DOCUMENT 6. A PRESIDENT’S DECISION
Speaking to a church group, President William McKinley gave the following account of his decision to keep the Philippines under U. S. control.
“I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way— I don’t know how it was, but it came: (1) that we could not give them back to Spain—that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France or Germany—our commercial rivals in the Orient—that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves—they were unfit for self-government—and they would soon have anarchy and misrule there worse than Spain’s was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them.”
William McKinley, speech to a Methodist Church group, November 1899
Do you agree with President McKinley, in Document 6, that he had only four alternatives in dealing ? What seems to be his motivation for taking the Philippines? Explain your answer using textual evidence.