Chapter 8 Life and Politics During The American Period

Download as pdf or txt
Download as pdf or txt
You are on page 1of 28

Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Chapter 11
Life and Politics during the American Period

The foundation of our government today can be traced back during the American
period, that is to say that even the ills of our government, the frailties of our politics and the
pestering social issues today can be backtracked from this era. In the design of the Americans
to afford us the apprenticeship for government, we were given more leeway to have a hand on
opportunity to take the reins of government. But it was not just at this time that we amplified
the weaknesses of our society.

Preliminary Activity

Do this individually or in groups.


Complete this sentence. Give as many answers as you can.

Our problem today, as a society, ay __________ .


(Ang problema natin ngayon sa ating lipunan ay ____________.)

Process Question

 What do you think are the root causes of these problems or issues?

Our problems in government or in society as a whole can be traced to as far back as


the American period. These were magnified when the Americans began to keep a hands-off
policy and slowly gave the Filipinos their turn to govern their own society.

Historical Context of the Cartoons


The Americans arrived in the Philippines in some surreptitious and treacherous
means. President Aguinaldo was fooled into believing that the newcomers would come as
liberators of a colonized people, well in fact the Mock Battle of Manila of August 1898 came
to a theatrical finale with Spaniards surrendering to the new colonizers instead to Pres.
Aguinaldo or to the Filipinos who were only relegated as onlookers to the Americans and
Spaniards who seemed to have engaged in a firefight. On August 18, 1898, with the
withdrawal of the Spaniards, Gen. Wesley Merritt entered Intramuros and began to establish a
military government under the American colonial government. As soon as the Paris Peace

194
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Treaty was signed on December 10, 1898, Pres. William McKinley issued his Benevolent
Assimilation policy over the Philippines.

In performing this duty [the extension of American sovereignty throughout the


Philippines by means of force] the military commander of the United States is
enjoined to make known to the inhabitants of the Philippine Islands that in
succeeding to the sovereignty of Spain, in severing the former political relations, and
in establishing a new political power, the authority of the United States is to be
exerted for the securing of the persons and prosperity of the people of the Islands and
for the confirmation of all private rights and relations…. Finally, it should be the
earnest and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence,
respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines by assuring them in every
possible way that full measure of individual rights and liberties which is the heritage
of a free people, and proving to them that the mission of the United States is one of
benevolent assimilation, substituting the mild sway of justice and right of arbitrary
rule (McKinley 1977:263).

In April 1900 the military government of Merritt was replaced by a civilian


government structured under the Second Philippine Commission headed by William Howard
Taft who was later appointed as the first American governor-general on July 4, 1901.
Continuing on the policy of benevolent assimilation, the program of government would mean
that the Americans would organize a government as we don‟t know how to have one, though
we have proven that we can do it since we have already made the Malolos Constitution in
1899, though it was not implemented because of the outbreak of the Filipino-American war.
The democratic system which they Americans promised they will teach us to organize had
one necessity though, and that would mean that Filipinos would have to be educated to equip
them to participate in government decision-making at least or be part of government service
at the most.

Though the Spaniards did not deprive the Filipinos to be educated for had it been so,
Rizal and the other middle class ilustrados would not have earned the education they had
gained in the Philippines or in Spain. But the problem with the Spanish educational system is
the lack of an overall standard set by one state institution for the curriculum and the standards
were left to the religious orders that established them. Thus the educational system was
highly religious and not scientific and that only the well-to-do could afford the privilege.
While these Christian schools were permitted to operate under the American period, these
schools were subject to the standards and supervision of the Bureau of Instructions. Schools
were also established for free primary to high school education. In 1908, even before the first
students of the free high-school system would have graduated, the University of the
Philippines was established. Thus the state under the American regime organized the central
supervision of the school system.

But even before the wide literacy needed for the people to vote or be voted, the
establishment of a legislature composed of 100% elected Filipinos was already planned under
the Philippine Bill of 1902 enacted in the US Congress. The law provided for the certification
that peace had been attained for the colony had undergone insurrection, for a national census
that will be completed after three years, and for another two year grace period to ensure that
peace had been achieved, totaling a five-year duration before a national election would be
held in order to elect the representatives of every province for the Philippine Assembly. The
first national election for the legislature was held on July 30, 1907 and the Philippine
Assembly was inaugurated on October 16 of the same year. The new government set-up
transformed an entirely unicameral colonial government under the Philippine Commission
into a bicameral system with the Philippine Assembly being the lower chamber and the
Philippine Commission being the upper chamber (Agoncillo and Guerrero 1977:328-332).

