How Did The Us Annex The Philippines

During the 1800s, industries were growing rapidly, and there wasn’t much land left in the United States to conquer, so the United States began looking beyond its borders for new places to control. As a result, on February 6th, 1899, after learning that the Treaty of Paris was ratified, the United States annexed the Philippines. At this moment, the arguments for annexing the Philippines were that they were unfit for self-government and that if the United States hadn’t annexed, somebody else would have, while the arguments against were that it was a massive betrayal to the Filipinos, as well as the United States’s own values and the massive bloodshed that would result. A reason for annexing the Philippines was that they were simply unfit for self-government. In an
Throughout the 3-year war that cost $400 million, many deaths among Filipino rebels and civilians occurred, supported by the fact that, “20,000 Filipino rebels (but countless more civilians) killed, 4,000 U.S. troops killed” (Text Summaries page 12). This shows that the violence affected everyone, including people who weren't directly involved in fighting. It also mentions that many U.S. soldiers died and a lot of money was spent on the war. This shows that annexing the Philippines cost a lot in terms of both lives and money for the United States, providing a reason that annexation was unjustified. In conclusion, when the United States took over the Philippines in the late 1800s, it caused a lot of arguments and problems, starting a heated debate. Some people thought it went against important values like freedom and fairness and said it cost too many lives and made America look bad. But, on the other hand, some thought it was necessary for America's safety and power and believed the Filipino people couldn't govern themselves and that other countries might try to take over the Philippines if America