Time: 1 Block period (1:45)
National Standards:
World History
Era 8, Standard 1A: Analyze why European colonial territories and Latin American countries
continued to maintain largely agricultural and mining economies in the early 20th century.
Era 8, Standard 2A: Analyze the relative importance of economic and political rivalries,
ethnic and ideological conflicts, militarism, and imperialism as underlying causes of the war.
Era 9, Standard 1C: Analyze the impact of World War II and postwar global politics on the
rise of mass nationalist movements in Africa and Southeast Asia.
American History
Era 7, Standard 2A: Evaluate the Roosevelt administration's foreign policies.
Era 7, Standard 2B: Analyze the impact of American public opinion on the Wilson
administration's evolving foreign policy from 1914 to 1917.
Objectives:
The students will place events in the correct sequential order along a timeline
The students will explain why certain events led to greater or less freedom for the Philippines
The students will be able to understand how the Philippines achieved independence
The students will comprehend why America was hesitant to grant the Philippines full
independence
Initiation:
Project the cover of Judge Magazine (Page 3). If the students are unable to read the text, tell them
the date at the top is June 1899. The caption reads “The Filipino’s First Bath: McKinley --‘Oh you
dirty boy!’”
Ask the students to describe what they see – who is the man in the bathing suit? Who is he bathing?
What does the water say? What does this represent? Who are the 2 people in background? What is
the artist’s purpose in drawing this? Etc. Make sure to explain the racial and gender inferences
included in the cartoon since racialization, genderization, and infantilization were key factors in how
the United States handled the Filipinos. (10 minutes)
Learning Activities:
1. Before class begins, place each of the 7 events around the classroom by cutting them and
taping them to the walls (Pages 4-7).
2. Following the warm-up questions, distribute the timeline to students (Page 8). Tell them that
they will be looking at 7 major events over a 50-year period that led to independence for the
Philippines. Some events led to greater independence, while other events took freedom away
from the region. They will analyze each event to determine how it affected the Philippines
and place it correctly along the timeline. (5 minutes for directions)
3. Tell the students to start at the event on the wall closest to their desk. After reading about the
event, they need to determine if it brought greater or lesser freedom for the Philippines. If the
event brought greater foreign control, they should place it on the bottom half of the page. If
the event was getting the Philippines closer to becoming independent, it should go above the
timeline. Students should write the name of the Act/Commission/Event and then briefly
explain what it did.
4. Allow the students about 5 minutes at their station and then have them rotate to the next one
as a group. Adjust the time if the students need more or less time at each until they have
rotated completely around the room and gotten each event on their timelines. (45 minutes)
5. Once the students have completed their timelines have them return to their seats and hand out
the worksheet (Page 9). Have the students create a political cartoon to represent one of the
events for their timeline. After the students have completed their cartoons, ask some students
to sharer and explain their drawing’s viewpoint. Be sure to let the students understand that
each event is evaluated in different ways today and many historians disagree about whether
some led to greater independence or were just lip service. You can also show them some of
the cartoons from the PBS – Crucible of Empire website listed in the “Other Primary
Sources” section. (20 minutes)
Closure:
After students have shared some of their cartoons, as a concluding activity have them answer
the remaining questions on the worksheet. (15 minutes)
Other Relevant Primary Sources:
Library of Congress – The Spanish American War in Motion Pictures
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/spanish-american/
Library of Congress – Puerto Rico at the Dawn of the Modern Age
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/connections/puerto-rico/
PBS – Crucible of Empire – Yellow Journalism Cartoon Gallery
http://www.pbs.org/crucible/cartoons.html
The Birth of the American Empire as Seen Through Political Cartoons
http://www.oah.org/pubs/magazine/1898/martinez-lesson.pdf
Cartoons of the Spanish American War
http://www.archive.org/details/cartoonsspanamer00bartrich
© Students of History - https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Students-Of-History
The Taft Commission was created by President
William McKinley on March 16, 1900. The
Commission acted as the Philippine’s legislature
with William Howard Taft as its first head,
hence its name. Taft served as head of the
Commission until 1904. Between its inception
and August 1902, the Commission issued 499
laws, established a judicial system, including a
Supreme Court, drew up a legal code to replace
antiquated Spanish ordinances and organized a
civil service. The 1901 municipal code provided
for popularly elected presidents, vice presidents,
and councilors to serve on municipal boards.
In January 1899, President McKinley appointed
Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman to chair a commission
to investigate conditions in Philippines and make
recommendations. Fighting had erupted between
U.S. and Filipino forces in February, and the non-
military commission members found General Otis
looking at the commission as an infringement
upon his authority when they arrived in March.
In the report that they issued to the president the
following year, the commissioners acknowledged
Filipino aspirations for independence; they
declared, however, that the Philippines was not
ready for it. Specific recommendations included
the establishment of civilian control over Manila,
creation of civilian government as rapidly as possible, especially in areas already
declared “pacified” including the establishment of a bicameral legislature,
autonomous governments on the provincial and municipal levels, and a system of free
public elementary schools.