195
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

The national election also saw the emergence of political parties and political
stalwarts. The Philippine Assembly was swept by the Nacionalista Party against the
Progressive Party and the Assembly was assumed by Sergio Osmeña (Cebu) as speaker and
Manuel Quezon (Tayabas now Quezon) as majority floor leader. After the appointment of
Taft as Secretary of War with W. Cameron Forbes replacing him, the Republican Party‟s stint
in the US government ended with the election of President Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and the
assumption of the Democratic Party in the US Government. A new governor-general was
appointed in the Philippines in the person of Francis Burton Harrison with a new policy for
the Philippines as embodied in the term Filipinization which would mean to place more
Filipinos in government service both elected and appointed.

True to their thrust, a Democrat congressman William Atkinson Jones authored a law
which would later be known as the Philippine Autonomy Act or the Jones Law of 1916. The
law provided for the organic law or the constitution of the Philippine Islands succeeding that
of the Philippine Bill of 1902. But vivid in the wording of the law‟s perambulatory clause was
the assurance of the United States to grant us our independence:

Whereas, it is, as it has always been, the purpose of the people of the United States to
withdraw their sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to reorganize their
independence as soon as a stable government can be established, therewith; and

Whereas for the speedy accomplishment of such purpose it is desirable to place in the
hands of the people of the Philippines a large control of their domestic affairs as can
be given them without, in the meantime, impairing the exercise of the right of
sovereignty by the people of the United States, on order that, by mental powers, they
may be the better prepared to fully assume the responsibilities and enjoy all the
privileges of complete independence (Jones 1990:169-170).

The Jones Law was signed into law by Pres. Wilson on August 29, 1916, in time for
the next election for the Philippine Assembly which under the Jones Law will be reorganized.
The law provided for the creation of the Senate which will abolish the function of the
Philippine Commission as the upper chamber, while retaining the Philippine Assembly which
will be named as the House of Representatives acting as the lower chamber. The election was
held on the first Tuesday of October 1916 and the new legislature inaugurated on October 16,
1916. With the two houses of congress now fully in the hands of Filipinos, the executive
department would also have to be reorganized with the creation of the cabinet on January 11,
1917 and an advisory body called the Council of State created on October 16, 1918. With the
legislature now 100% in the hands of Filipinos and with a Philippine Supreme Court also run
completely by Filipinos even during the creation of the First Philippine Commission, what
would then be needed was a change of governor-general into a president elected by Filipinos.

By the end of Pres. Wilson‟s term in 1921, 96% of Filipinos were already in
government posts. Before Pres. Wilson‟s term expired, he wrote the US Congress about his
recommendation of granting independence to the Philippines (Wilson 1990 191).

But the series of elections and administrations were not without intrigues and issues.
These issues were mirrored from editorial cartoons which Alfred McCoy analyzed in order to
depict the political, social and economic issues during the American period. He compiled
these cartoons and wrote a book which Alfredo Roces co-authored entitled Philippine
Cartoons: Caricatures of the American Era, 1900-1941. The newspaper cartoons that
accompany the editorials of three publications: the weekly newspapers The Independent
founded and edited by the hard-hitting critic Vicente Sotto of Cebu, the Bag-ong Kusog (New
Force) was a Cebuano newspaper that drew the pre-war social life and criticized the
degradation of morals, and the investigative magazine Philippines Free Press founded by

196
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Judge W.A. Kincaid and taken over by Dick McCullough because of bankruptcy. These
publications were among the sources that depicted these intriguing issues.

