2008 San Lorenzo Public Library presentation, San Lorenzo, CA 1

[PP, Forbidden book], [PP, Photo of authors/designer] Good afternoon to

everyone. My name is Abe Ignacio, one of the four co-authors of “The Forbidden
Book: The Philippine American War in Political Cartoons.”

[PP,Anti-Marcos demo] All of us come from a history of political activism–

opposing the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, and joining in the struggles
for civil and immigrant rights. Our authoring “The Forbidden Book” is an
extension our activism. It was our hope that this work would add to the growing
body of written work helping break with the Philippines colonial past and to reveal
a hidden part of American and Philippine history.

[PP, Exhibit card] The book has its origins in an exhibit entitled, “Colored: Black
n’ White, Filipinos in American Popular Media, 1898-1907.” The exhibit was
intended:

1) [PP,Pusod exhibit] to allow these 100-year old images to speak for

themselves;
2) to share a Filipino interpretative response to these images;
3) [PP, Forbidden book toon] to help generate a mutual understanding of
the history of the power relations between whites and non-whites in the
US, and between the Philippines and the United States;
4) to contribute to healing the psychic pain from the legacy of colonial
conquest not just of Filipinos, but all colonized peoples.

[PP, Information wanted] Through the exhibition of these images we hoped to

demonstrate that both the pain and racial attitudes are by-products of a grand
fiction that was popularized by print media at the turn of the 19th century. From
the expansionist point of view, the fiction was necessary to rationalize a war
before the American public, and justify conquest of the Philippines.

To the victor goes the privilege of writing history, the glorification of its conquests
and the silencing of the conquered. Forgetting was officially sanctioned so that a
war that was at least 50 times more costly in human lives than the Spanish-
American war, could be relegated in American textbooks as only an “insurgency.”

It is time to give those who have been long silenced a voice in writing history.

What was the Philippine-American War?

[PP, Filipino troops] Filipinos began their Revolution of Independence from

Spain in 1896. Two years later, the revolution got a boost when Dewey
destroyed the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 at the start of the
Spanish-American War.

While US forces watched in Manila Bay, Filipino soldiers quickly defeated

demoralized Spanish troops and in a matter of weeks, much of the country was
2008 San Lorenzo Public Library presentation, San Lorenzo, CA 2

liberated from Spain and under Filipino control. [PP, Proclamation] General
Emilio Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898 and the
process of nation-building began. By September, a constitutional convention
drafted a Philippine Constitution creating a congress, executive, and judicial
branches of government. By January 1899, the Constitution was ratified, the
president was elected, schools nationwide were reopened, and ambassadors
were sent to various countries including the United States to seek recognition for
the new republic—the first in Southeast Asia. The Philippine Republic was
officially inaugurated on January 23, 1899.

[PP, Bull pup] However, unbeknownst to most Filipinos, the Spanish, who had
lost control of the Philippines to the Filipinos, had signed a treaty in December
1898 handing over the Philippines to the United States in exchange for 20 million
dollars. [PP, Guess I’ll keep’em] Many months earlier, some Americans already
desired to take over the Philippines, as this cartoon in June 1898 shows.

[PP, Steppingstone] As early as May 1898, pro-war leaders, such as Senator

Albert Beveridge, argued that the Philippines would create a new market for
American goods: “With our protective tariff wall around the Philippine Islands, its
ten million inhabitants, as they advance in civilization, would have to buy our
goods.” But more importantly, the Philippines was a stepping stone to the even
larger China market.

[PP, Imperial robes] On the other hand, opponents of annexation, such as

Senator George Frisbee Hoar argued that taking possession of the Philippines
represented a shift from being a republic to an empire.

Many historians believe the treaty of annexation was destined for defeat in the
US Senate. But it was not to be, for we now know that the US military had a
secret pre-arranged plan to provoke a war. [PP, Grayson] Soldiers were posted
at a contested bridge and as soon as Filipinos crossed the bridge, Private Willie
Grayson and his men fired, provoking the desired Filipino retaliation and allowing
the US military to launch a massive attack. All this took place two days before
the scheduled vote in the US Senate. False messages were sent that Filipinos
had begun an unprovoked attack against America. The news deceived the
Senate enough to change votes, so that the treaty to annex the Philippines
passed by one vote. The war was started based on a lie.

[PP, Bayonet rush] The war fever that started with the Spanish American War
carried over to the Philippine-American War, which began on February 4, 1899,
less than two weeks after the Philippine Republic was inaugurated. Filipinos
resisted this attack on their new-found independence. [PP, Our flag] The United
States was forced to deploy 127,000 US troops during the first few years of the
war, during which 4,200 Americans were killed.

