The Jones Act of 1916 announced the United States' intention to grant independence to the Philippine Islands after establishing a stable government. It replaced the American-dominated Philippine Commission with an elected Senate and extended voting rights to literate Filipino men. While the U.S. retained sovereignty, the liberal governor Francis Harrison appointed many Filipinos to government positions. The Jones Act served as the de facto constitution until 1934 and set the course for eventual absolute Philippine independence from the U.S.
The Jones Act of 1916 announced the United States' intention to grant independence to the Philippine Islands after establishing a stable government. It replaced the American-dominated Philippine Commission with an elected Senate and extended voting rights to literate Filipino men. While the U.S. retained sovereignty, the liberal governor Francis Harrison appointed many Filipinos to government positions. The Jones Act served as the de facto constitution until 1934 and set the course for eventual absolute Philippine independence from the U.S.
The Jones Act of 1916 announced the United States' intention to grant independence to the Philippine Islands after establishing a stable government. It replaced the American-dominated Philippine Commission with an elected Senate and extended voting rights to literate Filipino men. While the U.S. retained sovereignty, the liberal governor Francis Harrison appointed many Filipinos to government positions. The Jones Act served as the de facto constitution until 1934 and set the course for eventual absolute Philippine independence from the U.S.
statute announcing the intention of the United States government to withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established therein. The U.S. had acquired the Philippines in 1898 as a result of the SpanishAmerican War; and from 1901 legislative power in the islands had been exercised through a Philippine Commission effectively dominated by Americans. One of the most significant sections of the Jones Act replaced the Commission with an elective Senate and, with minimum property qualifications, extended the franchise to all literate Filipino males. The law also incorporated a bill of rights. American sovereignty was retained by provisions of the act reserving to the governor general power to veto any measure passed by the new Philippine legislature. The liberal governor general Francis B. Harrison rarely used this power and moved rapidly to appoint Filipinos in place of Americans in the civil service. By the end of Harrison's term in 1921, Filipinos had taken charge of the internal affairs of the islands. The Jones Act remained in force as a de facto constitution for the Philippines until it was superseded by the TydingsMcDuffie Act of 1934. Its promise of eventual absolute independence set the course for future American policy in the islands.
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MLA Style: "Jones Act." Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica, 2013. APA Style: Jones Act. (2013). Encyclopdia Britannica. Encyclopdia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopdia Britannica.