On Becoming Filipino American

1. On Becoming Filipino American Carlos Bulosan and the Manong Generation

3. Philippine Revolution • March 17, 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan claims Philippines for Spain • Aug 1896 – Andres Bonifacio begins armed revolt against Spanish authorities • 1898: • April - Rebel leader Emilio Aguinaldo makes unofficial alliance with the U.S. at start of Spanish American War • June 12 – Aguinaldo declares independence • Dec – US and Spain sign Treaty of Paris – US buys Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico for $20million

4. Spanish American War • 1823 – Monroe Doctrine • 1868 – Cubans fight for independence – Ten Years War • 1895 – Jose Marti leads second Cuban rebellion • Feb 1898 – the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor • April 1898 – Declaration of War against Spain • American forces battle Spanish forces in Philippines, Cuba, Guam and Puerto Rico

5. The Philippine American War • Feb 1899 – start of armed conflict between U.S. & Filipino forces • 1902 • declared official end of Philippine American War • Philippine Insurrection begins – guerilla fighters continue to resist • American use of scorched earth campaigns, concentration camps and waterboarding • Estimated # of casualties is anywhere from 250,000 to 1 million • The contradiction of US Democracy and Empire: “There is the case of the Philippines... I thought we should act as their protector—not try to get them under our heel. We were to relieve them from Spanish tyranny to enable them to set up a government of their own... It was not to be a government according to our ideas, but a government that represented the feeling of the majority of the Filipinos, a government according to Filipino ideas... But now—why, we have got into a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater.” –Mark Twain

7. McKinley contemplates map of the Philippines while Lady Justice pulls back the curtain to show him reality of Philippine American War.

8. Political cartoon from Judge The caption reads: the Filipino’s first bath. President McKinley stands in the pool of civilization in front of the white house. In the background, Puerto Rico and Cuba have just had their bath.

9. Caption reads: The White Man’s Burden Uncle Sam follows John Bull to the Lady of Civilization.

10. Migration & Manongs • 1902 – 1934 • Philippines under direct U.S. military control • Filipinos could travel to the U.S. as “nationals” with a U.S. passport • First major wave of Filipino migration: • Pensionados – students • Laborers – Hawaiian plantations, Alaskan canneries, west coast agriculture • Now known as the “manong” generation – “manong” is Ilocano term of respect for your male elder • Mostly young and unmarried – anti-miscegenation laws and alien land laws prevented their settlement and ensured their lives as migrant farm labor • 1930s – anti-Filipino riots up and down west coast

11. Carlos Bulosan • Nov 24, 1913 – born in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines • July 22, 1930 – arrived in Seattle • Worked in Alaskan canneries and as migrant farm labor • 1935 – started involvement in workers movement and labor organizing • 1936 – hospitalized for tuberculosis • 1944 – Laughter of my Father • 1946 – America is in the Heart • 1950 – blacklisted for membership in CPUSA • 1956 – died of tuberculosis in Seattle

12. Independence & immigration • 1934 – Tydings McDuffie Act • In response to onset of Great Depression • 10 year preparation period for independence • Philippine immigration limited to 50 per year • 1935 – Filipino Repatriation Act • July 4, 1946 – Philippine independence recognized by US • Clark Air Base remains largest U.S. base in Asia until 1991 • 1965 Immigration Act – banishes national quotas and institutes immigration preferences of occupation and family reunification – largest wave of immigration • 2011 – 4 million Filipino Americans • 25% live in California • San Diego = 2nd largest Fil Am population in nation; Fil Am constitutes largest Asian minority in SD

13. Short Stories of Carlos Bulosan • How does Bulosan depict the Philippines? America? • Why do Bulosan’s characters choose to immigrate? • How would you describe the relationship Bulosan’s narrators and characters have with America?