Benevolent Assimilation: The American Conquest of the Philippines, 1899-1903

The Philippine War was an un-expected, vicious conflict that followed the "splendid little war" with Spain. This book ably spells out the story of this familiar but forgotten war.This war parallels other insurgencies abroad that the American government seems so compellingly drawn to become involved in. The war was costly and didn't seem to have any tangible benefit for Americans in general. Indeed the United States ownership of the Philippines inevitably drew it into the Second World War by means of friction with expansionist Japan-at such a high cost.During this conflict Americans made several mistakes. One Boston born company commander created violent resentments when he ordered the women of the town under his control to wear shirts. The United States Army also suffered from vicious racial problems like those in Vietnam, although on a smaller scale. In particular the colored troops of the 24th US Infantry started their pattern of mischief that continued until the regiment collapsed and had to be disbanded during the Korean War.This book describes the surprising Catholic vs. Protestant tensions that flared up as a result.Ultimately, American Progressive-Era governmental excellence overwhelmed the insurgents' cause for war. The United States Army was still a force extremely adept in dealing with low-level guerrilla style brush wars having just wrapped up the centuries long Indian Conflict. Regiments such as the First North Dakota moved from victory to victory. The excellent political leadership of William Howard Taft is described, as well as the ever important diplomacy with the Vatican and Filipino elite.The Philippine War created an enormous impact on American Culture although it is not fully appreciated. This book describes that. Americans were again experiencing the rough edges of this conflict in 2001, when Moro insurgents killed and captured Christian Missionaries, waged war with the central Filipino government, and spread Islamic terror.A great book about the Philippine War.

An excellent telling of a period that most Americans and Filipinos know little or nothing about. With America's new ownership of the Philippines, we were drawn into a second conflict once the Spanish were routed. The insurrectionist movement against America brought about a bloody and savage war that cost tens of thousands of lives. The third phase was the attempt to subdue the Moros, some of the toughest and most fearless warriors on the planet. The troops involved thought they would only be fighting Spanish regulars and then sent home. Rather, many spent years fighting in jungles and swamps against a clever and determined foe, and many were then shipped off to fight the Boxer's in China in 1900, only to be returned to battle the often fiendish inhabitants of places like Sibago Island, Jolo and Samar. A classic account and ranks with "Muddy Glory" and "Little Brown Brother" to name but a couple. There isn't much written about this conflict, but the information is out there. These lessons should have taught America about getting involved in smaller nations affairs.

I cannot recommend this book enough to those who wish to understand the roots of American imperialism and what motivated it. The author presents an honest look at both sides of what was then a burning political question. He quotes not only from media sources but also letters and interviews of soldiers who fought on both sides, court documents, diaries, memoirs and legal papers. He spares no uncomfortable fact and provides a vivid account of both the atrocities and the brutality of guerrila warfare. He also delves into the arguments of congress, the press and the White House for how and why decisions were made (which were mostly due to the political winds of the prevailing election cycle).It's a great eye-opener for those that have never been confronted with the fact that the United States often acted with both greed and callousness. And yet the book is not a condemnation of the United States, rather a look back to what really transpired from 1899-1903 under Presidents McKinley and Roosevelt and America's ill-conceived attempt to enter what it thought was an elite club of nations that practiced third world colonialism.

This book reviews the politics and media surrounding the actions by the US in the Philippines following the Spanish-American war. It gives great insight into the propaganda used to sell the war to the American pubic and to obfuscate the atrocities that American soldiers committed there. Miller paints a fascinating picture of egocentric American political and military commands steeped in duplicity and self-delusion; these patterns will be interesting and familiar to any student of the wars in Vietnam and Iraq. The material is sourced mainly from newspaper editorials, political speeches, congressional inquiries and the letters of politicians and high ranking military figures.This book will not tell you anything about what the war was like for the soldiers on the ground, American or Philippino. It won't tell you much about tactics. It won't teach you anything about Philippine culture of the time, either.

A lot of pages come out of binding while reading.

As someone old enough to remember the Vietnam War, this book was intriguing as to its insights about imperialistic attitudes stretching back as far as 100 years. However, the author wrote very little about the Philippine side of the story; there aren't even any opinions quoted from Philippine historians. The research is too one-sided, although the narrative recounted isn't.

Ich wohne in den Philippinen und wurde durch den Geschichtsunterricht meiner Tochter auf die Anfaenge der US Kolonialisierung der Philippinen aufmerksam gemacht.Der Titel des Buches charakterisiert treffend die zynische Vorgehenweise der damaligen Tendenz aller Grossmaechte, sich an anderen Laendern zu bereichern. Die anfaenglich scheinbare Leichtigkeit, eine Annexion der Spanien-Hinterlassenschaft auszufuehren, wurde begierig von US Regierung und insbesondere den Medien aufgenommen und in alle Himmelsrichtungen verbogen, bis es in "den Trend" passte.Durch die enorme Detailliertheit der Ausfuehrungen wird der Leser Teil der geschichtlichen Ereignisse und kann sich nicht erwehren, Parallelen zur heutigen Zeit zu ziehen.Ein beeindruckendes Buch. Wirklich.