialization & development of
markets outside of the US.
