1. Philippine History
AMERICAN COLONIAL RULE :
POLICY AND GOVERNANCE
(1899-1907)

2. • Winning the ward did not
guarantee that the Filipinos were
willing to accept American colonial
rule. From the every start, American
policymakers and authorities
realized that winning the hearts
and mind of a conquered people was
more important and certainly not
easy to accomplish.

3. THE MILITARY RULE
• After manila fell into the hand of the
Americans the count was administered
by the President of the United States
through the military.
• The president McKinley ordered The
military commander General Wesley
Merritt to establish a military
government in the Philippines with
Merritt as the first Military governor.

4. • In August 1898 he was Ordered to go to
Paris to testify before the peace
commissioner regarding the condition
in the Philippines.
• Merritt was succeeded by General ElweII
Otis as military Governor.
• Otis remained in his post up to may
1900 and was succeeded by general
Arthur MacArthur who governed until
May 1901.

5. AMERICAN POLICY IN THE
PHILIPPINES
• Toward the end of 1898 even before the
conclusion of the treaty of Paris American
policy regarding the Philippines was already
clear.
• There was no mistaking the fact the
McKinley wanted the entire Philippines for
the United States .
• In order to help him formulate this policy
McKinley created what is now known as the
first Philippines Commission.

6. • This was called the Schurman Commission
named After its chairman Dr. Jacob Gould
Schurman President of Cornell University
in New York.
• For the Guidance of the schurman
Commission McKinley issued his
“Instruction.”
• These instruction Clearly indicated that the
authority of the United states should
extended all over the Philippines in a peaceful
manner.

7. • The Commission arrived in manila in
March 1899.
• Immediately it countered a investigation
into the condition of the country.
• For this Purpose it interviewed the
highly-education and wealthy Filipinos
the ilustrados.
• A month after its arrival the Commission
issued the following Recommendation to
implement American rule :
THE SCHURMAN COMMISSION

8. • (1) The enforcement of American
sovereignty over the entire Philippines.
• (2) Training for self-government of
the Filipino compatible with the
maintenance of order and with a wise
just and economical administration of
public affairs ;
• (3) Protection of the civil rights of the
Filipinos and ;
• (4) the promotion of the welfare of the
Filipinos.

9. THE TAFT
COMMISSION
The Taft commission was instructed by
McKinley in 1900 to establish a government
for the Filipinos and that the steps toward
attaining this goal should be in accordance
with the customs and traditions of the people.
Taft Commission introduced in the Philippines
the Free primary education that the English
Language should be used as the medium of
instruction.

10. • To summarize American Policy
with regard to the Philippines was
based on President McKinley’s
instruction to the Schurman and
the Taft Commission.
• Un-like the fact-finding
Commission the Taft Commission
may be Described as an organizing
commission.

11. • Early in March 1901 the Congress Of
the United States Passed the Army
Appropriations Act.
• Senator John Spooner of Wisconsin
inserted an amendment in the
appropriations act which authorized the
president of the United States to
establish a civil government in the
Philippines.
THE CIVIL
GOVERNMENT

12. • After the passage of the Army
Appropriations Act the
administration of the Philippines
was passed on to the U.S Congress.
• On July 4 1901 the Civil
Government was inaugurated with
William Howard Taft as the first
civil Governor.

13. RESISTANCE TO TAFT’S POLICY
• Governor Taft realized the enormity of
his PROBLEMS particularly the peace
and order situation in the country. Not
all the provinces of the Philippines were
pacified.
• Guerrilla Fighting continued and
reached its peak in 1899 to 1900. in
Luzon and in the Visayas the Filipinos
patriots were harassing the Americans.

14. • The guerrillas Appeared Peaceful by
day were but at night they attacked
the Americans wherever they were
found.
• The guerrillas stopped fighting when
the problem of food supply arose.
• There was famine because
AGRICULTURE was neglected during
the war and due to Rinderpest that
Killed 90 % of the country’s main
farm animal the Carabaos.

15. • The period in fact saw the passage of
repressive laws like the Reconcentration
Act which provide for the zoning of the
inhabitants of a town known to have
“thieves and outlaws”.
• According to James Blount (1913)
section 17 of general orders 100
authorized the military to starve
unarmed and armed native on order for
them to immediately recognize
American military authority.

16. • To further explain the reconcentration
policy of the American Military Blount
mentioned :

17. • To those not familiar with reconcentration
tactics it should be explained that
reconcentration means this : you notify by
proclamation and otherwise all person within
an area that on and after a certain day they
must all leave their homes and come within a
certain prescribed zone or radius of which a
named town as the center there to remain
until further order,. . . Rice found in the
possession of families outside the protected
zone,. . . Be moved with them to the town
(which was the protected zone) and that
found apparently cached for enemy’s use
should use confiscated and also necessary.

