ABSTRACT
Following the liberation of Cuba (“Remember the Maine!”), the U.S. paid the Spanish $20 million and took possession of additional territory, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The U.S. put Cuba on a path to full sovereignty, but took a very different approach to the Philippines. The Philippines case makes up the majority of this chapter, and considers what was the responsibility that Washington had to provide a level of political order and services (jus post bellum) to the local inhabitants, who at the time were labeled “our little brown brothers.” This chapter specifically looks at the report of the Taft Commission, the tenure of William Howard Taft as Governor General, dealing with guerrilla warfare while trying to implement a public administration, and the peace deal that turned a rebel leader into an advocate for a U.S. presence in the Philippines.
