Development amidst
Deception
by: Hannah Mallorca
With the price of $20 000 000, Spain sold the Pearl of the Orient Seas to the United States; what the Filipinos thought of as a
way of friendship from the Americans was actually an act of fraud because of hidden agendas. Despite the revelation of his ac tual
tual
colors, his plan of colonization, Uncle Sam helped Juan Dela Cruz in achieving progress. Like an aspiring politician who is vying
vying
for the votes of the masses, the Americans went around the archipelago as they tried to seek for the wants of the Filipinos i n order
order
to gain a healthy relationship. However, it was more than just achieving the attention of the so -called “brown monkeys.” It was also
an act of helping the citizens adjust to their domination in a positive manner.
The Partisan Upgrade
On the list of Juan Dela Cruz’s desires, one is to have a government of
his own. Despite the overthrow of the revolutionary government of Emilio
Aguinaldo after his surrender, Uncle Sam decided to enact several laws
in order to add interest to the leaders on his governance. On the 1st of
July 1902, the US congress passed the first law that concerned over one
of their colonies for the first time in history which is known as the Philippine Bill of 1902 or most commonly known as the Cooper Act. It included the formation of the Supreme Court, the appointment of a civil
governor of the country and the most notable feature of the law is the
creation of the Philippine Assembly (also known as the National Assembly); it will serve as the lower house in the legislature wherein the United
States will be the higher power. In addition, it is the responsibility of the
colonizers to defend the interests of their people in the congress,
except the judicial system of trial by jury. In American politics, it is one of its features to have political parties when election period occurs; it is what make several popular politicians
popular and known in the masses is the party that they belong to. It contains a list of platforms and constitutions that a
group of candidates have for the betterment of the assembly. The
first political party that is made is Partido Federal or Federal Party
and it was founded by Trinidad Pardo de Tavera on December 23,
1900 with William Howard Taft at his side. It was made up of a
group of affluent and wealthy Filipinos also known as the elites or
ilustrados; they were also the cluster of people who thought that resisting
the American government was already worthless. The members asserted
that resistance must come to an end for it had no benefit to
the country; they also lobbied for the fact that the Filipinos should welcome their colonial masters with open
arms and to make the most out of their rule. One
of the wants of this political party is to become a
member state of the United States in the future.
The only flaw of the Philippine Commission, despite its many features, is the main intention of
the United States when the Benevolent Assimilation proclamation was implemented. It was the
promise that they would make the Filipinos more
“educated,” “decent,” and “civilized.”