The Authors and Editor


Alfred McCoy is an expert of Southeast Asian History. He earned his Bachelor of
Arts in European History from Columbia University in 1968, his Master of Arts in Asian
Studies from University of Berkley in 1969 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Southeast Asian
History from Yale University in 1977. Alfredo Roces was an art historian, an essayist and
painter. Since 1979, he is editor of GEO, Australia‟s Geographical Magazine. He also served
as editor-in-chief of the Filipino Heritage, a multi-volume book on Philippine History. He was
chosen as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in 1961. His contribution to
McCoy‟s study was his being an artist and historian of Philippine art. Vicente Sotto, on the
other hand, was a newspaper man, editor and publisher of The Independent. He was a political
and social critic who tackled political and agrarian problems. In his newspaper, Fernando
Amorsolo first launched his career as a political cartoonist who lampooned the government on
social and political issues.

========================================

197
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Political Caricatures
1
Editorial Cartoon 11.1

Wherever You Go, We Will Follow

The Independent (April 14, 1917) – The First World War commenced on June 28,
1914 upon the assassination of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist,
Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzogovina. Though the US is a friend of Great
Britain and France in the Triple Entente together with Russia against the Central Powers
composed of Germany, Austria and Ottoman Turkey, the US maintained an isolationist policy
of keeping its hands off the war in Europe. It was only on April 6, 1917 that the US decided
to enter the war in order to tip the balance of its friends and allies to their advantage. In this
cartoon drawn by Fernando Amorsolo, it is shown Uncle Sam taking Little Juan by the hand.
It was published on April 14, eight days after the US joined the war. But where is Uncle Sam
taking Little Juan. Why is the US which is an occupier taking the occupied in a war to liberate
other countries? Why shouldn‟t the Philippines be liberated first? Notice the faces of Uncle
Sam and Little Juan.

1
Taken from the book of Alfred McCoy and Alfredo Roces Philippine Cartoons: Caricatures of the
American Era 1900-1941, Quezon City: Vera Reyes, Inc., 1985, p. 181.

198
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

2
Editorial Cartoon 11.2

Bribing the Policeman


The Independent (June 9, 1917) – Gambling was a serious problem in Manila. But
what are the policemen doing? Notice who are the gamblers.

2
Ibid., p. 32.

199
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

3
Editorial Cartoon 11.3

Lording it Over Us
The Philippines Free Press (February 12, 1921) – The Philippine Assembly passed a
law in 1921, authorizing legislators whether incumbent or retired to bear firearms. Now it
would be easy to strut around their arrogance. What would be the effects as the cartoon
shows?

3
Ibid., p. 41.

200
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

4
Editorial Cartoon 11.4

Fifteen Years of Party Politics


Philippines Free Press (May 20 1922) – Fifteen years since the first national election
in 1907, the evils of politics had well taken root. On the left side of the picture Juan is seated.
But who are kneeling and begging with their gifts? What are they begging for? On the right
side of the picture the situation has reversed. Who is now seated above? Who is begging for
help (socorro) in return?

4
Ibid., p. 138.

201
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

5
Editorial Cartoon 11.5

Moros vs. Christians on the Issue of Independence


Bag-ong Kusog (September 10, 1926) – In 1921, former military governor of
Mindanao, Leonard Wood and former Gov. Gen. W. Cameron Forbes was sent to the
Philippines by the newly elected President of the US, Warren Harding to Investigate on the
condition of the Philippines under the Jones Law of 1916 and the policy of Filipinization
since 1913. The mission was to determine the success of the Americans in establishing a
stable government before independence is granted as hoped for by the Jones Law. But the
issue of independence was being divided along religious lines. For the inhabitants of Luzon
and the Visayas who are Christians, independence was hotly pursued but for the people of
Mindanao who are Muslims, independence was far from being dreamed of since they did not
like to be under a Christian Filipino governor and wished for the retention of the American
sovereignty (McCoy and Roces 1985: 42). But who is all the more exploiting the rift between
the two? Who gets the benefit in the end?

5
Ibid., p. 42.

202
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

6
Editorial Cartoon 11.6

The Deteriorating Manila


Philippines Free Press (May 21, 1931) – Twenty four years from the first national
election in 1907, eighteen years since the implementation of Filipinization in 1913, Manila
continued to retard into a mud of problems as the rein of government was apprenticed to the
Filipinos. But the mayor of Manila was an appointee and answerable to the governor-general
in the person of Dwight Davis who was cruising in the Pacific on board USS Pittsburg while
the Vice-governor George Butte was vacationing in Baguio. Why a wagon? Who was
manning the reins and who was pulling it? What were Manila‟s ills that the wagon was
carrying?

