Quiz for American Voices:
Debating the Philippines

Question

1. What did General Arthur MacArthur’s introductory testimony suggest about what the United States hoped to achieve through its occupation of the Philippines?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. In his introductory testimony, MacArthur suggested that he saw the American occupation of the Philippines as an opportunity to “plant republicanism” and “the best characteristics of Americanism in such a way that they can never be removed from that soil.”
Incorrect. The answer is c. In his introductory testimony, MacArthur suggested that he saw the American occupation of the Philippines as an opportunity to “plant republicanism” and “the best characteristics of Americanism in such a way that they can never be removed from that soil.”

Question

2. Senator Thomas Patterson’s questioning of MacArthur demonstrated that his opposition to the United States’ occupation of Philippines was based on which of the following assumptions?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. Patterson’s testimony expressed skepticism about MacArthur’s intention to oversee the establishment of republican self-government in the Philippines, suggesting that the United States intended to rule as a “foreign and superior power” and that the violent occupation would leave few Filipinos alive to govern themselves.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Patterson’s testimony expressed skepticism about MacArthur’s intention to oversee the establishment of republican self-government in the Philippines, suggesting that the United States intended to rule as a “foreign and superior power” and that the violent occupation would leave few Filipinos alive to govern themselves.

Question

3. The conduct of the war in the Philippines, as described by Brigadier General Robert P. Hughes, relied on tactics that the U.S. military had previously employed in which of the following conflicts?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. The burning of villages and killing of civilian Filipino women and children described by General Hughes were tactics very similar to those used by the U.S. military in its wars against the Native Americans in the late nineteenth century. In both cases, the tactics were justified by the assumption that the victims were “uncivilized” people.
Incorrect. The answer is d. The burning of villages and killing of civilian Filipino women and children described by General Hughes were tactics very similar to those used by the U.S. military in its wars against the Native Americans in the late nineteenth century. In both cases, the tactics were justified by the assumption that the victims were “uncivilized” people.

Question

4. What does this body of testimony suggest about the real intent of U.S. interventions in the Philippines between 1898 and 1902?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. The testimony reveals that, although U.S. leaders justified their intervention in the Philippines with republican rhetoric, their actions in the region made territorial acquisition a higher priority than protecting human or natural rights.
Incorrect. The answer is c. The testimony reveals that, although U.S. leaders justified their intervention in the Philippines with republican rhetoric, their actions in the region made territorial acquisition a higher priority than protecting human or natural rights.