April 16, 1902: The Philippine-American War Ends

Emilio Aguinaldo

April 16, 1902: The Philippine-American War comes to an end. It is a war that American history chose to forget.

Tensions arose after the United States annexed the Philippines under the Treaty of Paris at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, rather than acknowledging the Philippines' declaration of independence, developing into the eruption of open battle. The war can be seen as a continuation of the Philippine struggle for independence that began in 1896, with the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule.

Fighting between the forces of the United States and the forces of the Philippine Republic broke out on February 4, 1899, in what became known as the 1899 Battle of Manila. On June 2, 1899, the First Philippine Republic officially declared war against the United States. It became America's 1st war in Asia, and, as in Vietnam, the natives used the topography to their advantage, turning it into what would, in Vietnam, be called a "quagmire." Major General Elwell Otis was removed from command of U.S. troops on May 5, 1900, and was replaced by Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur Jr.

William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee for President in 1900, tried to make "imperialism" and what had become known as "the Philippine Campaign" into a campaign issue against the Republican incumbent, William McKinley. Author Mark Twain, usually a Republican, also spoke out against it.

They got ammunition to use in September: On the 13th, resistance fighters defeated a detachment of American soldiers in the Battle of Pulang Lupa; and, on the 17th, the Filipinos had another victory in the Battle of Mabitac. The Filipino genera Francisco Macabulos described the Filipinos' war aim as, "not to vanquish the U.S. Army, but to inflict on them constant losses." They wanted Bryan to win, thinking he would pull U.S. troops out.

But the American press was every bit as pro-American as it was in the war against Spain. Just as they exaggerated news of Spanish actions against America 2 years earlier, so, now, did they downplay American difficulties in the Philippines. They barely reported on it at all. And so, on November 6, 1900, McKinley was re-elected over Bryan in a landslide.

On March 23, 1901, American forces captured Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo. He had been their ally against Spain in 1898, but he felt betrayed when the Americans wouldn't grant his country independence, and he launched the war. Without his leadership, the war continued, but the Philippine forces lost all momentum, until they lost their will to fight. The capture of General Miguel Malvar in Batangas on April 16, 1902 was the effective end of the war. On July 2, President Theodore Roosevelt declared what he called the "insurrection" over.

Officially, 4,165 Americans died during the war, about 75 percent of those from disease. The Philippines lost about 20,000 soldiers, and may have lost up to 1.5 million civilians.

The war and subsequent occupation by the U.S. changed the culture of the islands, leading to the rise of Protestantism and the disestablishment of the Catholic Church, which Spain had established; and the introduction of English to the islands as the primary language of government, education, business, and industry, replacing Spanish and the main native language, Tagalog.

In 1902, the U.S. Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act, which provided for the creation of an elected Philippine Assembly. This act was superseded by the 1916 Jones Act, which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant independence to the Philippines. General Elwell Otis died in 1909; General Arthur MacArthur Jr., in 1912.

The 1934 Tydings-McDuffie Act created the Commonwealth of the Philippines the following year, increasing self-governance, and established a process towards full independence. This was originally scheduled for 1944, but delayed by World War II and the Japanese occupation. The United States eventually granted full Philippine independence in 1946 through the Treaty of Manila.

Aguinaldo was released from custody, and retired from public life, until 1935, when Commonwealth status was established. He ran for President against the incumbent, Manuel Quezon, but lost. With retroactive unfortunateness, he named his party the National Socialist Party, which is also what Adolf Hitler's party in Germany was called. And Aguinaldo also made anti-Semitic statements, though he never got the chance to enact anti-Semitic policies.

During World War II, he collaborated with the Japanese. He was captured by pro-American guerrilla forces on February 8, 1945, and turned over to U.S. troops, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur -- son of Arthur MacArthur Jr., the last American military Governor of the Philippines.

Aguinaldo was charged with 11 counts of treason. But in 1948, President Manuel Roxas granted amnesty to him and all other collaborators, and he was never tried. He lived on until 1964.

*

April 16, 1902 was a Wednesday. The only major sports leagues in North America at the time were baseball's American League and National League. And their season did not start until the next day. So there were no scores on this historic day.