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Editor's note: This is part of a weekly series marking the 120th anniversary of Niles native William McKinley's U.S. presidency.
On Christmas Eve of 1900, the New York Times reported that some Filipinos were ready for a peaceful end to the Philippine-American War.
Leaders of the Federal Party, one of the political parties in the Philippines, announced that they wanted their country to become part of the United States. They also conveyed their goodwill to President William McKinley by telegram.
Unfortunately, not all Filipinos shared this amicable attitude toward the United States. That same day, The Washington Post reported that fighting continued on the Philippine island of Leyte. Earlier in December, eight American soldiers had been injured and two had been killed during such conflicts. Despite the wishes of the Federal Party, peace would be a long time coming.
During the 16th century, the Spanish colonized the Philippine islands and named them after King Philip II of Spain. By the 19th century, some Filipinos had accrued enough wealth to send their children abroad or to the capital city of Manila for university educations. Upon their return, this younger generation called for independence from the Spanish.
After a failed coup attempt in 1896, the Spanish offered to enact political reforms on the condition that Emilio Aguinaldo, the head of the Filipino revolutionaries, agree to stop fighting and live in exile. Aguinaldo fulfilled his end of the bargain, but the Spanish did not.
Two years later, the outbreak of the Spanish-American War afforded the Filipinos a new opportunity. After the United States defeated the Spanish navy in the famous Battle of Manila Bay, Aguinaldo sailed back to the Philippines and rallied an army to fight the Spanish on land. The Filipinos proclaimed themselves an independent nation in June 1898 and fought alongside the U.S. to defeat Spain two months later. They finally freed themselves from Spanish colonial rule -- only to become the possession of the United States.
The decision to annex the Philippines was controversial in the United States. Some Americans were interested in economic or evangelical opportunities in the Philippines, while others staunchly opposed what they saw as U.S. imperialism. The issue also was contentious on the islands themselves. According to an American general stationed near Manila, some Filipinos wanted complete independence; some hoped to govern themselves with America's support; and others seemed willing to be ruled by the Spanish. Meanwhile, interested western nations such as Japan and Great Britain were ready to divide the islands amongst themselves if the U.S. declined to claim ownership.
McKinley agonized over this decision. Most westerners believed that the Filipinos were either incapable of self-government or unprepared for it, and the president did not want other world powers to divide the islands. Nor was he willing to leave them in the hands of the Spanish, whose colonial rule had already led to serious conflict. Finally, he made his choice: Under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which officially concluded the Spanish-American War, the U.S. bought the Philippines from Spain for $20 million.
Shortly before this treaty was ratified by the Senate, Aguinaldo declared war on the United States. So began a conflict that would outlive President McKinley and claim the lives of more than 224,000 Filipinos and Americans. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed an end to the war in 1902, though fighting continued for years afterward.
Audra Dull is a librarian at McKinley Memorial Library and the coordinator for the McKinley Birthplace Home.