The Philippine Organic Act of July 1902 approved,
ratified, and confirmed President McKinley’s Executive
Order establishing the Philippine Commission and
stipulated that their legislature would be composed of a
lower house, the Philippine Assembly, which would be
popularly elected, and an upper house consisting of the
Philippine Commission. The act also provided for
extending the United States Bill of Rights to Filipinos. It
was written by Wisconsin Congressman Henry A.
Cooper (pictured to the right).
The Jones Act, also known as the Philippine
Autonomy Act of 1916, replaced the Philippine
Organic Act of 1902 that earlier served as a
constitution for the Philippine Islands. The
Jones Act created a framework for a “more
autonomous government” in preparation for the
grant of independence by the United States.
While the 1902 act provided for an appointed
upper house, the Jones Act provided that both
houses of the Philippine Legislature would be
elected.
The Jones Act was enacted by the Congress on
August 29, 1916 and contained the first formal
and official declaration of the United States commitment to grant independence to the
Philippines. However, the law provides that the grant of independence would come
only “as soon as a stable government can be established.”
The Bill was named for its sponsor, Congressman William Atkinson Jones, but was
written by Manuel L. Quezon (pictured to the left), one of the Philippines' two
commissioners to the House of Representatives.
The Tydings–McDuffie Act (also called the Philippine
Independence Act) was approved on March 24, 1934 and
provided for self-government of the Philippines and Filipino
independence after a period of 12 years. It was authored by
Maryland Senator Millard E. Tydings (top right) and
Alabama Representative John McDuffie (bottom right).
The Tydings–McDuffie Act provided for the drafting and
guidelines of a Constitution for a 10-year “transitional
period” which became the government of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines before the granting of
Philippine independence, during which the US would
maintain military forces in the Philippines. Furthermore,
during this period the American President was granted the
power to call into military service all military forces of the
Philippine government. The act permitted the maintenance
of US naval bases, within this region, for two years after
independence.
Japan launched a surprise attack on Philippines on December 8, 1941, just 10 hours after
the attack on Pearl Harbor. Aerial bombardment was followed by landings of ground
troops on Luzon. Defending Filipino and American forces withdrew to the Bataan
Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay. The Philippine
defense continued until the final surrender of United States-Philippine forces on the
Bataan Peninsula in April 1942.
President Quezon left for the United States, where a government in exile was established.
The Japanese military authorities immediately began organizing a new government
structure in the Philippines and established the Philippine Executive Commission. The
Japanese-sponsored republic headed by President José P. Laurel proved to be unpopular.
The Philippines suffered great loss of life and tremendous physical destruction by the
time the war was over. An estimated 1 million Filipinos had been killed, a large portion
during the final months of the war, and Manila was extensively damaged.
The occupation of the Philippines by Japan lasted until Japan's formal surrender in
September 1945.
On July 4, 1946, representatives
of the United States and of the
Republic of the Philippines
signed a Treaty of General
Relations between the two
governments. The treaty provided
for the recognition of the
independence of the Republic of
the Philippines as of July 4, 1946,
and the relinquishment of
American sovereignty over the
Philippine Islands. Manuel Roxas
was elected the first President.
However, some Filipino
historians point out that independence came with numerous strings attached. For
instance, legislation was passed by the U.S. Congress to ensure that the Philippines
would remain an economic ward of the U.S., for the time being. The US was also
granted a 99-year lease on designated military bases in the country.
Nam
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1920
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Name _______________________
1. Create a political cartoon to
represent one of the Acts,
Commissions, or events listed on
your timeline. Think of symbols
cartoonists use for America that
you could use as well. Your
cartoon should have a message or
viewpoint that you show visually.
Draw your cartoon in the box to
the right.
2. What is the message or viewpoint
of your cartoon?
3. Why did it take so long for the
Philippines to achieve cull
independence?
4. Who wrote the Jones Act?
a. William F. Jones
b. Manuel L. Quezon
c. Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman
d. William Howard Taft
5. How do you think a Filipino would feel about the Jones Act?
6. Which Act or Commission do you feel was the most progressive? Explain your answer.
Name __Answer Key / Teacher Guide _____
1. Create a political cartoon to
represent one of the Acts,
Commissions, or events listed on
your timeline. Think of symbols
cartoonists use for America that
you could use as well. Your
cartoon should have a message or
viewpoint that you show visually.
Draw your cartoon in the box to
the right.
2. What is the message or viewpoint
of your cartoon?
Open to many possible student
responses based on the cartoon
that they create.
3. Why did it take so long for the
Philippines to achieve cull
independence?
Open to various answers but
students could note how WWI
and WWII delayed
independence along with
America’s reluctance to let go.
4. Who wrote the Jones Act?
a. William F. Jones
b. Manuel L. Quezon
c. Dr. Jacob Gould Schurman
d. William Howard Taft
5. How do you think a Filipino would feel about the Jones Act?
Open to various answers. Students should likely note their excitement at the prospect
for independence but might also recognize some distrust Filipinos might have had
about whether it would be followed quickly based on the language in the bill.
6. Which Act or Commission do you feel was the most progressive? Explain your answer.
Open to various answers based on your students’ opinions.
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Student cartoon goes here