The United States of America should become anti-imperialists and not annex the Philippines. This is because the Spanish-American War has just concluded. Americans must decide whether to emerge from the war as an imperialist power or as an anti-imperialist power. According to pages 626-628 of American Nation, for three months, America has fought alongside the Philippines for their independence against the Spanish. This was was caused by harsh ruling of the Spanish colonies. U.S. involvement was caused by yellow journalism and Americans who sympathized with the Filipinos. America and the Philippine Islands have emerged as victorious from the war. The 1898 treaty has given the United States the Philippines for $20 million, in addition to Puerto
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Because the Philippines is overseas, it would be extremely difficult to control them. It would be detrimental to the American budget to expend money on the needs of people thousands of miles overseas. America would have to expend massive amounts of money to protect and control the colonies. This same money could be used to strengthen America's own military, economics, and trade. Some may argue that the Philippines is crucial to the United States because it is a stepping stone for Asian trade. They argue that the Philippines should be annexed because of the economic benefits and natural resources found in the Philippines. However, this is an invalid position because the economic/military resources the United States would expend and put at risk are greater than the benefits that would be received. In other words, the negative consequences outweigh the positive consequences in this situation. Another argument favoring imperialism is that it is necessary to acquire the Philippines in order to make lots of money. However, William Jennings Bryan stated in his speech “Paralyzing Influence of Imperialism” that “It is not necessary to own people in order to trade with them.” This suggests that a more logical approach to gain economic power is to trade with the Philippines without colonizing them, as this is not needed. An Open Door Policy can be applied in order for successful trade with the Philippines. This will allow the United States and other nations to freely trade with the Philippines how they would like to. Alternatively, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine can be applied to this situation. The Monroe Doctrine, according to page 315 in American Nation, was a policy that declared that the United States would stay out of European affairs if they didn’t interfere with theirs. These two examples are two alternative ways to trading with the Filipinos that do not involve
Because the Philippines is overseas, it would be extremely difficult to control them. It would be detrimental to the American budget to expend money on the needs of people thousands of miles overseas. America would have to expend massive amounts of money to protect and control the colonies. This same money could be used to strengthen America's own military, economics, and trade. Some may argue that the Philippines is crucial to the United States because it is a stepping stone for Asian trade. They argue that the Philippines should be annexed because of the economic benefits and natural resources found in the Philippines. However, this is an invalid position because the economic/military resources the United States would expend and put at risk are greater than the benefits that would be received. In other words, the negative consequences outweigh the positive consequences in this situation. Another argument favoring imperialism is that it is necessary to acquire the Philippines in order to make lots of money. However, William Jennings Bryan stated in his speech “Paralyzing Influence of Imperialism” that “It is not necessary to own people in order to trade with them.” This suggests that a more logical approach to gain economic power is to trade with the Philippines without colonizing them, as this is not needed. An Open Door Policy can be applied in order for successful trade with the Philippines. This will allow the United States and other nations to freely trade with the Philippines how they would like to. Alternatively, the principles of the Monroe Doctrine can be applied to this situation. The Monroe Doctrine, according to page 315 in American Nation, was a policy that declared that the United States would stay out of European affairs if they didn’t interfere with theirs. These two examples are two alternative ways to trading with the Filipinos that do not involve