CHANGES IN

INSTITUTIONS
UNDER THE
AMERICAN
OCCUPATION

1
How it
all started...

2
 American influence started in the Philippines
- Admiral George Dewey offered to assist Gen. Aguinaldo
in the Philippine war for independence from Spain
- July 1898 - Three battalions had arrived in Manila bay,
the third led by General Arthur MacArthur who later
conducted the pacification campaign
- The Spaniards eventually surrendered after an
orchestrated mock battle on Manila Bay
- While the mock battle was being carried out, President
William McKinley was preparing to negotiate the terms
of Spain's surrender

3
White Man’s burden
The supposed or presumed
responsibility of white people to
govern and impart their culture to
non-white people, often advanced as
a justification for European
colonialism.
From the day that Columbus sailed
westward from Cadiz, the white man
has never stopped his determined
and relentless expansion.

4
Benevolent Assimilation
The U.S. have "come, not as invaders or
conquerors, but as friends, to protect the
natives in their homes, in their employment, and
in their personal and religious rights." - Pres.
Mckinley, Dec 21, 1898

“Democratic partnership” - Filipinos as junior

partners

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FOCUSED ON:

Universal education
Public health and welfare
Commerce, industry,
and trade
Basic individual freedoms
Communication and
transportation
Political consciousness

6
EDUCATION
System of
Public
Education
Spanish System: Catholic
Religion and employment of
Philippine languages

American System:
Democratic traditions and the
practical application of laws and
principles
8
Religion
Optional rather than
compulsory.

Separation of Church &

State: The church has no say in
running the public school
system

Letter of Instructions:“no
form of religion and no minister
of religion shall be forced upon
any community.”
9
Religion
Faribault Plan (Section 16 of
Educational Act):
“No teacher or other person
shall teach or criticize the
doctrines of any church,
religious sect or denomination,
or shall attempt to influence the
pupils for or against any church
or religious sect in any public
school established under the
act.”
10
American Schools
May 1898: The first Philippine school
under American rule in Corregidor
Island
August 1898: 7 schools were
established in Manila
1899-1900: 100,000 Filipino
children were enrolled to primary
schools
Compulsory enrollment:free books,
pencils, and other school supplies

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Teachers
The American Soldiers: 1st
public school teachers

Thomasites: American
teachers who came to the
Philippines on board the S.S.
Thomas.

12
Pensionados
The Pensionado Act: Act #854
of the Philippine Commision

Scholarship Program: Attend

schools or programs in the United
States.

Upon return:
1. teach in schools
2. work in government offices

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 “THE UNITED STATES
CONSIDERED PUBLIC
EDUCATION SECOND IN
IMPORTANCE ONLY TO THE
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
THE FILIPINOS; AS A MATTER
OF FACT, IT WAS REGARDED AS
THE HANDMAIDEN OF
POLITICAL PROGRESS”
- Bonifacio Salamanca
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Higher Education
University of the Philippines:
1908

Spanish Institutions:
University of Sto. Tomas, Escuela
de Derecho (School of Law),
Instituto Burgos (Burgos
Institute) continued Spanish as
medium of instruction but
abandoned it in favor of English

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English Language
The Taft Commission: employ
vernacular in the primary
schools, establish “a common
medium of communication”

language of instruction in all

schools, colleges, and
universities

16
Filipino Literacy
Spanish Period: Assumed to
be 5%-8%

1903 (first census): 44.2%

1918 (second census): 49.2%

1935 (Commonwealth): 65%

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PUBLIC HEALTH &
WELFARE
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BEFORE AMERICAN
COLONIZATION
➔ Diseases such as cholera, smallpox, dysentery,
malaria, tuberculosis, etc. plagued the people
➔ Introduction to vaccination
➔ Creation of Bureau of Health (1806) and the
Central Council of Vaccination (1851)
➔ Public and private sanitation and hygiene were far
from satisfactory

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 American Influence On
Public Healthcare
➔ Goal of Americans: Minimize the spread of
diseases
➔ Establishment of the Quarantine Service
➔ Establishment of the Board of Public
Health in 1901
➔ Creation of dispensaries, leprosarias, and
hospitals
➔ Asylums for the orphans, the insane, and
the juvenile offenders were created

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Result of American Influence
On Public Healthcare
1. Infant 2. Better welfare 3. Filipinos’
mortality for the insane, increase in height.
and juvenile From 5’2 to 5’4 we
incidence of offenders, and reached the range of
malaria were orphans. 5’4 to 5’6.
reduced. New public
philosophy was
born
4. Decreased mortality rate
Death rate per 1,000 persons was 30.5% in 1898, and it
was reduced to 21.29% in 1907.
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TRANSPORTATION &
COMMUNICATION
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 × Less than 1,000 miles
of road
× 2,600 bridges and
culverts
× Ancient bull carts,
carretelas, calesas
× 195 kilometers of
railway
× Sailboats, bancas,
cascos, praus

BEFORE 23
 × 12,912.12 miles of
road
× 8,100 bridges and
culverts
× Cars, trucks,
railway cars
× 1,395 kilometers
of railway
× 100+ ports
opened to
domestic shipping

AFTER 24
COMMUNICATION
1905 - telephone lines
1933 - radio-telephone service

1000+ mail offices handled

× Ordinary mails
× Telegrams
× Money orders
× Air mail orders and packages

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INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOMS
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In Dec 21, 1898, William Mckinley issues

BENEVOLENT
ASSIMILATION
 BENEVOLENT
ASSIMILATION

INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOMS

DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM
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Freedom of:
× Religious worship
× Press
× To assemble peaceably for the redress of
grievances
× To change domicile
× Speech

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● Sedition Law of 1901
- Prohibited the Filipino to advocate independence

➢ Freedom of writers

★ Teodoro M. Kalaw
● El Renacimiento (1907)
- “Aves de Rapina” (Birds of Prey)
- Attacked Dean Worcester

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Drama

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Political Consciousness

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Partisan Politics
× One of the
political practices
the Americans
introduced to
Filipinos was the
establishment of
partisan politics or
the commitment
to a specific
political party,
cause, or belief.