6
Ibid., p. 67.

203
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

7
Editorial Cartoon 11.7

Colorum Express

Philippines Free Press (January 4, 1930) – By 1930s with limited Filipino


administration, Manila was not only getting crowded with people but also with automobiles.
With an estimated 300 colorum taxis operating Manila, corruption was pinpointed as the main
culprit. Private automobile owners were leasing their units to irresponsible drivers in order to
evade license and public utility fees. Moreover, driver‟s licenses were issued to anyone
without proper profile checks. With two fatal accidents that happened in January 1930,
outrage was pandemonium on the illegal, unregistered colorum taxis (McCoy and Roces,
1985: 13). What was the policeman doing? Who reaps the advantage? Who loses out?

7
Ibid., p. 53.

204
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

8
Editorial Cartoon 11.8

The Politicians Against Each Other


Philippines Free Press (October 14, 1933) – Senator Sergio Osmeña and House
Speaker Manuel Roxas returned from a successful lobbying-mission from the US, bringing
home the Independence Bill, the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act that would prescribe a ten-year
grace period of limited self-rule before finally giving the Philippines the independence it so
coveted. But due to the popularity and hero-like come back of the two legislators, it was
predicted that the two politicians would surely win the presidential and vice-presidential race
in an election as prescribed under the independence act. This would regard Manuel Quezon as
a political-nobody. In order for Quezon to lay his cards, he urged his allies in the House or
Representatives which would ratify the Independence Act before it could be promulgated into
law to oust Manuel Roxas as Speaker and replaced him with his ally, Quintin Paredes, thus
the defeat of the bill even if the bill would go on a plebiscite. Who was crumpling the bill
with his hand? Who were behind him? Where was he heading? If he gets another
Independence Bill this time, who will be president of the Philippine Commonwealth?

8
Ibid., p. 217.

205
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

9
Editorial Cartoon 11.9

Still a Divided Nation


Philippines Free Press (June 18, 1938) – This cartoon was published three after the
effectivity of the tidings-McDuffie Law, the Independence Act secured by Quezon which he
later got what he ambitioned for, the President of the Philippine Commonwealth in transition
to independence. Seven years hence (1945) and the Philippines would be free but the
Philippines was still being rocked by serious division. This caricature was also published a
day before the commemoration of Rizal‟s birth. Who were two parties in contention? What
was the nature of the rift? The tenant is shown holding a sickle, the symbol of the working
class used by the communists. What does this mean?

******

9
Ibid., p. 106.

206
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Economic Caricatures

10
Editorial Cartoon 11.10

Americans Getting More at Our Expense


Lipag Kalabaw (October 31, 1908) – The adventures of America in the Philippines
also opened more adventuristic opportunities for American soldiers stationed in the
Philippines who were soon demobilized. They were given opportunities to be employed in
American companies who could invest their money in the colony. Two large companies
which invested in the Philippines were the Atlantic Gulf and Pacific Company (AG&P), a
construction company and Manila Electric Road Railway and Light Company (MERRLC or
today‟s Meralco). AG&P won large contracts from the Philippine Commission to build a new
port in Manila a Navy station at Sangley and a marine railway for the Philippine Coast Guard.
MERRLC won contracts to build a tramway and to light the streets of Manila which became
operational in 1905. MERRLC also secured a franchise for a 50-year monopoly and a right to
fix the electric rates and rail fares for 25 years (McCoy and Roces 1985: 117). These are
American companies earning contracts from the American Colonial Government but which
the Filipinos are financing for it was recommended and pursued under the two Philippine
Commissions that the Philippines should finance its own. This means that the Philippines will
not receive any budget from the US. How were the two companies shown in the cartoon?
How was Juan pictured? What does it mean that a rope was tied on his neck as the two fat
men were pulling him? What was Juan vomiting?

