MIDTERM: Malolos Republic - American Colonization Flashcards
Malolos Congress
- Main task is to write and ratify a constitution that will establish the first PH republic
Malolos Congress = National Assembly
- functions as the official legislative body of the First Philippine Republic
- Unicameral Congress (only one house)
- Started out with a Strong Executive but became a Strong Legistlature
Malolos Republic
- The first Philippine Republic
- a government without a king
- Aguinaldo was the first president with Apolinario Mabini as his right hand man and prime minister (head of the cabinet)
Contradictions: What will Aguinaldo’s role be as President?
Should he be a dictator? (strong executive)
Should he be a mere figurehead? (strong legislature)
APOLINARIO MABINI
- wanted a strong executive branch
- argued that a strong legislature would lead to an oligarchy
- With Aguinaldo as a dictator, it would be easier to make decisions in the event that a war with the Americans will happen
- argued that although Aguinaldo does not have much experience with international governance, the cabinet of illustrados are there to coach him
- his dictatorship will be temporary
FELIPE CALDERON
- wanted a strong legislative branch
- argued that having a strong executive is against liberalism
- by establishing a dictatorship, you are increasing the chance of the military taking over power.
- the military loyalty will be based on their personal relationship (the military will be loyal to Aguinaldo and not the republic)
- raised the concern of Aguinaldo’s lack of experience in national governance and foreign affairs
Malolos Constitution
- 1899 Philippine Constitution
- First Constitution of the Philippines
- Aguinaldo was declared a dictator
- National Assembly votes and appoints Chief Justice and Solicitor-General
- Separation of Church and state
Permanent Commission
- in order to control the strong executive branch of the Malolos government, they created the Permanent Commission
- it may declare members of both the executive and judiciary branches unfit for service and remove them from office
- led to a stronger legislature
Contradictions: What will be the relationship between the Church and the State under the Republic?
GREGORIO AGLIPAY
- pro-union of church and state
- Argued that Christianity was a unifying force in the Philippines
- Union as a way to resolve the secularization issue
- Transferring of the power to head parishes from Spanish friars to the secular Filipino priests.
APOLINARIO MABINI
- pro-separation of church and state
- not all Filipinos were Catholics
- Religion should not intermingle with state affairs
- if there is unity between church and state–it goes against their sovereignty since the church is controlled by Rome
- Advised that Aglipay should just make his own Filipino church–separate from Rome
- They decided that they would implement separation of church and state in thee next year but by the time the next year came, the Americans became a problem
Aglipayan Church
- Church of the poor aka Iglesia Filipina Independiente
- Ilocos
- 20th Century
- They don’t recognize the pope but they have an Obispo Maximo
- Allows women to be priests
- Extension of the angelical Church
Contradictions: Who will control the Armed Forces?
Principales (Local Government)
- Argued that the local governments should be the one in control of the Armed Forces
- It is the traditional role of the local government to control the Armed Forces
- Reminding of the trauma with the Guardia civil and governor-general
- Ability to control the populace even in rural areas
- ‘Imperialist’ Manila
Illustrados (National)
- National government to control the Armed Forces
- Local control will cause warlordism and regionalism
- Question of military loyalty
- American threat (You need a united force to combat the Americans)
Contradiction: How should the Republic address the potential thread posed by the United States?
ANTONIO LUNA
- thought the Philippines should attack
- Americans are untrustworthy
- The Americans will eventually send reinforcements and colonize the Philippines
- Argued that they should start the American war sooner before reinforcements come.
They were still defeatable at the start
- Academia Militar
Make a military school = a way to military train the Filipinos - Aguinaldo agreed
PEDRO PATERNO
- Negotiate with the US
- Threats from other colonial powers
- The US can be a potential ally
- The US shouldn’t be seen as a threat + PH becomes a protectorate of the US
- An alliance with the US will give the PH Foreign recognition
Contradiction: How will the government fund itself?
- Funds for war, funds for operations
- The government promised to end the taxation process of the Spanish
TAKE A LOAN
1. Multilateral/Bilateral Loaning
- no country recognizes the Philippines as an independent state so no one would allow is to loan
- Loan from Provincial Elites
- Create a loophole in power; the provincial elites are the leaders in the Malolos Congress and then they will be our lenders
- They’ll take lands as collateral damage (haciendas) when the government cannot pay the loan
- Loan was approved by Aguinaldo but then it was never enacted since the first republic fell due to the Americans
TAXATION
- To gain funds for government activities
- Attempt to increase the military power
People who are not able to pay taxes must join the military to not pay taxes
- Because of the unkept promise of removing taxes, people started to revolt and rebel against the government
KAGINHANAWAN - peasants were expecting land to be given back to them
CAVITENEO EXEMPTION - caviteneos thought that they would be exempt from taxes since Aguinaldo came from the same province
How did the republic deal with the rebellions around the country?
