Philippine–American War
In 1902, the United States Congress passed the Philippine Organic Act, which provided for the creation of the Philippine Assembly, with members to be elected by Filipino males. (Women did not have suffrage in the US or the Philippines.) This act was superseded by the 1916 Philippine Autonomy Act, which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant independence to the Philippines. The 1934 Philippine Independence Act created the Commonwealth of the Philippines the following year, a limited form of independence, and established a process ending in Philippine independence (originally scheduled for 1944, but interrupted and delayed by World War II). The United States granted independence in 1946, following World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, through the Treaty of Manila.
Treaty of Manila (1946)
Commodore Dewey's decisive victory in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898 marked the fall of Spanish inshore defenses in the Philippines. Dewey's victory was later followed by an alliance between U.S. forces and Filipino forces commanded by General Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence on June 12, 1898 and went on to form the First Philippine Republic. Aguinaldo's proclamation of independence was never recognized by either Spain or the U.S.