The Philippine-American War
The Philippine-American War Documents
Treaties and Proclamations
Related to the Philippine-American War
- Protocol of Peace, August 12, 1898
A truce signed in Washington, D.C. on August 12, 1898, between the
United States and Spain ordering the ending of hostilities of the
Spanish-American War of 1898. Signing on behalf of Spain was France's
Ambassador to the U.S. Jules Martin Cambon and U.S. Secretary of State
William R. Day.
Significant feature:
- Defined the right of the United States to "occupy and hold the
city, bay, and harbor of Manila, pending the conclusion of a
treaty of peace [Treaty of Paris, later on] which shall determine
the control, disposition, and government of the Philippines."
- Treaty of Peace (in Paris), December 10, 1898
A treaty signed in Paris, France on December 10, 1898 between the
United States and Spain, formally completing the "unfinished business"
of Peace Protocol.
Significant features:
- Acknowledged the insurrections of Cuba and the Philippines
[directed toward Spain].
- Transfer of sovereignty of the ceded territories from Spain to the
United States.
- Provided for ratification of the treaty by both Spain and the U.S.
and subsequent exchange of ratified treaties.
- Spain "sold" the Philippines to the United States for $20
million.
- Bates-Sultan of Jolo (Sulu) Treaty, August 20, 1898
A treaty signed in Jolo, Philippines on August, 20, 1899 between the
United States' General John Bates and the Sultan of Jolo, Hadji
Mohammed Jamalol Kiram II.
Significant features:
- Declared the Archipelago of Jolo as a territory separate from the
Philippine Islands; recognizes the quasi-government status of the
Sultanate.
- The treaty tolerated slavery in the Archipelago of Jolo.
- Recognizes the "consent of the governed" principle in the event of
transfer of sovereignty by virtue of sale of the archipelago to
any foreign power.
Proclamations and Manifestos
Date | Title of Document |
Dec 1898 | Agoncillo's Protest Statement Against the Treaty of Paris |
Dec 21, 1898 | President William McKinley's "Benevolent Assimilation" Proclamation |
Jan 04, 1899 | General Otis' Proclamation Claiming U.S. Sovereignty Over the Philippines |
Jan 05, 1899 | Aguinaldo's Manifesto Protesting the United States' Claim of Sovereignty Over the Philippines |
Jan 24, 1899 | Agoncillo's Memorial to the U.S. Senate not to Vote for the Treaty of Paris, Addressed to the U.S. Secretary of State |
Feb 05, 1899 | Aguinaldo's Manifesto Recognizing the Opening of Hostilities |
May 05, 1899 | U.S. Offer of Autonomy [that Divided the Filipino Nationalists] |
Jun 02, 1899 | Pedro Paterno's Proclamation of War |
Jun 12, 1899 | Aguinaldo's Manifesto Reminding the Filipino People on the Importance of the Independence Struggle |
Apr 19, 1901 | Aguinaldo's Proclamation of Formal Surrender |
Jul 04, 1902 | President Theodore Roosevelt's Proclamation Formally Ending the Philippine "Insurrection" and Granting of Pardon/Amnesty |
Selected Bibliography
- Kalaw, Teodoro M., The Philippine Revolution , Jorge B. Vargas
Filipiniana Foundation, Mandaluyong, Rizal, 1969
- Foreman, John, The Philippine Islands , Charles Scribners Sons, New
York, 1906
Philippine-American War Centennial Initiative (PAWCI)
P.O. Box 8338
Fremont, CA, USA 94537-8338
E-mail: PAWCI@home.com
Source of Treaty Texts: The Statutes At Large of the United States of
America from March 1897 to March 1899 and Recent Treaties, Conventions,
Executive Proclamations, and The Concurrent Resolutions of the Two
Houses of Congress, Volume XXX, published by the U.S. Government
Printing Office, 1899. Copy courtesy of the U.S. Library of Congress,
Asian Division.
Document copy researched by
Madge Kho of Somerville, MA