Aguinaldo was in Singapore when America declared war on Spain. The American consul at that port, Mr. E. Spencer Pratt, tells in his own words what this incident meant to him

Being aware [said Mr. Pratt] of the great prestige of General Aguinaldo with the insurgents, and that no one, either at home or abroad, could exert over them the same influence and control that he could, I determined at once to see him.

An interview followed and it was arranged that if Admiral Dewey, then at Hongkong with his squadron should so desire, the Filipino leader would join him at that port and arrange a plan of cooperation with the American forces⁠[2]. Pursuant to this understanding, Mr. Pratt immediately telegraphed to Dewey as follows:

Aguinaldo, insurgent leader, here. Will come Hongkong arrange with Commodore for general cooperation insurgents Manila if desired. Telegraph.

To which Admiral Dewey (then a Commodore) immediately replied:

Tell Aguinaldo come as soon as possible.

But by the time the Filipino leader reached Hongkong the future Admiral had been given his papers and was steaming towards Manila Bay. In heralding the coming of the Americans, however, the insurgent leaders at Hongkong sent to the Islands a manifesto addressed to the Filipinos proclaiming the benevolent mission of the invaders, and urging them not to heed the appeals of the Spaniards to oppose the Americans. The proclamation read thus:

Compatriots: Divine Providence is about to place independence within our reach. The Americans, not from mercenary motives, but for the sake of humanity and the lamentations of so many persecuted people have considered it opportune to extend their protecting mantle to our beloved country.... At the present moment an American squadron is preparing to sail to the Philippines.... The Americans will attack by sea and prevent any reenforcements coming from Spain.... We insurgents must attack by land.... There where you see the American flag flying, assemble in number; they are our redeemers!

Aguinaldo’s proclamation a few days later was of the same tenor:

Filipinos [he said], the great nation, North America, cradle of liberty and friendly on that account to the liberty of our people ... has come to manifest a protection ... which is disinterested towards us, considering us with sufficient civilization to govern by ourselves this our unhappy land.

It has always been a question whether or not a promise to grant the Filipinos their freedom in the manner that Cuba had been promised hers was made. American officials, Dewey included, vehemently deny having made such promise, while the Filipinos and a few later American students of history stoutly maintain the contrary. Assuming that no promises were made by properly accredited agents of the American government, it is certain that the revolutionists were led by the action of the American forces in the Philippines to believe that the United States would give them independence. Their frame of mind as a result of the early assurances received from the American consuls at Singapore and Hongkong may be gathered from the tone of the following letter written by Consul Wildman of Hongkong to Aguinaldo:

Do not forget [he said] that the United States undertook this war for the sole purpose of relieving the Cubans from the cruelties under which they were suffering and not for the love of conquests or the hope of gain. They are actuated by precisely the same feelings for the Filipinos⁠[3].

When Aguinaldo arrived in Manila on the American gunboat McCulloch which Dewey had expressly sent to Hongkong to bring the Filipino leader, he immediately went to see Dewey. The latter at once urged him to start cooperation. “Go ashore and start your army,” he told the Filipino⁠[4]. Aguinaldo did the rest. “He began operations towards Manila,” said Dewey, “and did wonderfully well. He whipped the Spaniards battle after battle....” And so Dewey’s protégé worked, under the constant advice and encouragement of the American commander. At that time, of course, the American land forces had not arrived, and were not due to arrive for several months. In the meantime the Filipino army was daily expending its power and risking the lives of its men in this aggressive land campaign. This accounts for Admiral Dewey’s great concern in aiding them. Let the Admiral testify to this: “I knew what he was doing—driving the Spaniards in—was saving our troops”⁠[5]. Further testimony of this active cooperation between the two forces is amply furnished by the Admiral.

They looked on us as their liberators [he testified before the Senate committee⁠[6]]. Up to the time the army came he (Aguinaldo) did everything I requested. He was most obedient; whatever I told him to do he did. I saw him almost daily⁠[7].

