Bases of 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 Commission
O 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 Commission
Second Commission of the Philippines
William Howard Taft
O 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 government
O 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 policy
O 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 1902
Cooper 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 1903
O 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 Parties
O 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 1907
O 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 House
O 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 lines
O 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 System
O 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.
More and more Filipinos speaking in different native languages
O 1899-1900
Literacy rose.
came to understand one another.
-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.”

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 Trade
O 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 Act
American 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
products
2.automobiles
3.cotton goods
4. cigarettes
5. dairy
O To US:
1. sugar
2. coconut oil
3. copra
4. hemp
5. 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 Trade
O 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.

Commonwealth
O Administrative body that governed the
Philippines (1935-1946)

Problems of Economic
Readjustments
O Commonwealth
1. 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 production
3. 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 program
3. maintenance of an expensive diplomatic
consular service
4. national defense.

O Manuel Quezon
Section 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 problems
2. 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.

Bases of American Rule

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Bases of American Rule