Herbert Adams Gibbons
In the early 1930s, Gibbons argued that an American withdrawal from the Philippines would be futile, because Japan would immediately colonize the country if the United States were to pull out. In 1931, in a speech in Manila, Gibbons referred to the Philippine calls for independence as "claptrap." He said that if the United States were to withdraw, then it might as well negotiate with the League of Nations to hand the Philippines over to Japan as a mandate. The American business community roundly praised Gibbons' speech. However, Philippine nationalist leaders attacked Gibbons, saying that he was raising the "Japanese bogy" as a hurdle to Philippine independence. (Ultimately, the United States did not grant Philippine independence until 1946, after Japan was no longer a military threat to the former colony.)
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.