Login or Sign Up
Menu
Ask a New Question

William Graham Sumner, "On Empire and the Philippines" (1898)

Now each nation laughs at all the others when it observes these manifestations of national vanity. You may rely upon it that they are all ridiculous by virtue of these pretensions, including ourselves. The point is that each of them repudiated the standards of the others, and the outlying nations, which are to be civilized, hate all the standards of civilized men.

We assume that what we like and practice, and what we think better, must come as a welcome blessing to Spanish-American and Filipinos. This is grossly and obviously untrue. They hate our ways. They are hostile to our ideas. Our religion, language, institutions, and manners offend them. They like their own ways, and if we appear amongst them as rulers, there will be social discord in all the great departments of social interest. The most important thing which we shall inherit from the Spaniards will be the task of suppressing rebellions.

If the United States takes out of the hands of Spain her mission, on the ground that Spain is not executing it well, and if this nation in its turn attempts to be schoolmistress to others, it will shrivel up into the same vanity and self-conceit of which Spain now presents an example. To read our current literature one would think that we were already well on the way to it.

Now, the great reason why all these enterprises which begin by saying to somebody else, "We know what is good for you better than you know yourself and we are going to make you do it," are false and wrong is that they violate liberty; or, to turn the same statement into other words, the reason why liberty, of which we Americans talk so much, is a good thing is that it means leaving people to live out their own lives in their own way, while we do the same.

If we believe in liberty, as an American principle, why do we not stand by it? Why are we going to throw it away to enter upon a Spanish policy of dominion and regulation?

Use the excerpt to answer the question.

What future did William Graham Sumner predict for the American occupation of the Philippines?

William Graham Sumner predicted that the American occupation of the Philippines would result in social discord and the task of suppressing rebellions. He also believed that the Filipinos would hate American ways and be hostile to American ideas, religion, language, institutions, and manners. Sumner warned that if the United States attempted to be a "schoolmistress" to others, it would become vain and self-conceited like Spain. He argued that the American occupation violated liberty and questioned why the United States would abandon its principle of liberty to enter upon a Spanish policy of dominion and regulation.