The Philippine Independence Act

course of the last generation. As the formulation of that policy was the joint enterprise of Republican and Democratic administrations, and free from partisanship, so also its consummation has come through the efforts of all the several political groups represented in the recent Congress. Let me review, as briefly as the need for a clear understanding of the subject will permit, the genesis and development of Philippine-American relationships and reciprocal obligations. Until 1898, Spain possessed, as the richest part of her colonial domain, the fertile islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico adjacent to our eastern seaboard, and the 7,000-odd islands of the Philippine Archipelago lying near the confines of Asia, some 7,000 miles to the westward of our Pacific Coast. Of Cuba we knew a good deal, of Puerto Rico much less, and of the Philippines almost nothing. The Spanish-American War brought the Philippines not only within our knowledge but also within our national household. Immediately the question arose as to whether we should retain or release the Philippines. One has only to read the proceedings of Congress during 1899 and 1900 to perceive what a serious question our conquest of the Philippines injected into our national forum. The discussion became a controversy, causing cleavages not only between, but even within, the two major parties

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• Die Dekolonisation einer anti-kolonialen Macht

  Rudolf Von Albertini•Dekolonisation•1966

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