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Changes in Institutions Under The American Occupation
Changes in Institutions Under The American Occupation
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
5
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.
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
11
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
Upon return:
1. teach in schools
2. work in government offices
13
“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
14
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
15
English Language
The Taft Commission: employ
vernacular in the primary
schools, establish “a common
medium of communication”
16
Filipino Literacy
Spanish Period: Assumed to
be 5%-8%
17
PUBLIC HEALTH &
WELFARE
18
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
19
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
20
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.
21
TRANSPORTATION &
COMMUNICATION
22
× 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
25
INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOMS
26
In Dec 21, 1898, William Mckinley issues
BENEVOLENT
ASSIMILATION
BENEVOLENT
ASSIMILATION
INDIVIDUAL
FREEDOMS
DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM
28
Freedom of:
× Religious worship
× Press
× To assemble peaceably for the redress of
grievances
× To change domicile
× Speech
29
● 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
30
Drama
31
Political Consciousness
32
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.
33
Municipal Elections
× Gave Filipinos
first taste of
American
politics
× Through
political parties,
Filipinos
became aware
of campaigns,
platforms,
public speeches,
etc.
34
Bicameral Legislature
× House of
Representatives as
the acting
prosecutor
× Senate as the
presiding judge
and jury
35
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
36
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)
40
Examples of strong American
influences in the Philippines
English
42
Development of a Filipino Literature
in English
- Poems
- Essays
- Short stories
- Novels
43
Adoption of American words and
phrases in the Philippine languages
Blackball Bulakbol
Teacher Titser
Beefsteak Bistek
Candy Kendi
Speaker Ispiker
44
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)
47
PAYNE ALDRICH-TARIFF ACT
AMERICANS FILIPINOS
50
Data of PH export trades
52
PH prosperity under
American rule?
“The economic prosperity followed by
the Philippine-American free trade
relations was actually DECEPTIVE.”
53
“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
54
NEGATIVE
RESULTS
Most Westernized country
in the Orient
- Before, American goods and services were
considered as luxuries. Now, they are necessities.
56
57
SPANIARDS AMERICANS
Maltreatment Kindness
58
Partial Loss of
Racial Heritage
Love for culture and Adoration of American
language culture and language
Traditional Let-well-enough-alone
communal unity philosophy
59
“Nothing like
America”
“The American
dream”
Movies as purveyor of
American materialism
61
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
62
63
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