Today in the Past

Today, December 21, 1898, President McKinley issues his proclamation of "benevolent assimilation."

General Otis, who succeeded General Merritt on August 29, 1898, was appointed by the United States Government as Military Governor of the Philippines.

General Otis had differences with Aguinaldo on questions of jurisdiction, in which President Aguinaldo was forced to cede ground "because of my constant desire to preserve friendly relations with the American forces, even at the risk of sacrificing in part of the confidence reposed in me by the Filipino people."

It was after the signing of the Treaty of Paris that President McKinley issued his proclamation of "benevolent assimilation." In it he announced that the directory, disposition, and Government of the Philippine Islands had passed following the treaty, into the hands of the United States. "It is the duty of the army of occupation," said McKinley, "to announce and proclaim in the most public manner that we have come, not as invaders or conquerors, but as friends to protect the natives in their homes, in their business and in their personal or religious liberty."