Keywords

American History, Philippine History, Political History, Imperialism

Abstract

This dissertation is an interpretive analysis of the political background of the American annexation and administration of the Philippine Islands between 1900 and 1920. It seeks to analyze the political value of supporting and opposing imperialism to American political parties and elites. Seeking to capitalize on the American victory over Spain in 1898, the Republican Party embraced the annexation of the Philippines as a way to promote an idea of rising American international power. Subsequently, their tenure in the Philippines can be analyzed as bringing industrialization to the Philippines for political gain, casting themselves in a politically popular role of nation builders and bringers of democracy. In opposing the Republicans, Democrats became anti-imperialists by default. After overcoming the initial unpopularity of that ideology, they were able to redefine it in such as way as to co-opt the original Republican successes in the Philippines. As such, the Democratic tenure in the Philippines emphasizes political gamesmanship and patronage that allowed them to effectively "steal" the credit for the democratization of the Philippines for partisan gains against the Republicans.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2007

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Kallina, Edmund

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Degree Program

History

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0001760

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0001760

Language

English

Release Date

July 2008

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Included in

History Commons

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