The reason which prompted the American representative to act so cordially is best described in his own words:

I was waiting for troops to arrive [testified Dewey] and I thought that the closer they (the Filipinos) invested the city, the easier it would be when our troops arrived to march in. The Filipinos were our friends, assisting us; they were doing our work⁠[8].

And when asked how strong a force Aguinaldo had under his command, Dewey added: “They could have had any number of men; it was just a question of arming them. They could have had the whole population”⁠[9]. These declarations took place before an investigating committee of the Senate in 1902, but that the war department in Washington knew of the cooperation between the two forces is clear from the official dispatches sent by Dewey from the scene of battle.

Thus, hardly had Aguinaldo landed to organize his forces when Dewey cabled to the Secretary of the Navy as follows:

May 20, 1898:

Aguinaldo, the rebel commander in chief, was brought down by the McCulloch. Organizing forces near Cavite, and may render assistance which will be valuable⁠[10].

Just how valuable this assistance proved to be has been shown by Dewey’s statements in the preceding pages. It took three and a half months for the American Army to arrive on the scene of action and in the meantime the telling dispatches of Dewey now survive to inform us what the Filipino activities actually meant. Thus, a dispatch of June 6 says:

Insurgents have been engaged actively within the province of Cavite⁠[1] during the last week; they have had several small victories, taking prisoners about 1800 men, 50 officers; Spanish troops, not native⁠[11].

Six days later, June 12, comes another telegram from Dewey:

Insurgents continue hostilities and have practically surrounded Manila. They have taken 2500 Spanish prisoners, whom they treat most humanely. They do not intend to attack city proper until the arrival of the U. S. troops thither; I have advised⁠[12].

A week later and another telling dispatch is sent to Washington:

I have given him (Aguinaldo) to understand that I consider insurgents as friends, being opposed to a common enemy.... He has gone to attend a meeting of insurgent leaders for the purpose of forming a civil government. Aguinaldo has acted independently of the squadron but has kept me advised of his progress which has been wonderful. I have allowed to pass by water, recruits, arms and ammunition and to take such arms and ammunition from the arsenal as he needed. Have advised frequently to conduct the war humanely, which he has invariably done.

And then follows this convincing statement:

In my opinion these people are superior in intelligence and more capable of self-government than the natives of Cuba, and I am familiar with both races⁠[13].

But as a forerunner of the breach which was shortly to follow comes the testimony of Dewey that upon the arrival of the American army, instead of seeing him daily as he had done in the past, he “had not much to do with him after the army came”⁠[14].

Although the Admiral had thus lost interest in Aguinaldo’s cooperation, however, it soon appeared that the commander of the land forces, General Anderson, who had arrived earlier on the scene of action, thought differently. Addressing Aguinaldo on July 4, 1898, he said:

General:

I have the honor to inform you that the United States of America whose land forces I have the honor to command in this vicinity ... has entire sympathy and most friendly sentiments for the native people of the Philippine Islands.

For these reasons I desire to have the most amicable relations with you and to have you and your people cooperate with us in the military operations against the Spanish forces.

(Signed) Gen’l T. M. Anderson⁠[15].

Assuming, however, that no promises of independence were made in writing by properly accredited agents in the name of the American government, it is certain that the Revolutionists were led to believe that the United States planned to do for the Philippines what she was then actively doing for Cuba. As General Anderson aptly put it in describing the situation at that critical period:

Whether Admiral Dewey and Consuls Pratt (of Singapore), Wildman (Hongkong) and Williams (Manila) did or did not give Aguinaldo assurances that a Filipino government would be recognized, the Filipinos certainly thought so, probably inferring this from their acts rather than from their statements⁠[16].

Laboring under such a belief the flag of the Philippines was formally unfurled and independence proclaimed amidst elaborate ceremonies at Cavite on June 12, 1898⁠[17]. This was exactly two months before the American forces of occupation finally entered Manila. Events moved rapidly. The Revolutionary government issued its proclamation providing for a temporary constitution, until it could be replaced by one formally drawn by delegates from the archipelago formally assembled. In the words of the document itself, its purpose was

to abolish with a firm hand the inveterate vices of the Spanish administration, substituting a more simple and expeditious system of public instruction for that superfluity of civil service and ponderous, tardy and ostentatious official routine⁠[18].

