Sold like slaves, $2 per head

The month of February 1899 was a critical period in the history of our nation. It was on Feb. 6 of that year that the Treaty of Paris ending the Spanish-American War was ratified by the US Senate. It marked the end of the Spanish empire and the beginning of the United States as a world power.

A year earlier, on Feb. 15, 1898, the US battleship “Maine” that was sent to Havana, Cuba, to protect US interests during the Cuban war of independence, was sunk under mysterious circumstances killing 260 of its crew. The sinking served to accelerate events that would lead to war between the two nations. The Spanish-American War would sometimes be referred to as “The Splendid Little War.” It would last just short of four months at little cost in terms of American lives or treasure.

On Dec. 10, 1898, Spanish and American negotiators signed the Treaty of Paris ending Spain’s three centuries of dominion over the Philippines. The Treaty guaranteed Cuban independence from Spain, and ceded ownership of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. Initially, Spain balked at surrendering the Philippines, their largest remaining overseas colony. But President William McKinley insisted that the Philippines be included. And so, the Americans came up with a face-saving compromise. The United States would pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines. Spain could not refuse. At that time, the Philippine population was estimated at 10 million. So, the price paid came up to $2 per head. Felipe Agoncillo, the Philippine Republic’s chief negotiator, was excluded from the Treaty deliberations and filed a strongly worded protest, reminding the participants of the past promises of American officials supporting Philippine independence, as well as President McKinley’s disavowal of imperialist ambitions.

While the Treaty was signed in December, it would require ratification by the US Senate. This body would have the last word on the fate of the Philippines. After US victories at Santiago, Cuba, and Manila Bay, the mood of the nation was for getting their share of colonies as European powers started to gobble up parts of China. But there were powerful voices that opposed America’s quest for empire.

On Jan. 9, 1899, a distinguished gentleman rose to the floor of the Senate to open the debate on the Treaty of Paris. A Republican, 72-year-old George Frisbie Hoar, the senior senator from Massachusetts, laid out the case against annexation of the Philippines. He argued: “[T]he paramount issue was the threat posed to the American Constitution and ideals. The US was founded on the ideals of the ‘consent of the governed’ and without the consent of the Filipinos, the United States could never justly or constitutionally purchase the Islands and rule its people.” Hoar praised the Filipinos as “a people of great ability and integrity.” He found “Emilio Aguinaldo and his cohorts worthy of comparison with America’s Founding Fathers.” He proceeded to enumerate their qualifications for nationhood, saying “they had a written constitution, a settled territory, an organized army, a Congress, courts, schools, universities, churches, the Christian religion, newspapers, books, statesmen who can debate questions of international law like Mabini, and organized governments like Aguinaldo; poets like Jose Rizal; aye, and patriots who can die for liberty like Jose Rizal.” (“Twelve Against Empire” by Robert Beisner, winner of the Allan Nevins History Prize)

After a lengthy debate, when the votes were counted on Feb. 6, 1899, the Senate had approved the Treaty by just one vote more than the two-thirds margin required for passage. In the end, Hoar concluded: “We changed the Monroe Doctrine, from a doctrine of eternal righteousness and justice, resting on the consent of the governed, to a doctrine of brutal selfishness, looking only to our own advantage. We crushed the only Republic in Asia. We made war on Christian people in the East. We converted a war of glory to a war of shame. We vulgarized the American flag. We inflicted torture on unarmed men to extort confession. We put children to death. We established reconcentrado camps. We devastated provinces. We baffled the aspirations of a people for liberty.” Had the Senate failed to ratify the Treaty of Paris, the course of history of our nation would likely have changed drastically.

Hoar proudly described his defense of Philippine freedom as one of the major contributions of his life. How many Filipinos know about George Frisbie Hoar?

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