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Municipal Elections
× Gave Filipinos
first taste of
American
politics
× Through
political parties,
Filipinos
became aware
of campaigns,
platforms,
public speeches,
etc.

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Bicameral Legislature
× House of
Representatives as
the acting
prosecutor
× Senate as the
presiding judge
and jury

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Harrison’s Filipinization
Policy
× Governor-General of
the Philippines under
President Woodrow
Wilson
× Implemented the
gradual replacement
of US officials to
Filipino ones,
developing a deeper
sense of political
consciousness among
Filipinos
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Language
and
Literature

37
 Español

38
Americans compelled
the Filipinos to learn
the English language

39
 University of Sto. Thomas
Escuela de Derecho (School of Law)
Instituto Burgos (Burgos Institute)

continued to use Spanish as the

medium of instruction

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Examples of strong American
influences in the Philippines

1. Development of a Filipino Literature in English

2. Adoption of American words and phrases in the Philippine languages
Native language

English

42
Development of a Filipino Literature
in English
- Poems
- Essays
- Short stories
- Novels

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 Adoption of American words and
phrases in the Philippine languages
Blackball Bulakbol

Teacher Titser

Beefsteak Bistek

Candy Kendi

Speaker Ispiker

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 ENGLISH
as medium of instruction
 TRADE,
COMMERCE, AND
INDUSTRY

46
free trade relations
1. Formerly, 25% reduction on goods
2. Became free “partial” trade relations
(Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act)

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PAYNE ALDRICH-TARIFF ACT

AMERICANS FILIPINOS

× All exports × Rice imports to

towards PH America were
were unlimited not free of duty
and duty-free
× Certain quota
limits
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Simmons-Underwood Tariff Act

Quota limitations on PH exports were

abolished in 1913
 FREE TRADE RELATIONS

INCREASE IN PH FOREIGN AND LOCAL

TRADE
Want big impact?
Use big image.

50
Data of PH export trades

1900-1909 1910-1914 1919-1924 1925-1930

year year year year

BEFORE DURING ONWARDS

ONWARDS
PAYNE-ALDRICH
TARIFF ACT

(Php 60.9 M ) (Php 94.7 M) (Php 234.7 M) (Php 297.9 M)

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What about PH
domestic trade?
- Slow, compared to foreign trades
- Internal trade was mostly in the hands of
aliens/foreigners
- Thus, the American rule did NOT benefit
the PH domestic trade

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PH prosperity under
American rule?
“The economic prosperity followed by
the Philippine-American free trade
relations was actually DECEPTIVE.”

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“Artificial” way of living
1. Most PH exports went to only American markets
(Others were neglected.)
2. PH dependency on American free trade was a
threat to political independence
3. Philippine-American free trade relations was
placing the PH economy at the mercy of the
Americans

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NEGATIVE
RESULTS
 Most Westernized country
in the Orient
- Before, American goods and services were
considered as luxuries. Now, they are necessities.

- We have been economically dependent on the US

resulting to neglect and death of Filipino
industries

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57
 SPANIARDS AMERICANS

Maltreatment Kindness

Physical and spiritual injuries Pampering our stomachs

De-filipinization of the Filipinos

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Partial Loss of
Racial Heritage
Love for culture and Adoration of American
language culture and language

Traditional Let-well-enough-alone
communal unity philosophy

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“Nothing like
America”

“The American
dream”
Movies as purveyor of
American materialism

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The Arts in the Philippines
× Confusion among
Filipinos and how
they perceive the
artists, the poets,
the thinkers.
× American
materialism has
led us to forget the
importance of art
× Material
possessions
override
thought-provoking
literature

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64
Conclusion
● While the Americans introduced changes in Philippine
institutions that were beneficial to the people (such as
universal education, public health and welfare, and
political consciousness), it is still heavily rooted in
colonial and imperial motives.
● The negative implications of benevolent assimilation
has led us to be economically dependent, culturally
confused, and racially lost in heritage.
SOURCES
Agoncillo, T. (1990). History of the Filipino People (8th ed.). Quezon City,
Philippines: Garotech Publishing.
Blount, J. (n.d.). The Philippine-American War McKinley's Benevolent Assimilation
Proclamation. Retrieved from http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/benevolent.html

Caballes, L. (2013, October 17). Benevolent Assimilation and the 1899

Philippine-American War. Retrieved from
http://pinoy-culture.com/benevolent-assimilation-and-the-1899/
Clymer, K. (n.d.). Review: Not so Benevolent Assimilation: The Philippine-American
War. 547-552. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25113511

Ofreneo, R. E. (2014). Growth and employment in de-industrializing Philippines.

Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, 20(1), 111-129.
doi:10.1080/13547860.2014.974335
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