Philippines

In the Treaty of Paris of 1898, Spain sold the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. Many Filipinos were outraged by the treaty because Filipinos wanted independence, which they thought would be granted after the war. Instead, however, the Philippines were annexed by the United States. The United States was acting like Spain had, controlling a colony that was fighting for freedom. From February 1899, Emilio Aguinaldo and his followers fought for freedom in the Philippine-American War. While Aguinaldo used guerilla tactics, the United States forced Filipinos to live in designated zones with poor sanitation, starvation, and disease, which killed thousands. This practice makes America look like a hypocrite because that was exactly what they condemned Spain for doing in Cuba. It took the United States 3 years to end the rebellion, resulting in the deaths of 20 thousand Filipino rebels and 4 thousand Americans, costing the United States $400 million. The United States appointed a governor who then appointed members of the upper house of legislature, while Filipinos could only elect members of the lower house. With this kind of authoritative rule, the American society and government did not really live up to its own ideals of liberty and freedom. But under this rule, the Philippines eventually became an independent republic on July 4, 1946.