In 1899, the United States annexed the Philippines after a short but bloody war with Spain. These rich, plentiful islands full of resources were in great demand. The U.S. saw the Philippines; fighting against Spain so like them when they were rebelling, and decided to step in and aid ‘the spirit of 1776’ (Doc. A). However, the question still remains: should the United States have annexed the Philippines? The answer is an emphatic no. It was a waste of money and resources, they were as cruel and inflexible as Spain in their opinion of how to treat the natives, and it went against all governmental beliefs the U.S. stood for. Annexing the Philippines was not a wise decision.
Although the idea seemed great at the time, annexing the Philippines was a major waste
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According to Abraham Lincoln: “No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent. When the white man governs himself, that is self-government but when he governs himself and also governs another man, that is more than self-government- that is despotism.” (Doc. A) He was referring to the white man’s tendency to treat people with different skin colors as inferiors, which certainly happened in the Philippines. As Albert J. Beveridge pointed out in Document B, “would not the people of the Philippines prefer the just, human, civilizing government of this republic to the savage, bloody rule… from which we have saved them?” Just, human, civilizing? Strict, biased, Christianizing was more like it. In these islands, the United States of America once again made the same mistake it had made with the Native Americans. Determined that there way was the best way, ‘the slaughter of the Filipinos’ (Doc. A) commenced. Less Filipinos died in the three hundred and thirty-three year Spanish rule than the 1.5 million that fell under America’s forty-eight year annexation. It would have been more humane to leave the Philippines as a separate
The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising that took place in 1898-1990 from the Chinese society against U.S Foreigners and as a result, the United States interfered and their interference was backed up with reasons and and resulted in many outcomes. Reasons that the United States was in favor to participate in the Boxer Rebellion included: The siege of the American Consulate in Beijing, the US was apart of the Eight Nation Alliance, and the United States believed war was a threat to its global trading empire, so they had to act or let everything fall. The U.S involvement was needed in the Boxer Rebellion for its strong, united military aid and resources. The U.S. involvement was necessary in the Boxer Rebellion for American wanted to keep control over the Philippines, they wanted to have a good presence
Many Americans thought occupying foreign countries, like the Philippines after the Spanish American War, was a bad idea because it contradicts the American values of equality found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. (Doc D) However, a majority of America sided with people like Senator Albert J. Beveridge who believed people were chosen by God to expand into China and the Philippines to open more Asian markets. (Doc E) This was a continuation of past expansionism because acquiring land for money Manifest Destiny have been motives for expansionism for
The Mexican American War started in 1846 because of Mexican resentment caused by the 1836 loss of Texas and the American’s desire for Mexico’s more northern territory. “On September 9, 1847 after two years of fighting, the Mexican American war essentially ended when the American Army captured Mexico City after the Battle of Chapultepec”( 6). The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war. United States leaders then acted morally superior in their negotiations of the treaty 1. During negotiations, United States officials viewed the “forcible incorporations” (1) of almost one half of Mexico’s land as an “event foreordained by providence and Manifest Destiny” (1).
Thus in second chapter Haynes describes the matter of on-going pro-bank and contra-bank debates and collision of the interests of supporting groups that were involved in B.U.S. case. In seventh chapter, the author gives detailed account on annexation of Oregon and Texas. He explains the basis of the disagreement between England and America about Oregon territory. Haynes thoroughly analyzes the status of Texas at that time, and the claims that Mexico and the United States had over it. Further he discusses possible consequences for every country involved into conflict, if England decided to
On the other hand, Hoganson had a different outlook on the annexation of The Philippines. She saw the takeover as way of dictatorship. Hoganson said,” The savage, childlike, and feminine stereotypes appealed to imperialists because they not only suggested the Filipinos' incapacity for selfgovernment, but also enabled imperialists to cast themselves as civilizers and authoritative heads of household—that is, as men who wielded power” (Hoganson). American viewed the people of the Philippines as simple minded and easy to control. She interpreted the annexation as a way for white business men to feed their hunger of power.