- military forces
Irony: The PH Republic claimed to result in achieving Kalayaan but in reality, the voice of the masses/peasantry was suppressed via military forces.
White Man’s Burden
- It is the burden of the US to colonize the Philippines
- To civilize and Christianize the “Half-demons and half child”
Manifest Destiny
- All Americans believed the American Exceptionalism
- Destiny of the US to expand its territory and teach other people the value of freedom, democracy, and other American values
White Love
- America presented itself as a “father/paternalistic figure”– not an enemy, but will teach freedom and democracy
- Violence is not a sign of racism, prejudice, or hate but “white love”
Benevolent Assimilation
- Americans are exempting themselves as good colonizers–different from Spanish
- Shaping narratives of Americans being saviors
- Mckinley
What triggered the war between the Philippines and Americans?
- Shooting in San Juan City
- February 4, 1899
- Americans said Filipinos shot first, and the Filipinos said the Americans shot first sa bridge
- Americans considered the war as merely an insurrection since they owned the Philippines and the Filipinos were just revolting
- Philippines saw it as a full-pledged war between two separate states
Plan of Antonio Luna during the PH-Am War
- Make the war as unpopular to the American public as possible
- Prolong the war as long as possible. Making sure that the Americans suffer a high casualty count
- If Malolos falls, the military will transition to guerilla warfare
- Hope that Mckinley will lose in the next presidential election
- Will only work if all Filipinos, regardless of class, work together and unite in order to defeat the US
- There was no unity and the poor were against the republic
- Armed forces were divided along local lines because they were not loyal to the nation, but to their own principales—no proper chain of command
- Luna introduced a military school and uniform
- US propaganda presented the PH as divided, no single nation
First Philippine Commission
- lead by Jacob Gould Schurman
- Schurman Commission
Jacob Gould Schurman
- Studied the Philippines to propose policies on how to govern the Philippines with Dean Worcester
- Became the basis/foundation of the Organic Law
Philippine Organic Act 1902
- Established by the US colonial government in the Philippines (territory), the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands in 1902
- Addressed the concerns of the propaganda movement
SEC 5 - Providing basic rights for all Filipinos, including the right to property and freedom of expression.
SEC 6 - Conducting a census and the publication of such census
- established the idea that the Philippines was not yet a nation by segregating and classifying the population
Purpose of Classification: Justify the colonization of the Americans
SEC 7 - Establishment of an elected Philippine Assembly once peace is formally established in the archipelago and the official census is published
- Pointed out what would be the role of Filipinos in the society
- introduced the Philippine Assembly and Philippine Commission
Philippine Commission
- Functions as the upper house of the legislature
- Mixture of Filipinos and Americans
Appointed by the civil governor - Exclusive rights to pass laws that involve Moros and the “Non-Christianized groups in the Philippines”
- US needed to focus their attention in controlling non-Christianized groups and protecting them
Office of the Resident Commissioner
- Filipino representatives sent to the US to represent the Philippines
- No Voting Power (aka we are not part of the USA)
Philippine Assembly
- Functions as the lower house of the legislature
- Directly elected by the populace
- EXCLUSIVE TO FILIPINOS
- Power to create laws even without the support of the upper house. Except for laws that involve the non-Christianized group
- Headed by the Assembly Speaker
Second Philippine Commission
- Taft Commission
- William Howard Taft
Americanistas
- Illustrados who collaborated with the Americans after they addressed the concerns of the propaganda movement
- Wanted the Philippines to become part of the United States
- Americanistas composed the partido federal
Partido Federal
Americanistas started this partido federal
The main platform is Statehood
- The Philippines will become a part of the United States
Whoever was associated with Partido Federal was given an appointment to the Philippine Commission
Partido Nacionalista
- The party emerged from the merger of small local political parties
- The main platform was nationhood for the Philippines
- The Philippines will demand for complete and immediate independence.
- Provincial elites
Formed alliances with local warlords and officials so they will spread the idea to their people
Partido Progresista
- Partido Federal rebranded as Partido Progresista
- Urban elites
- Unpopular platform with the Filipinos because no one was interested anymore in being part of the US
- Later on rebranded as Partido Democrata
Jones Law of 1906
Purpose
- Towards the independence of the Philippines
- Americans established that they will not make the Philippines a state and promised their independence but they never explicitly said when