Suggested Research Topics - Imperialism and Reform: The Establishment of an American Colony in the Philippines
In the first decade of the twentieth century when scores of politically-active pressure groups agitated for reform on various issues in numerous American localities, a more comprehensive civil reformation was being carried out by a small group of Americans who constituted the colonial administration of the Philippine Islands. American involvement in the Philippines had been opposed by many leading citizens, some of whom had formed the Anti- Imperalist League. President William McKinley hoped that the First and Second Philippine Commissions could lay the basis for a progressive American colonial administration. "The Philippines are ours," he stated, "not to exploit, but to develop, to civilize, to educate, to train in the science of self-government."
Interest in the Philippine Islands by Michigan citizens was initially found only in the scientific interest of a few faculty members of the University of Michigan. Later, Michigan citizens, in the words of Joseph Hayden, a University of Michigan political scientist, "...served as soldiers, administrators, teachers, missionaries, businessmen, lawyers, doctors, miners, planters, and above all as American pioneers..." It is the record of this service which constitutes the Philippine collections at the Bentley Historical Library.
What was American reaction to the Philippine insurrection and how did that reaction affect the colonial effort? What was the role of the Anti-Imperialist League? Was the American colonial effort imperialism or reform? What aspects of each are documented in the sources? What progressive reforms were promulgated by the First and Second Philippine Commissions? How did commission government in the Philippines compare with commission government as a domestic reform tool? In 1899 Rudyard Kipling wrote "The White Man's Burden" in honor of the United States having joined the imperialist nations. Do the papers of the various colonial administrators in the Philippines reflect their acceptance of the white man's burden? Contrast James LeRoy's attitude with that of Dean Conant Worcester. How did the American colonial government use the Philippine elite?
Examples of Primary Source Collections and Other Resources:
- American - Philippine Relations: A Guide to the Resources in the Michigan Historical Collections,which provides brief descriptions of all Philippine-related collections at the Bentley Library. Collections of substantial help for this topic include: American Anti-Imperialist League, Harry Hill Bandholtz, Harry Newton Cole, John Chrysostom Early, James Alfred LeRoy, George Arthur Malcolm, John Rogers Meigs Taylor, Owen A. Tomlinson, Dean Conant Worcester, and Nanon Fay (Leas) Worcester.
- You may also use the following collections which include soldiers' accounts of the insurrection and correspondence from colonial administrators: James Burrill Angell, William Atwood, Junius Emery Beal, Otley Beyer, Frank Haycock Burton, Frank W. Cheney, Heber Doust Curtis, Frederick S. McMurray, Russell Roy McPeek, Jacob Ellsworth Reighard, and Taylor family.
- Also of importance are government documents found in the Hatcher or Law Library such as Senate reports of the Committee on the Philippines, U.S. Philippine Commission reports, U.S. War Department Philippine Commission reports, etc.
- The bulk of records of the Anti-Imperialist League and the bulk of papers of Dean Conant Worcester are found in the Rare Book Room and Special Collections, Hatcher Library.
In an effort to encourage creative thinking about possible research topics for students unfamiliar with archives and their inevitable complexities, archivists and student employees of the Bentley Historical Library have authored "suggested research topics ." The purpose of these is not to define a topic but rather to stimulate thinking about a topic where the holdings of the Bentley Library are particularly strong.