If it were not for those skirmishes in Mexico, the nation would not have the expansion that they
Conclusion = Summary of important facts reviewed during the main points of the speech • Puerto Rico took a break from Spain in 1898 claiming some independence • United States did not hesitate to step in and kick Spain out • Years later the US and PR were engaged under the Jones Act making. No wedding date has been set. 8.
Thirdly, a second reason the Mexican War was not justified because US soldiers were in a disputed area. According to Jesus Velasco Marquez from “A Mexican Viewpoint on the War With the United States,” he states that “From Mexico’s point of view, the annexation of Texas to the United States was inadmissible for both legal and security reasons.” As well as, “The American government acted like a bandit who came upon a
The spirit of 1776 was independence and by annexing the Philippines the US took away the independence of the Philippines as well as the Filipino people. Taking away the independence of another colony/nation is hypocritical because it goes against the values of which the US was founded on. The Philippines should not have been annexed because the US could still profit from the Philippines without annexation. “It is not necessary to own people to trade with them,”(document D). The US did not profit from annexing the Philippines, trade wise, because they could still trade with them whether they were annexed into the US or not.
William McKinley in his thoughts on American Expansionism has identified the reasons why America had no other choice but to incorporate Philippines as a part of it. This writing has been lifted from the excerpts of an interview with William McKinley soon after Spain had surrendered in the Spanish-American war. McKinley cleverly talks in this interview about how Philippines just came and fell into the laps of America thereby suggesting the helpless stance of America. He talks about how America’s sole intention and purpose had only been to safeguard its own interests as a country. He had to order that the Spanish fleets in Manila be destroyed because if left unattended, they would have crossed the Pacific and wreaked havoc in the American states
As stated before, the US was justified in going to war with Mexico because of three reasons, Americans were killed, Texas was already annexed, and Manifest Destiny allows it. The United states had many superb reasons for going to war with Mexico. This essay is significant because it helps explain the United States’ choice to go to war with
O’Sullivan was an American columnist whom was known for his use of the term, “manifest destiny,” which promoted the annexation of Texas to the United States. He argues that the adverse attitude toward Texas’ independence from Mexico needs to end. In this article, O’Sullivan also expands on the importance of the growth of the country throughout the continent. It further acknowledges the freedom of Texas as not a rebellion, but by abandonment from Mexico. John O’Sullivan sees the future of America expanding into California and Mexico becoming a country without a real government.
As America became a great power, it has continued its legacy of territorial expansionism through neo-imperialist policies. Aside from acquiring land and expanding American territory, the United States has established policies that have allowed direct and often indirect military and political control, economic exploitation, and the introduction of American ideals. The U.S. has justified this form of colonialism by claiming that it is for mutual economic pursuits, the spreading of democracy, and the establishment of stable governments in developing countries. Despite America’s noble causes, American imperialism has caused many repercussions. The United States should cease to be an imperialist power as it is economically damaging to countries under its rule, costly to America, violates the fundamental American principle of self-governance, and exacerbates social and political situations in countries America has tampered with.
When Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, a string of ruthless dictators and weak presidents made Mexico an easy target for its powerful neighbor, the United States. The US swooped in to expand its territory and its popular institution of slavery. By doing so, the US started a war with Mexico that was justified for illegitimate reasons. The Mexican-American War was not justified because the US took Mexico’s land for the expansion of slavery, and justified their taking advantage of Mexico when it was politically weak by hiding behind Manifest Destiny.
Deciding the Annexation of the Philippines Assessment: On Google Docs you need to write a three paragraph essay arguing whether or not the United States should or should not annex the Philippines. You need to use 2 pieces of evidence from the documents per paragraph. Americans might have thought that all war and chaos would have ended and stayed in the year of 1898, when we (America) won over the Spanish, in the Spanish-American war. Although, we were partially right with allowing us to have some sort of peace, we did not figure that we may have to have annex a whole different country, taking away from our “peace”.