Despite the Philippines’ long history as victim to
imperialism, the Filipino people have shown through multiple rebellions their
ability to unite with strength against foreigners. One could even note the
killing of Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan as the earliest example of
Filipino violence against adversity. The same sentiment which fueled the fight
for independence from Spain carried over to face the Americans in 1899 as the
fate of the islands was debated between world powers.
Filipino rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo had been at the head
of the struggle against Spain since 1896 before his exile to Hong Kong (Jaycox). His
U.S.-arranged return in 1898 caused, at the words of one American soldier, “A
little barefooted army… to grow up out of the ground” as Filipinos began to
take control of cities across the islands with the support of the Americans who
were common opponents of Spain. However, Aguinaldo’s army soon turned against the
Americans as potential imperial rulers and declared independence,
with Aguinaldo as interim dictator over a complex government. The United States’
refusal to recognize Aguinaldo’s Philippines would prove consequential as its
relationship with the Filipinos worsened and Aguinaldo evolved into president
of a Filipino republic.
Conflict became war in February of 1899, and it soon became
clear that this fight in the Philippines would not prove as ideal for the Americans
as the destruction of the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay had been. The U.S. used
cruelty against Filipino guerrillas as well as civilians with camps and even
torture as it struggled to defeat the insurgents. One general is reported to
have ordered “Kill everyone over the age of ten” (Jaycox). The homeland defenders did not fight without
resorting to extreme forms of violence either, and many hostilities were exerted onto their
own people. This mode of fighting contributed to a death toll of 20,000
Filipino soldiers, 200,000 Filipino civilians, and 4,200 American soldiers (Jaycox). 
With Aguinaldo’s capture in 1901, the domination of the
United States had passed the point of deniability, and the insurgents were
ordered by Aguinaldo to stand down. Still, U.S. victory had come at a high
price due to the upset that the rumors of hostility sparked among Americans. Those
that had argued against acquisition of the islands now attacked the hypocrisy of
the United States, claiming that its imperialist behavior had shamed its
values. The backlash was so fierce that the event has been called “America’s
first Viet Nam” (Jaycox). Furthermore, the Philippine-American ordeal advances the
questionability of the United States’ involvement in the Philippines as a
costly and worthless endeavor, though this can be refuted with the claim that
colonialism in the Philippines was a necessary step for the United States to
become an influential world power.
