“(6) The first attempt at a peaceful American take over of the country was made in December, 1898 when General Otis, under orders from Washington, sent an expedition of 2,500 men under the command of Gen. Marcus Miller with orders to occupy the city of Iloilo. The Filipino government in Iloilo resisted and refused to allow the disembarkation of American troops. The impasse was referred by General Otis to Washington and the order was to hold the use of force and await further instructions. If Gen. Miller took the city after a fight, this action would be viewed as an aggression, something that McKinley did not want to project to the American people.
“(7) A second attempt at the same objective was made by General Otis himself when he presented to Aguinaldo early the following year a modified version of the same McKinley’s proclamation omitting the strong words sovereignty. The Otis version of the proclamation required all the inhabitants to recognize American military authority in consequence of the Treaty of Paris and those who did would have their life and property protected and those who did not would face terrible consequences. The Filipinos rejected the proclamation and tore down the posters. Similarly, the American forces did not react but held in check their guns and artillery. Again, McKinley did not want to appear to the American people as the aggressor.
“(8) On February 4, 1899, an opportunity for McKinley to unleash the dogs of war came when hostilities between American and Filipino forces were opened which the Americans blamed on the Filipinos. Aguinaldo pleaded to stop the hostilities and sit down to thresh out the conflict, but the Americans refused, confirming the claim that the war was actually forced on the Filipinos on the eve of the U.S. Senate vote in order to force the ratification of the Treaty of Paris. McKinley needed the ratification of the treaty to provide him with the stamp of approval to proceed with the colonization of the Philippines. ”
read more: McKinley’s imperialist policy
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