Week 25: Latin American Consolidation IDs
Taking up the White Man's Burden!
The Spanish-American War
- President Roosevelt ordered Commodore George Dewey to attack Spanish naval forces in the Philippines
- Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay
- Spain surrendered the city of Manila
Post-Spanish-American War
Following the Spanish-American War, the Treaty of Paris was signed. The treaty ceded several territories to the United States, including the Philippines. The United States began its rule of the islands in December 1899.
A Bad Beginning
- Emilio Aguinaldo led a rebellion against Americans
- Evolved into a bloody war (4,300 American deaths and 50,000 native deaths)
- Philippine War lasted from 1898 to 1902
- Filipinos used guerilla tactics which angered the U.S.
- U.S. began to adopt more severe measures
- Prisoners of war were summarily executed and villages were destroyed
- Reports of the brutality and the rising number of American casualties soured public opinion on the war
Road to Self-rule
- U.S. captured Aguinaldo in March 1901 and he declared allegiance to the U.S.
- Fighting continued for yeats, but American occupation of the islands was secure
- William Howard Taft became the first governor in 1901
- Filipinos were granted local autonomy
- Americans built schools, roads, briges, and sewers
- U.S. established a public health system
- Filipinos gained independence on July 4, 1946
American troops in Manila, 1899