Question

President McKinley publicly justified U.S. annexation of the Philippines on the grounds that ______.

• A. the United States had a responsibility to uplift the Filipinos.
• B. a plebiscite indicated Filipino preference for U.S. rule.
• C. a failure to do so would open the way for a Marxist regime.
• D. the Philippines were spoils of the Spanish-American War.
• E. America needed raw materials from the Philippines.

Answer 1

The correct option is A the United States had a responsibility to uplift the Filipinos.

President McKinley publicly justified U.S. annexation of the Philippines on the grounds that the United States had a responsibility to uplift the Filipinos. McKinley argued that the Philippines were not ready for self-government and American control was needed to improve their situation. The following options are incorrect because:

No vote occurred in the Philippines (B).

Marxist regimes (C) became a concern for the United States later in the 20th century-especially after World War II-but not in 1898.

War spoils (D) and raw materials (E) would not be justifications that McKinley would give publicly for annexation.