From US Colony to Independent Country: The Construction of a State

This chapter covers the twentieth century, when the Philippines were changed by the US colonization after a brutal war of conquest. Progress in education, medicine, urbanization and transportation was obvious, while the Americans fostered the development of a Filipino political class that was called to govern the country alongside American political ideals, as was hoped with the implementation of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935 under president Quezon. The difficult years of the Japanese occupation gave place to an independent nation in 1946, which had to deal with the presence of US military bases during the Cold War, profound social inequalities inherited from the Spanish period, and an economic dependence towards the United States. The central figure of Ferdinand Marcos exemplifies the difficulties of the country to attain a truly democratic life. Political power is still controlled by an oligarchy of a few dozen families. Corruption and violence are parts of the daily difficulties encountered by Filipinos.