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 This act was superseded by the 1916 Philippine Autonomy Act, which contained the first formal and official declaration of the United States government's commitment to eventually grant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.
When the Elephants Dance
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and the following morning attacked the Philippines. General Douglas MacArthur of the United States retreated and declared Manila an open city. Japan continued to bomb the city and forced 70,000 Filipino and American troops on the Bataan Death March. The Japanese continued bombing until MacArthur surrendered on May 6, 1942 and retreated to Australia, thus leaving the Philippine people to fend for themselves. The Japanese arrived with propaganda that they were merely ending Western imperialism as they destroyed American books and burned American schools.
In October 1944, MacArthur returned to the Philippines with more troops and supplies. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered, and the Philippines gained independence on July 4, 1946 with the Treaty of Manila between the United States and the Philippines.