10
Ibid., p. 117.

207
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

11
Editorial Cartoon 11.11

Filipino vs. American Teachers in 1915


The Independent (October 23, 1915) – Under the Filipinization policy of Gov. Gen.
Francis B. Harrison, Filipinos began acquiring government positions and with the schools
established to train teachers, Filipinos also got jobs in schools. But this also precipitated
unequal treatment. The sad fact is, the highly discriminating salaries that the American
teachers get come from the Filipinos‟ taxes the same way as that of the Filipino teachers.
Senator Camilo Osias who began his career as a teacher recalled his ordeal:

“After a month and half I received… my first monthly check of ninety pesos
(₱90.00). I thought that was low pay; ₱1,080 a year, after graduating from Columbia
University and qualifying in a high civil service examination. It was not pleasant to receive
only ₱1,080 when Americans who were only Normal graduate… were paid ₱4,000 a
year”…(McCoy and Roces 1985: 120)

How is the Filipino teacher pictured in the caricature compared to the American
teacher? Where is the Filipino teacher‟s shoulder beam tilted? How is this different from the
American teacher? What does this mean?

11
Ibid., p. 120.

208
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

12
Editorial Cartoon 11.12

The Tenant-farmers’ Burden


The Independent (May 18, 1918) – The changing economic landscape also created
new burdens. In this caricature, the farmer is bearing a heavy load that he could hardly carry
it. What are these? How is the tenant-farmer pictured?

12
Ibid. p. 92.

209
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

13
Editorial Cartoon 11.13

Scarce Houses and Skyrocketing Rent

The Independent (January 17, 1920) – As the population in Manila surged, rented
space was also becoming scarce and rent was escalating without limits. The high prices of
rent were propelled to the office of governor-general who was persuaded to craft a law that
would set the rent to 12% of the assessed value of the property as suggested by the Director-
General of Civil Services (McCoy and Roces 1985: 34). But this does not solve the lack of
housing. What was Governor-general doing in the caricature?

13
Ibid., p. 34.

210
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

14
Editorial Cartoon 11.14

While the Farmers Need Capital, PNB has No Money


Philippines Free Press (October 23, 1920) – The Filipinization policy while rosy for
the Filipinos also brought serious problems. Farmers needed capital which they could only
secure as credit. On July 22, 1916, the American colonial government established the
Philippine National Bank to replace the Agricultural Bank which would extend financial
credit to farmers who could supply the need for sugar abaca, tobacco and coconut to markets
outside of the colony. (PNB was then privatized in 1980, its assets and stocks sold to private
investors.) But by 1920, PNB had gone almost bankrupt because of mismanagement and huge
loans uncollected. Who were the farmers needing help in the cartoon? To whom were they
begging for help?

14
Ibid., p. 96.

211
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

15
Editorial Cartoon 11.15

Have a Title, I’ll Have the Land


The Independent (January 14, 1922) – Homesteading is a land tenure system the
government permits individuals to clear public lands (land without owners), to cultivate and
to own them later. But out of ignorance or government neglect these homesteader-farmers
didn‟t have a title. Pictured in this cartoon is an individual who is looking over the tillers.
How is the man pictured? What did he have that he was called a usurper in the cartoon?

15
Ibid., p. 92.

212
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

16
Editorial Cartoon 11.16

Too Many Taxes to Pay


Bag-ong Kusog (May 11, 1928) – Here is not just a farmer depicted but Juan de la
Cruz, the representation of every Filipino. How is Juan pictured? What burdens was he
carrying?

16
Ibid., p. 4.

213
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

17
Editorial Cartoon 11.17

Filipino vs. American Worker in 1928


Bag-ong Kusog (November 9, 1928) – From the cartoon published in the Independent
in October 23, 1915, thirteen years later the gap between the Filipino and American workers
had not been narrowed. How is the American worker depicted differently from that of the
Filipino worker? Under what different condition where they laboring? How much different
was the American worker receiving as salary from that of the Filipino worker?

******

17
Ibid., p. 121.

214
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

Social Caricatures

18
Editorial Cartoon 11.18

A Congesting City
The Independent (May 1, 1920) – Manila was getting crowded with the lack of space
for resident and even offices. But who was pictured to be enjoying spacious buildings which
they should have relinquished since friar lands had been appropriated?

