Saturday, May 21, 2011

Emilio Aguinaldo in the Filipino-American War


In comparison to other videos, this one involves quotes and specific dates of the war.

It all starts out with June 12, 1898 when Emilio Aguinaldo declared independence for the Philippines from Spain. Next it talks about December 10, 1898 when after the American victory in the American-Spanish war, the Philippines became an American colony. 

Furthermore there was a really important quote by Emilio Aguinaldo, which clearly illustrates the pride and bravery of the Filipinos.



"I, Emilio Aguinaldo, hereby swear in the name of God, that I will give my life, my strength, and the little that I have, and that I will sacrifice my love for my wife, children, parents, bretheren for the sake of defending our motherland..." ( Watkin, 143)

In addition it mentions that Aguinaldo wasn't even the president of the Philippines. He was president of
the Republika ng Katalogan, which is different from the Republika ng Pilipinas.

Later on in the video it said, that Aguinaldo claimed that admiral Dewey and the US Council in Singapore promised independence to the Filipinos after the victory of America in the war.

And finally there were pictures of the Philippines and the last fact was, that Luzon was the main island
where Aguinaldo fought against imperialism.



In my opinion this video was mostly review of what I learned out of the previous videos. However there 
were some things that I didn't know before. As an example the quote by Aguinaldo, when he said that
he would fight until death for his motherland. I can imagine that this quote was really inspiring for a lot
of Filipinos. The Philippine-American war generally impressed me on the Filipino side because even though
they knew that they wouldn't really have a chance against the American army, they still fought for their pride!


Specific Details


This video really helped the specific understanding of the Philippine-American war, since every single
important date was listed. 

On April 25, 1898 the war between America and Spain was formally declared.

On May 1, 1898 the first battle of the Spanish American War occured. Admiral George Dewey destroyed the Spanish army at Battle of Manila Bay.

On May 18, 1898 U.S. President McKinley ordered a military maneuver, headed by Major General Wesley Merritt, to complete the elemination of Spanish forces in the Philippines. Moreover he wanted to occupy the islands, and provide security and order to the Filipinos.

On May 19, 1898 Emilio Aguinaldo returned to the Philippines from exile in Hong Kong where he had been since the failure of the Katipunan revolt of 1892-1896.



On May 25, 1898 the First U.S. troops were sent from San Francisco to the Philippine Islands. Thomas McArthur Anderson commanded the front of the Philippine Expeditionary Force.

On June 12, 1898 America defeated most of the Spanish forces and surrounded Manila (capital of the Philippines). Furthermore General Aguinaldo signed the Philippines Declaration of the Independence and became the first president of the Philippines.



On August 12, 1898 the Protocol of Peace was signed.
Five American and Five Spanish comissioners were appointed to meet in Paris to discuss the final peace terms between Spain and the United states.

On August 13, 1898 there was a Mock Battle in Manila. There was a secret agreement between Spain and America.

From October until December, 1898 the Peace Comission met in Paris.



On December 10, 1898 the treaty of Paris was signed. It was signed by Spain and the U.S.
America paid Spain amout of U.S 20,000,000,00 in exchange for the sovereignty over Philippines

On January 23, 1899 the Malolos Congress took place. And the Spanish were still in the Philippines.

On February 4, 1899 the Philippine-American war began because the Philippine Republic declared war on the US in the Philippines.

Some places of battles were February 14, 1899 - Sta. Barbara / February 19, 1899 - Oton / February 20, 1899 - Jaro, Iloilo and Mandurriao...

On June 13, 1899 the second largest battle of the Philippine-American war happened, namely the Battle of Zapote Bridge. Lawton's American forces put a larger Philippine force  under General Maximo Hizon to flight and had heavy losses.

On December 2, 1899 there was the Battle of Tirad Pass.



On March 23, 1901 Emilio Aguinaldo the President of the First Republic was captured by American forces in Palanan Isabela in the Battle of Tirad Pass.

On April 1, 1901 Aguinaldo took his vow of allegiance to the United States.

On April 19, 1901 Aguinaldo asked Filipino people to accept the Sovereignty of the United states.