Accompanying this provisional constitution whose main object was “to struggle for the independence of the Philippines until all nations including Spain, shall expressly recognize it, and to prepare the country for the establishment of a real Republic,” was a presidential message from Aguinaldo. This is a noteworthy document for it clearly mirrored the true aspirations of the Filipinos. It concluded as follows:

Thus they have constituted a revolutionary government with wise and just laws suited to the abnormal conditions confronting them, and which at the proper time will prepare them for a true republic. Thus, taking for its only justification the right, for its sole aid, justice, and for its only means honorable labor, the government calls upon all its Filipino sons without distinction of class, and invites them to unite solidly with the object of forming a noble society ennobled, not by blood or pompous titles, but by labor and the personal merit of the individual,—a free society where there is no place for egotism and personal politics which wither and blight, nor for envy and favoritism which debase, nor for charlatanry and buffoonery which cause ridicule.

No other course is possible. A people that has given proof of fortitude and valor in suffering and in danger, of industry and learning in time of peace, is not made for slavery. These people are called to be great, to be one of the strong arms of Providence in directing the destinies of humanity. These people have sufficient energy and resources to recover from the ruin and humiliation in which it has been placed by the Spanish government and to claim a modest but worthy place in the concert of free nations.

Given at Cavite, June 23, 1898.

(Signed) Emilio Aguinaldo⁠[19].

The march of events continued. On June 27 rules for the conduct of executive business were announced. On July 25, the members of the Cabinet were named, and the Congress assembled in the town of Malolos on September 15. The Revolutionary Government was now ready to merge into the Republic. Thus it came about that on August 6, one week before the occupation of Manila by the American forces, Aguinaldo as President issued an address to the foreign governments in which he stated that his revolutionary government was then the ruling power in fifteen provinces of the island of Luzon, where complete order and perfect tranquillity reigned under the administration of civil authorities duly elected for that purpose, and that the Filipino army was then holding 9,000 Spanish prisoners of war who were being treated according to the rules of war⁠[20]. This proclamation was substantiated by a secret investigation conducted at that time by Major Bell with the purpose of ascertaining the strength of the Filipinos in the event that General Merritt had trouble with them⁠[21]. “There is not a particle of doubt,” concluded Major Bell, “that Aguinaldo and his leaders will resist any attempt of any government to reorganize a colonial government there”⁠[22].

And who was this man Aguinaldo, the recognized leader of the Filipino cause? Let John Barrett, the strong supporter of the powers that be, give a picture of the Filipino and his successes. Writing from the scene of action, having personally known the Filipino and having seen him put aboard the American gunboat at Hongkong for the direct purpose of going to Cavite to organize an army and make war upon the Spaniards in cooperation with the American forces, Mr. Barrett continues thus:

After his arrival at Cavite he organized with wonderful rapidity a provisional government, and in a short time had an army which was capturing Spanish outposts with the frequency of trained regulars....

The impression went abroad among the masses of the people that Aguinaldo had arrived to establish an independent government, and that the Americans would assist him. The actual working of his government under the guns of our ship was sufficient evidence to them of our approval.... These influences had a tremendous effect. Before Aguinaldo had been in Cavite a month he not only had more soldiers than he could arm, but contributions of large sums of money, with unlimited amounts of rice and other raw food supplies brought in by the people for the support of his Army.

Of the Congress, Mr. Barrett says:

By the middle of October he had assembled at Malolos a Congress of one hundred men.... These men whose sessions I repeatedly attended, conducted themselves with great decorum and showed a knowledge of debate and parliamentary law that would not compare unfavorably with the Japanese Parliament. The executive portion of the government was made up of a ministry of bright men who seemed to understand their respective positions.

