Aš you read, consider the following questions: Why did McKinley decide to annex the Philippines? Why did McKinley claim that, “the Philippines had dropped into our laps"?
Aš you read, consider the following questions: Why did McKinley decide to annex the Philippines? Why did McKinley claim that, “the Philippines had dropped into our laps"?
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answer the two questions
![Annexing the Philippines
William McKinley
At the time of the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley had no plans to
acquire the Philippines. It was even reported that he had only a vague idea of their
location. As time went by, however, McKinley became an expansionist. He related how
he came to the decision to annex the islands. (The Philippines were annexed in 1898.)
As you read, consider the following questions:
Why did McKinley decide to annex the Philippines?
• Why did McKinley claim that, “the Philippines had dropped into our laps"?
I have been criticized a good deal about the Philippines, but don't deserve it.
The truth is I didn't want the Philippines, and when they came to us, as a
gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them. When the Spanish
War broke out, Dewey was at Hongkong, and I ordered him to go to Manila
and to capture or destroy the Spanish fleet, and he had to; because, if defeated,
he had no place to refit on that side of the globe, and if the Dons were
victorious, they would likely cross the Pacific and ravage our Oregon and
California coasts. And so he had to destroy the Spanish fleet, and did it! But
that was as far as I thought then.
When next I realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps I
confess I did not know what to do with them. I sought counsel from all
sides-Democrats as well as Republicans–but got little help. I thought first
we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also. I
walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I
am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and
prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one
night late it came to me this way–I don't know how it was, but it came: (1)
That we could not give them back to Spain–that would be cowardly and
dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France, or Germany-
our commercial rivals in the Orient–that would be bad business and
discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves–they were unfit
for self-government–and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over
there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do
but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and
Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as
our fellow-men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed, and went
to sleep, and slept soundly, and the next morning I sent for the chief engineer
of the War Department (our map-maker), and I told him to put the
Philippines on the map of the United States [pointing to a large map on the
wall of his office], and there they are, and there they will stay while I am
President!](/v2/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.bartleby.com%2Fqna-images%2Fquestion%2F60e4b653-1ca6-4357-9ed6-20df9c242477%2F3fc47b68-b00f-4a25-b870-7f5a77934e48%2Fvl4jq4_processed.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
Transcribed Image Text:Annexing the Philippines
William McKinley
At the time of the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley had no plans to
acquire the Philippines. It was even reported that he had only a vague idea of their
location. As time went by, however, McKinley became an expansionist. He related how
he came to the decision to annex the islands. (The Philippines were annexed in 1898.)
As you read, consider the following questions:
Why did McKinley decide to annex the Philippines?
• Why did McKinley claim that, “the Philippines had dropped into our laps"?
I have been criticized a good deal about the Philippines, but don't deserve it.
The truth is I didn't want the Philippines, and when they came to us, as a
gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them. When the Spanish
War broke out, Dewey was at Hongkong, and I ordered him to go to Manila
and to capture or destroy the Spanish fleet, and he had to; because, if defeated,
he had no place to refit on that side of the globe, and if the Dons were
victorious, they would likely cross the Pacific and ravage our Oregon and
California coasts. And so he had to destroy the Spanish fleet, and did it! But
that was as far as I thought then.
When next I realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps I
confess I did not know what to do with them. I sought counsel from all
sides-Democrats as well as Republicans–but got little help. I thought first
we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also. I
walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I
am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and
prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one
night late it came to me this way–I don't know how it was, but it came: (1)
That we could not give them back to Spain–that would be cowardly and
dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France, or Germany-
our commercial rivals in the Orient–that would be bad business and
discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves–they were unfit
for self-government–and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over
there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do
but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and
Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as
our fellow-men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed, and went
to sleep, and slept soundly, and the next morning I sent for the chief engineer
of the War Department (our map-maker), and I told him to put the
Philippines on the map of the United States [pointing to a large map on the
wall of his office], and there they are, and there they will stay while I am
President!
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