Benevolent assimilation

"Benevolent Assimilation"

The term Benevolent Assimilation refers to a policy of the United States towards the Philippines as described in a proclamation by U.S. President William McKinley issued on December 21, 1898. The proclamation was issued after Spain was defeated in the Spanish–American War but before fighting began in the Philippine–American War. Prior to the proclamation, the United States had defeated Spain during the naval Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. Subsequently, on June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo declared the Philippines independent and established a revolutionary government whose the Filipino revolutionary armed forces surrounded Manila and the occupying American Army. This created a stand-off between opposing armies that would erupt in fighting in early 1899.

The proclamation reads in part:

Finally, it should be the earnest wish 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 free peoples, and by proving to them that the mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation substituting the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule.

The proclamation was sent to General Elwell Otis, U.S. military commander and Governor-General in the Philippines. Otis sent Emilio Aguinaldo a version of the proclamation that he had bowdlerized by removing mention of U.S. sovereignty "to stress our benevolent purpose" and not "offend Filipino sensibilities," by substituting "free people" for "supremacy of the United States," and deleting "to exercise future domination." General Otis had also sent an unaltered copy of the proclamation to General Marcus Miller in Iloilo City who, unaware that an altered version had been sent to Aguinaldo, passed a copy to a Filipino official there. The unaltered version eventually made its way to Aguinaldo.

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