HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF

PHILIPPINE DEMOCRATIC
POLITICS
 On December 10, 1898, the Spanish and
American peace commissioners signed the

The Treaty of Paris wherein Spain turned over the

Philippines to the US for the sum of
$20,000,000 as payment for the

Treaty improvements made by Spain in the

Philippines for ten years on the same terms
as those of the US. The Treaty of Paris was

of not immediately ratified because majority in

the US believed that it was unfair to
Filipinos. When The Filipino- American War

Paris broke out, the imperialist propaganda

machine convinced the majority is the US
Senate to ratify the treaty by blaming the
start of the hostilities on the Filipinos.
 The suspicion of the Filipinos
of the true motive of the
Americans in coming to the
Philippines was aroused by
several events. The Mock
Battle of Manila showed that
the American did not want the
Spaniards to surrender to the
Filipinos, but to them. The
signing of the Treaty of Paris at
the time when Spain no longer
had effective control of the
Philippines also exposed the
The Filipino- interest of the American to
colonize the Philippines as its
American War colony through the Benevolent
Assimilation Proclamation.
 American
Colonial Rule
After the defeat of the
Filipinos, the Philippines
was administrated by the
President of the US
through the military .
The Military
Governor
As the representative of the US
President of the Philippines, the
military governor had vast
authority which included
executive, legislative, and
judicial powers. One of his
duties was to pacify the
provinces which refused to
recognize the authority of the
US.