US-German conflict over the Phillipenes

America got the Philippines mainly because the USN was the one who actually went out and beat the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay (mismatch though it was)... Germany, Japan, and Britain didn't help with that. Also, the USA went in with the (rather arrogant) notion of 'uplifting and educating' the Philippinos and eventually granting them independence, rather than a simple colonization plan. Of course, this didn't work out so well, and the US ended up killing thousands of the natives in the process, and then WW2 interferred with everything. One has to wonder just what the other powers would have done if they'd gotten the Philippines with the idea of nothing but colonizing them...

Also, the Spanish-American War had considerable effect on US domestic politics, being the first national war since the ACW. It produced an explosion of US nationalism bringing in the Old South as seeing themselves as Americans first, Southerners second, for the first time since Fort Sumter. This mentality led to a sense of not only greater national pride but bellicosity as well. Greed was not the prime motivator, but prideful imperialism and nationalism. Though I'm not denying greed was a factor. But the Philippines was not Iraq.:(
 
the americans conquering the Philippines might be related to why America is trying to police the world. Hey if we can do it to the Philippines why not the parts of the world.

America likes to flex their military muscle to feed their military industry.
 
The Americans conquering the Philippines might be related to why America is trying to police the world. Hey, if we can do it to the Philippines, why not other parts of the world.(1)

America likes to flex their military muscle to feed their military industry.(2)

1) Fixed it for you.
2) Um, what military industry? There wasn't much of a US Military Industrial Complex in 1898.:rolleyes: This was not 1960 (Eisenhower's Farewell Address).
 
America got the Philippines mainly because the USN was the one who actually went out and beat the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay (mismatch though it was)... Germany, Japan, and Britain didn't help with that. Also, the USA went in with the (rather arrogant) notion of 'uplifting and educating' the Philippinos and eventually granting them independence, rather than a simple colonization plan. Of course, this didn't work out so well, and the US ended up killing thousands of the natives in the process, and then WW2 interferred with everything. One has to wonder just what the other powers would have done if they'd gotten the Philippines with the idea of nothing but colonizing them...

Other powers did not sneak in because America did not allow for an opportunity for great powers to grab parts of the strategic archipelago, by annexing the Philippines instantly after they got it from the treaty of Paris.
 
Other powers did not sneak in because America did not allow for an opportunity for great powers to grab parts of the strategic archipelago, by annexing the Philippines instantly after they got it from the treaty of Paris.

well, the Germans backed down mainly because the Brits and USN lined up against them...
 
the americans conquering the Philippines might be related to why America is trying to police the world.

'the world'? Hardly. We do no policing in Africa, most of Latin America, most of Asia... we're monkeying around in the Middle East because of oil, and Afghanistan because of 9/11. We have troops in SK and Europe due to the Cold War legacy, but we scarcely 'police' either place. No, the takeover of the Philippines was entirely due to misguided and arrogant ideas of uplifting the downtrodden natives into a modern nation and giving them (eventual) independence (in return for a forward base at Subic Bay).
 
'the world'? Hardly. We do no policing in Africa, most of Latin America, most of Asia... we're monkeying around in the Middle East because of oil, and Afghanistan because of 9/11. We have troops in SK and Europe due to the Cold War legacy, but we scarcely 'police' either place. No, the takeover of the Philippines was entirely due to misguided and arrogant ideas of uplifting the downtrodden natives into a modern nation and giving them (eventual) independence (in return for a forward base at Subic Bay).

There is one singular exception for the US and involvement in Africa: Liberia. Since it was founded by freed slaves, the US has had a history of trying, and failing disastrously, at helping hold the country together.:(
 
There is one singular exception for the US and involvement in Africa: Liberia. Since it was founded by freed slaves, the US has had a history of trying, and failing disastrously, at helping hold the country together.:(

Thats mostly the fault of the rule of the Whigs.
 
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