a memorandum to the U.S. Secretary of War no relation Philippine–American War
Benevolent assimilation refers to a policy of the United States towards the Philippines as described in a proclamation by US President William McKinley that was issued in a memorandum to the U.S. Secretary of War on December 21, 1898, after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish–American War. It stated that future control, disposition, and government of the Philippine islands had been ceded to the United States and that the US military government was to be extended over the whole of the ceded territory.
About six months earlier, on June 12, 1898, Emilio Aguinaldo had declared the Philippines to be a free and independent nation and had established a revolutionary government. The Filipino revolutionary armed forces were then deployed and had remained in positions surrounding US Army forces occupying Manila. This juxtaposition eventually developed into a standoff between opposing forces that would erupt in fighting in early 1899 to ignite the Philippine–American War.
The proclamation read in part:
no relation