Ben Franklin
November 22nd 2005, 09:33 PM
Now that America has come full circle, entering into another era of colonialism with Bush's conquest of Iraq, I'd like to remind those of us still moral enough to acknowledge America's dark past of a prior shameful and racist conquest.
"White Man's'' Forgotten War
On the hot, humid night of Feb. 4, 1899, American sentries patrolling the Manila suburb of Santa Mesa opened fire on Filipino soldiers walking near a bridge over the San Juan River.
They were the first shots in one of the bloodiest conflicts in U.S. history -- and one of the least-known.
The Philippine-American War, from February 1899 to July 1902, claimed 250,000 lives -- some say as many as 1 million -- cut short the existence of the first republic in Asia and helped establish the United States as a 20th century power in the Pacific.
It started a bitter national debate over U.S. military involvement overseas, a precursor of the outcry over the Vietnam War more than half a century later.
The conflict popularized the concept of the ``white man's burden,'' an exhortation to Western domination. And it prompted one of America's greatest writers to speak out against those who advocated the expansion of U.S. influence.
This is just an introduction to the article; read the full story for all the details:
"White Man's" Forgotten War (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/31/SC16131.DTL)
"White Man's'' Forgotten War
On the hot, humid night of Feb. 4, 1899, American sentries patrolling the Manila suburb of Santa Mesa opened fire on Filipino soldiers walking near a bridge over the San Juan River.
They were the first shots in one of the bloodiest conflicts in U.S. history -- and one of the least-known.
The Philippine-American War, from February 1899 to July 1902, claimed 250,000 lives -- some say as many as 1 million -- cut short the existence of the first republic in Asia and helped establish the United States as a 20th century power in the Pacific.
It started a bitter national debate over U.S. military involvement overseas, a precursor of the outcry over the Vietnam War more than half a century later.
The conflict popularized the concept of the ``white man's burden,'' an exhortation to Western domination. And it prompted one of America's greatest writers to speak out against those who advocated the expansion of U.S. influence.
This is just an introduction to the article; read the full story for all the details:
"White Man's" Forgotten War (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/01/31/SC16131.DTL)