Excerpt from William McKinley’s Decision on the Philippines, 1900
When next I realized that the Philippines had dropped into our laps, I confess I did not know what to do with them. I sought counsel from all sides—Democrats as well as Republican—but got little help. I thought first we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also.
I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed to Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. And one night late it came to me this way—I don't know how it was, but it came:
That we could not give them back to Spain—that would be cowardly and dishonorable;
That we could not turn them over to France or Germany, our commercial rivals in the Orient—that would be bad business and discreditable;
The we could not leave them to themselves—they were unfit for self-government, and they would soon have anarchy and misrule worse then Spain's was; and
That there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educated the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died.
Use the excerpt to answer the question.
Why did President William McKinley think it impossible to let the natives of former Spanish colonies enjoy independence?
A.
They would soon have anarchy and misrule worse than Spain’s.
B.
They were commercial rivals and would soon exploit the United States.
C.
Guiding these nations into independence would be cowardly and dishonorable.
D.
They would uplift and civilize other colonial populations and bring down European empires.