The conquest of the Philippines by the United States, 1898-1925

About this book

The work is a polemical history that sets out to expose what its authors, Moorfield Storey and Marcial P. Lichauco, regard as the contradictions between American republican ideals and the United States’ conduct in the Philippines from 1898 to 1925. It opens with a quotation from Theodore Roosevelt, followed by a preface that frames the conquest as a betrayal of “self‑evident truths” such as equal political rights and government by consent. The authors promise to trace the origins of the conflict, beginning with the Cuban insurrection, and to demonstrate how a handful of officials manipulated public opinion and executive power to secure a profitable colonial foothold, ultimately arguing that the policy was never truly sanctioned by the American people.

Written in a formal, argumentative style typical of early‑20th‑century reform literature, the book blends extensive documentary citations with moral exhortation. Its language is dense and rhetorical, reflecting the period’s belief in progress tempered by a critique of imperial ambition. Readers interested in the political and diplomatic history of the Spanish‑American War, the Philippine‑American War, and the broader debate over American imperialism will find it rewarding, as will scholars of constitutional thought and those who enjoy a meticulously sourced, advocacy‑driven narrative.