18
Ibid., p. 35.

215
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

19
Editorial Cartoon 11.19

Deteriorating Health Condition under the Filipinos


Philippines Free Press (April 16, 1921) – Tropical diseases were problems that the
Americans faced when they came in 1898. But they effectively placed the problem under
control by establishing the Board of Health. The Americans also built sewers and drainages
in Manila in order to rid the swampy areas of the city of malaria carrying mosquitoes. But
during the Filipinization program that began in 1913, the management of public health began
to worsen with the transfer of public health management to the care of Filipino bureaucrats.
How is the state of pubic heath pictured in this cartoon? What could be wrong when the
Filipinos took over?

19
Ibid., p. 36.

216
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

20
Editorial Cartoon 11.20

“Akala mo Kung Sino”

Philippines Free Press (April 6, 1929) – When Manila became the center of
higher education in the 1920s, young people from the province soon ventured into the
city for higher education and later into civil service or company posts. But this
overhauled their psyche as they came back to the province for vacation. How were
they changed in return? How is this depicted in the cartoon?

20
Ibid., p. 99.

217
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

21
Editorial Cartoon 11.21

Manila Underwater

Philippines Free Press (August 22, 1931) – When Americans arrived in 1898,
they found public sanitation in a destitute state with overflowing esteros and without
adequate sewers and drainage systems. One of the first orders of priorities among the
Americans was the construction of canals and drainage systems to attend to the need
for sanitation and public health. This they did with full energy to construct the usual
drainage systems. But they left out to consider the annual heavy monsoon rains during
rainy season that would result in perennial flooding. Between 1903 to 1938 Manila‟s
residents grew by 182% from 220,000 to 620,000 (McCoy and Roces 1985: 66). With
the gradual transfer of governance to the Filipinos, the missed opportunities by the
Americans fell into even more serious neglect.

******

21
Ibid., p. 66.

218
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

========================================

Reinforcement Activities

 Figuring out, among the editorial caricatures, the issues and problems faced
by the Filipinos during the American period at a time when Filipinization was
being implemented

Fill out the table below.

Cartoon Identify the Describe of Identify the Overall Problem


major the major minor meaning of or issue
elements elements elements the cartoon presented
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

 Determining how these problems and issues persist until today

From the previous table complete the succeeding table.

Cartoon Problem or issue Persisting today? In what way?


presented (Yes or No)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

219
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

Relevance of the Cartoons


These cartoons are relevant on these points:

 The caricatures mirror the political, economic and social life during the American
period, more specifically at the time when we were already given an apprenticeship
for self-rule.
 The cartoons also reflect the political, economic and social problems we face today
though they were drawn to picture a society almost a hundred years ago.

Challenge

From the problems you were able to extract from the caricatures, how should
we solve these persisting problems today? You could have 21 solutions also.

References

Agoncillo, Teodoro and Guerrero, Milagros (1977) History of the Filipino People. Quezon
City: R.P. Garcia Publishing Co.

Commission on Independence (1990) “Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood


(Approved by the Commission on Independence November 17, 1926),” in
Zaide, Gregorio and Zaide, Sonia, eds. Documentary Sources of Philippine
History Vol. 11, Document 608, Manila: National Bookstore.

Jones, William Atkinson (1990) “Jones Law of 1916” Document 598 in Documentary History
of the Philippines, Vol. 11, Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia M. Zaide, eds. Manila:
National Bookstore.

220
Gabriel & Espiritu Salaysay at Saysay Manuscript (Unedited)

McCoy, Alfred and Robles Alfredo (1985) Philippine Cartoons: Caricatures of the American
Era 1900-1941, Quezon City: Vera Reyes, Inc.

Mckinley, William (1977) “President Mckinley‟s „Benevolent Assimilation‟


Proclamation, December 21, 1898,” in Teodoro Agonicillo and Milagros
Guerrero, (1977) History of the Filipino People. Quezon City: R.P. Garcia
Publishing Co.

Wilson, Woodrow (1990) “President Wilson‟s Message to the US Congress Recommending


Independence for the Philippines (Washington D.C. December 2, 1920)” Document
599 in Documentary History of the Philippines, Vol. 11, Gregorio F. Zaide and Sonia
M. Zaide, eds. Manila: National Bookstore.

221

You might also like