The army of Aguinaldo seems to have been the greatest of his achievements in the estimation of Mr. Barrett.

He had over twenty regiments [wrote Mr. Barrett] of comparatively well-dressed soldiers carrying modern rifles and ammunition. I saw many of these regiments executing not only regimental but battalion and company drill with a precision that astonished me.... The people in all the different towns took great pride in this army. Nearly every family had a father, son or cousin in it. Wherever they went they aroused enthusiasm for the Filipino cause⁠[23].

Such an estimate of Aguinaldo is largely corroborated by those Americans who directly came in contact with him. Thus Mr. Jacob Schurman, President of the First Philippine Commission, characterized him as having

enjoyed the confidence of the insurgents and their sympathizers and abettors ... in virtue of his patriotic services, his attested honesty and his remarkable gift of surrounding himself with able coadjutors and administrators⁠[24].

“He (Aguinaldo) was the incarnation of the feelings of the Filipinos,” adds General MacArthur⁠[25].

It is difficult to understand the success of the insurgent forces against the better trained Spaniards otherwise than by ascribing it to the unusual intelligence on the part of their leaders and the firm determination of the people. Six weeks before the American occupation of Manila, for example, John T. McCutcheon, reporting for the Chicago Record narrated the march of events in a special dispatch dated the 24th of June, as follows:

All during the week following there was constant evidence of the strife that was being waged between Cavite and Malate.... Imus, Bacoor, Las Pinas and Paranaque were captured in less than a week notwithstanding the fact that the Spaniards had splendid guns and ammunition in unlimited quantities, supported by five mountain batteries and rapid fire guns.... Over in Cavite the calm passionless statements of great victories that Aguinaldo gave us were being substantiated every day for hundreds and hundreds of Spanish soldiers were being marched in and placed in prison!... Closely following the remarkable insurgent successes in Cavite Province, where the whole district had been captured in eight days, came stories of other successful operations in Pampanga Province; Macabebe and San Fernando were captured and the great Spanish General Molet fled in terror to Manila. Over one thousand Spanish soldiers had been taken prisoners and their arms given out to natives as quickly as possible.... Our respect for the insurgent prowess had grown a great deal, for by June 30 they had taken almost every province in Luzon, with the exception of isolated garrisons and were hammering away at the doors of Manila⁠[26].

By August the insurgents had surrounded the city with fourteen miles of trenches, the water and food supply had been cut off, internal trade paralyzed and the inhabitants of the unfortunate city reduced to horseflesh diet. Such was the result of a three and a half months’ blockade with Dewey guarding the harbor and the Filipinos closing in by land⁠[27]. So closely were the Filipinos besieging Manila that when General Anderson arrived with his land forces to commence offensive hostilities he was compelled to request from Aguinaldo permission to occupy a part of the Filipino fighting line and trenches⁠[28].

Capitulation of the city turned out to be a mere matter of form under these circumstances. Through the Belgian consul, M. Andre, stationed in Manila, Commodore Dewey and General Merritt arranged with the Spanish commandants for the surrender of the city. There was to be no real fighting, no resistance except the display of a white flag after the firing of a few shots to save the delicate honor of the Castilians. But one thing the Spaniards demanded, and that was that no Filipino troops were to enter the city. To this arrangement the Americans agreed⁠[29]. General Anderson, thereupon, notified Aguinaldo to forbid his troops to enter the city. The unpleasant information was naturally received with indignation, for it meant that the Filipinos must lie in their trenches and watch all the glory of the capture fall to thousands of American troops whose contribution to the victory had consisted in their amiable presence on the American transports that had brought them from San Francisco. Further than this, until the treaty of Paris was decided upon the Filipinos had no way of knowing whether the Americans were to turn them back to Spain or set them free. If it was to be the former then the Revolution would continue and it was natural that the Filipinos should wish to be in possession of the capital city.

