Taking the Philippines

Taking the Philippines

There are many reasons why Beveridge wants to take the Philippines. The biggest issue had to do with trading. Not far away from the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. He said it was the last island empire in all the oceans. Once we had the Philippines our territory, the largest trade after would be Asia. The Philippines would give us a base open to the entire East. Beveridge claims the pacific is the ocean of the commerce of future. He says that wars in the future will be conflicts of power and commerce, therefore the power that rules the Pacific "rules the world". In the Pacific Ocean we had no commercial, naval, or military base. With the Philippines all of this will be possible. The island is filled with natural resources.

Just as there are many positive effects of taking the Philippines, there are negative. Just conquering land like this just is not professional of a country. Like Abraham Lincoln said, "no man is good enough to govern another man without that mans consent". The attack was very imperialistic. Just like the U.S. they deserve their independence, which they fought and is rightfully theirs. The United States has always protested against the doctrine of international law which permits the subjugation of the weak by the strong.

I do not think the U.S. should have taken the Philippines. I say this because look where the U.S. is right now. We don't need the Philippines to be stronger. Although taking the Philippines was probably successful for the country back then, such violence is not needed. The Philippines is its own country and deserves its own independence. I don't agree with the U.S. showing a lot other countries how they should live. I know it is for good, but we should let them live how they want to live. Taking the Philippines in the early 1900's was very beneficial for the U.S. alone, not other countries.