On July 4, 1902 the War Ended in Luzon.

Number of Deaths: 
More than 4.200 american soldiers dead. 20.000 Filipino soldiers and 200.000 Filipino civilians dead.

As far as I'm concerned this video was the best video about the war so far, especially because it had
so much information about everything that happened in the war and also how the war even started.
It was really interesting to see every single step in the war. I was able to see how important Aguinaldo was
in this war. In Conclusion I can say that this was the ultimate Philippine-American War video. So if you want to know about this war, look at this video!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Forgotten Philippine-American War ( Youtube + Textbook )

The American Revolution inspired other colonies to speak up against the colonies, which were leading them.
New struggling, independent and democratic colonies were arising in the South of America and in the Caribbean, as specific examples the Philippines and Cuba. Those colonies tried to find help from America since they had a good relationship with each other. Their future however was risky because European countries were fighting for the control over their territory. The Monroe Doctrine was also really important because European colonies were warned that they weren't allowed to colonize in South America or the Caribbean anymore.

In the early 1898 the USS Maine was sent to rescue Americans, who were in the Cuban rebellion. Moreover it was sent to show that the US was ready to act out their Monroe Doctrine. On February 15th, 1898 a naval officer awoke President McKinley with new stunning news, namely that "the Maine" exploded in Havana, Cuba.  The majority of the Americans thought that this was in Spain's intention. This was followed by the USA declaring war to Spain screaming: "Remember the Maine!".

On May 1st, 1898 Admiral Dewey came to the Philippines to help them fight against Spain.
After the war there was the big question what to do with the Philippines, in history people always have different opinions. As an example Senator Cabot Lodge's point of view was, that it was " A competition with european powers to control foreign markets for domestic goods during a lingering international depression " (Video, 2:39 minutes).

However the Filipinos didn't want to be lead by the US. Under the lead of Emilio Aguinaldo the Philippines fought back. This was the start of the Philippine-American war.



The US clearly dominated the war and sent the Filipinos to "protection zones" where thousands of them died.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9_GCyEnEgo
Textbook: pgs 560- 562

In my opinion the content of this video combined with the knowledge I got out of the textbook made me understand everything way better. How everything got together and why it all ended up in this war.
The video also gave a lot of specific examples I couldn't get out of the textbook, for example the Monroe Doctrine and the "protection zones" for the Filipinos. Furthermore the movie explained why the USS Maine was actually sent, in the textbook on the other side they just mentioned the outcomes of the explosion of the battleship. Now everything combined and makes sence, which is really awesome. I am really psyched and can't wait to read more about this war.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Basic Facts about the war:

Picture: 




Time Period: 
- (1899-1902)

Origin:
- Andrés Bonifacio (a warehouseman and clark from Manila)
  => he found out about the Katipunan (revolutionary organization fighting for independence)
- the leaders of this group, called the Katipuneros were the ruling the Philippine Revolution.


The Philippine-American War didn't only have this name, it was also called :
1. the Philippine War of Independence
2. the Philippine Insurrection

Reason for the War: 
- The Philippines wanted to gain their independence.

Result:
- the United States gave the Philippines autonomy
- the United states promised the Philippines they might be able to have their own government (1934)
- the Philippines was given their independence in 1964

Sources: 
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phillipine_American_war
- google images ( for picture )

My opinion:
My thoughts about this topic were totally fulfilled. Before even looking at the source I knew what was happening at that point since it was pretty foreseeable. Since we are just studying about the Industrial Revolution I know that America was trying to capture small countries to get cheap workers, natural resources and factories in their control. It was America's goal to get the worlds #1 super power. As far as I read the source I think America made a smart step in this direction since they gave the Philippines their independence. This might be a better way of communication and a way to get factories and workers, to convince them how much better America would be for them. I am definitely thrilled to keep reading about this amazing topic.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Introduction

My name is Pier-Gino Lazzaro and I'm from Germany.
I'm going toVerde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona.
We have to do a research project in US History class.
This project is going to be about "The Philippine-American War"
Since I am Filipino and don't know anything about the Philippines
I thought it would be interesting getting to know about their
history.