[PP, White man’s burden] In order to justify an increasingly bloody war,

2008 San Lorenzo Public Library presentation, San Lorenzo, CA 3

McKinley conveniently portrayed Filipinos as uncivilized savages needing to be

educated, civilized, and christianized. Senator Beveridge explained it thus: “[The
Filipinos] are a barbarous race.... [PP, Not encouraging] They are not capable
of self-government. How could they be?…. They are Orientals…. The
Declaration [of Independence] applies only to people capable of self-
government.” To bolster this sentiment, [PP, School begins] The degrading and
racist stereotypes of Native Americans, [PP, You’re next] blacks, and Chinese
as buffoons, ignorant, child-like, or less than human was re-applied to Filipinos.
[PP, Topsy] Artists portrayed Filipinos as pickanninies or diminutive black
savages, as in this Judge cartoon.

What most people did not know was that Filipinos had already declared their
independence and had began the process of building the first democratic
republic in Southeast Asia. Moreover, Filipinos had an educational system older
than that of the United States, The University of Santo Tomas, a European-style
university predates the oldest American university Harvard.

[PP, Speaking] Rampant racism fueled the brutality that characterized the
Philippine-American War. [PP, Kill everyone over 10] This is reflected in a letter
by a soldier who wrote: “Orders were received … to burn the town and kill every
native in site; which was done to a finish. About 1,000 men, women, and
children were killed. [PP, First black bored] I am probably growing hard-
hearted, for I am in my glory when I can sight my gun on some dark skin and pull
the trigger.”
[PP, Harvest] Depending on which historian you read, the estimates of Filipinos
killed during the war range from a quarter of a million, to 616,000 to over a
million.

[PP, Civilization begins] The Philippine-American War took place during a

historical period when racial violence in the US was both at its height and was
officially sanctioned. [PP, For one negro] Although slavery had ended, the
hopes for racial justice and equality under post-civil war reconstruction were
dashed as African Americans were increasingly disenfranchised. [PP, Buffalo
soldiers] Six segregated regiments of African-American soldiers were sent to
fight in the Philippine-American War. Over 6000 African American soldiers saw
service in the Philippines. While some felt that by demonstrating their loyalty they
could improve the lot of African Americans back home; others grew increasing
critical of the war. Sgt. John Galloway of the 24th Colored Infantry wrote: " The
future of the Filipino, I fear, is that of the Negro in the south."

During the war, Filipinos were not the only ones depicted derisively. [PP, Idol of
the aunties] Opponents to the war here in the U.S were likewise derided.
Leading the opposition to war was the U.S. Anti-Imperialist League. Reflecting
the sexist and racist attitudes of the time, the anti-imperialists were depicted as
old foolish women enamored of the Filipino leader Aguinaldo. [PP, Rev. Jasper]
2008 San Lorenzo Public Library presentation, San Lorenzo, CA 4

A leading opponent of the war, Massachusetts Sen. George Frisbee Hoar, was
portrayed as a black man in what was intended as an insult. [PP, Col. Bryan]
Democratic Party presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan, who
campaigned on a platform of anti-imperialism, was portrayed here as a traitor.
[PP, Old savage] Mark Twain, America's famous writer and vice president of the
Anti-Imperialist League, was pictured as a savage.

People might find some striking parallels between the Philippine-American War
and events of today. [PP, Our boys] The Philippine-American War was based
on false, fabricated information. Truth becomes one of the first casualties of war.
The country then was deeply divided on the war, as daily reports of Filipino
attacks on American troops inflated the casualty figures and the public could see
no end. Filipinos were demonized. The patriotism of opponents of the war was
questioned. Public opposition grew as senate hearings, news reports, and courts
martial revealed that prisoners had been tortured and killed. The presidential
election of 1900 was between the incumbent Republican William McKinley, who
prosecuted the war, and the Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan, who
opposed the war.
[PP, Victory at last] Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded McKinley, declared
the end of the war on July 4, 1902. In fact, the war in Mindanao, southern
Philippines, had just begun and it took 12 more years after Roosevelt declared
his “Mission Accomplished” before armed conflict finally ended.

Filipinos are fond of saying “Those who do not look back to their past will not
reach their destination.”

In Philippine history, Dr. Jose Rizal is often cited as the premier proponent of
learning history in order to construct a desired future. In the chapter called
“Discovery” in Noli Mi Tangere, his first book, Rizal, included this passage “There
is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made
known.” If history has any value to present and future generations, it should not
only be a venue for self-discovery, but a venue for awareness of our common
legacies, our common heritage as one humanity, and our common interests as
stewards of this earth. ###

Here again is a photo of some the African American soldiers who remained in the
Philippines after the war. All told, more than a thousand opted to stay in the
Philippines after they were discharged from the military.One of our FANHS
members who spoke to you all here is a descendent of a soldier who stayed. His
name is Sgt. Ernest Stokes of the 9th Cavalry, U.S. Army. I acknowledge to you
all, Evangeline Canonizado Buell, grand daughter of Sgt. Stokes.