18. • According to Circular Order NO.19
issued on December 24, 1901 , “these
rules were made in order to make the
existing condition of war and
martial law so inconvenient and
unprofitable to the people that they
will earnestly desire and work for
the reestablishment of peace and
civil government”.

19. Even before the fall of the Aguinaldo
government, many wealthy and
educated Filipinos were already
Collaborating with the enemy.
Filipino like Trinidad H. Pardo de
Tavera , benito legarda Felipe
buencamino Cayetano Arellano
and others were telling the
Schurman Commission that the
Filipinos were not prepared for self government
BANISHMENT OF
THE PATRIOTS

20. THE
•
PHILIPPINE
BILL OF 1902
In 1902 the U.S congress
passed a law known as the
cooper law or the Philippines
Act of 1902. the law boosted
Governor Taft’s
Administration. This law
Approved all the acts of the
President of the United
States Relative to the
Philippines It also provided
for a bill of right which
guaranteed Filipinos the
right of free Speech free press
and freedom to petition for
the redress of grievances.

21. • After the Proclamation the civil
Government under Taft decided to
take the census of the Philippines.
March 2 1903 was declared as
Census Day. This was the First
scientific the Spanish Friars
During the Spanish regimes was
deemed inaccurate and unreliable.
THE CENSUS OF 1903

22. THE ELCTION
OF 1907
• In accordance with the cooper Act or the
Philippine Bill of 1902 the Filipinos could elect
delegates to the Philippines Assembly two years
after peace and order had been Proclaimed in the
Country. The Filipino Political parties prepared
for the coming election to the Assembly. The
issue presented before the people was whether or
not they wanted immediate independence as
announced by the Nacionalista party or
eventual independence as proclaimed by the
Progresista Party.

23. THE FIRST
PHILIPPINES
ASSEMBLY
• The Philippine Assembly which was to become
the Lowe House of the Legislative body of the
country and the Philippines commission
being the upper House was inaugurated in
the Opera House at Rizal Avenue on October
16 1907. the Assembly Elected its officers
where Sergio Osmena who was only twentynine years old then was elected Speaker while
Manuel L. Quezon was elected majority Floor
Leader.

24. THE WORK OF THE ASSEMBLY
• Under the able leadership of speaker Osmena the
Assembly outlined its activities based on the
following Goals:
• (1) cooperating with the united States on the basis
of mutual respect.
• (2) Making the Assembly an instrument in
achieving the Autonomy of the Philippine
• (3) passing of laws in intended to hasten the
economic social and political development of the
people and
• (4) substituting the oppressive policy of the past
with progressive policies.

25. THE RESIDENT
COMMISSIONERS
• In compliance with the provisions of the
Philippine Act of 1902 the Philippine Assembly
Elected two Resident Commissioners to the
United States Congress. The first resident
commissioners were Pablo Ocampo (1907-1909)
and Benito Legarda (1907-1912).
Commissioner in 1909 to replace Ocampo. On
1912 manuel Earnshaw R. Yangco (190171920) Jaime C. De Veyra ( 1917-1923) isauro
Gabaldo (1920-1928) pedro Guevarra (19231925)

26. THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
• One f the great achievement of the Americans in
the Philippines as the introduction of the public
school system. Unlike Spain’s Education policy
which was good on paper but selective in practice
the American system Of education was
democratic.
• In 1901 the Department of public Instruction
was established. At the same time normal school
and schools of arts and trade were also
established.

27. PENSIONADO PROGRAM
• The Pensionado program which was
inaugurated in 1903 sent Filipino student to
the United States for higher education as
government scholars. After four years of
college and living with American families
they returned to the Philippines as teachers
layers engineers and mostly as civil
servants in the bureaucracy. THAY WERE
ALSO THE Filipino upper class families
some talented student from the lower class
were also included in the program.

28. • During the Spanish period the position of
women was relegated to the status of mere
housewives whose duties were to rear children
and serve the husband.
• Under the Americans women were Allowed to
enroll n college and universities pharmacists
dentist lawyers physicians and scientists.
• Women would also be granted the right to
vote and run for public office by 1935.
THE POSOTION OF
WOMAN

29. 1. Explain the American policy in the
Philippines. Why do you think
McKinley instructed the
Schurman Commission To respect
the customs of the Filipino ?
2. What even changed the military
government to civil government?
In what way or way was civil
government better that military
government insofar as the
Filipinos were concerned?
3. Discuss the Achievement of the
Military Government.

30. 1. Compare the school systems during
the Spanish Period and the
American period. Compare the
percentage of literacy between the
two period.