Fearing as he had reason to fear, that the order to stay back would not be obeyed, General Anderson sent his troops to hold the main bridge into the city with no other purpose than to fire, if necessary, upon their late friends. As Anderson himself put it in addressing Aguinaldo: “Unless your troops are withdrawn beyond the lines of the city’s defences before Thursday, the fifteenth instant, I shall be compelled to resort to forcible action”⁠[30].

The situation was very critical [said General Greene]. Our soldiers believed that the Filipinos had fired upon them and the Filipinos were almost beside themselves with rage and disappointment. The friendly relations we had with Generals Ricarte and Noriel alone prevented the conflict with them then and there⁠[31].

But if the break between them had been averted in August, it failed to end the tension between the two armies.

It is now worth while to view the situation as it stood at that time.

We held Manila and Cavite [said General Anderson] the rest of the Island (Luzon) was held not by Spaniards but by the Filipinos. On the other islands the Spaniards were confined to two or three fortified towns⁠[32].

Even these were later captured by the natives also, so that General Otis adds:

Thus, in December, 1898, we find that in northern and southeastern Luzon, in (the islands of) Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Panay and even on the coast of Mindanao and in some of the smaller islands, the aggressive Tagalog present in person and, whether civilian or soldier, supreme in authority⁠[33].

Shortly after the occupation of Manila, two officers of Admiral Dewey’s squadron, with the latter’s permission, made an intimate inspection of the interior of the island to bring back a report of which Admiral Dewey himself said that it contained “the most complete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present state of the northern part of Luzon.” This report was forwarded to Mr. Long, the Secretary of the Navy and, in response to a Senate resolution may be found reported in Senate Document 196, 56th Congress, 1st Session, bearing date of February 26, 1900. Messrs. Sargent and Wilcox, the two officers in question, spent two months in their travels and they saw and heard even more than that which was reported by the commanders from Manila.

As a tribute to the efficiency of Aguinaldo’s government and the law abiding character of his subjects [wrote Mr. Sargent] I offer the fact that Mr. Wilcox and I pursued our journey through in perfect security and returned to Manila with only the most pleasing recollections of the quiet and orderly life which we found the natives to be leading under their new régime (the Filipino Republic).

The travellers also had an opportunity to witness some of the ceremonies inaugurating civil government under the new-born republic. They describe those which occurred in the province of Caaygan as follows:

The Presidentes of all the towns in the provinces were present at the ceremony.... Colonel Tirona made a short speech.... He then handed the staff of office to the man who had been elected governor of the Province. This officer also made a speech in which he thanked the military forces and assured them that the work they had begun would be perpetuated by the people, where every man, woman and child stood ready to take up arms to defend their newly won liberty and to resist with the last drop of their blood the attempt of any nation whatever to bring them back to their former state of dependence. He then knelt, placed his hand on an open Bible, and took the oath of office.

There is a variety of feeling among the Filipinos [adds Mr. Sargent] in regard to the debt of gratitude they owe the United States. In every town we found men who said that our nation had saved them from slavery and others who claimed that without our interference their independence would have been recognized before this time. On one point they were united, however, viz. that whatever our government may have done for them, it has not gained the right to annex them.

Of course, it must be remembered that all this region outside of Manila and its environments was “terra incognita” to the thousands of American soldiers stationed in Manila and to the millions of Americans at home. That is why with the help of the censored press during the war that followed, American public opinion utterly failed to realize what an efficient government the Filipinos had established several months before the treaty of Paris. The first intimate glimpse accorded the volunteer army of occupation occurred in the fall of the following year when that peaceful territory was finally overrun by the invading army of the greatest republic in the world.

No one can read the evidence here presented without seeing that the representatives of the United States in the islands and the government in Washington knew that the Filipinos believed that the United States would give them independence and in that belief were helping the Americans; that while their help was needed nothing was done to disturb that belief but, on the contrary, pains were taken not to disturb it, if not indeed to encourage it, and the Filipinos were allowed to fight the battles of the invaders. Among gentlemen, or in a country where the principle of estoppel is recognized, such conduct would be held equivalent to a binding promise.

Can the “great nation North America” afford to adopt a lower standard of decency?