The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 2 of 2)

In Short

Dean C. Worcester’s second volume of The Philippines: Past and Present provides an exhaustive administrative defence of American sovereignty in the Philippine archipelago following the Spanish-American War. Drawing directly from his decade-long tenure as Secretary of the Interior, Worcester outlines the physical, legal, and social reforms enacted under United States rule. The book chronicles the establishment of civil infrastructure, educational programs, public health measures, and forestry management across the islands, with a concentrated focus on the governance of non-Christian hill tribes. Throughout the volume, Worcester forcefully refutes contemporary arguments for immediate Philippine independence, contending that internal ethnic factionalism, systemic peonage, and political inexperiencedness would lead to administrative collapse. It has endured as a primary, if controversial, historical document detailing early twentieth-century American imperialism and colonial policy.

The Story

The volume opens by surveying the concrete mechanisms of state-building deployed by the American insular administration to transform the archipelago’s civic life. Worcester traces the introduction of standardized primary and secondary education, noting how initial American textbooks were replaced by locally tailored curricula that prioritized vocational training, agricultural instruction, and civic lectures over abstract academics. He shifts swiftly from classroom instruction to the physical domain, detailing the exploration, mapping, and political organization of non-Christian territories.

Navigating mountainous terrains and remote river valleys, Worcester details his direct encounters with highland populations such as the Kalingas, Ifugaos, and Igorots. He advocates for a specialized administration distinct from the lowland Filipino provincial governments, emphasizing that these highland groups require direct, personal governance. To bring an end to generational head-hunting feuds, American officers substitute athletic competitions, rice feasts, and regulated trading exchanges for armed conflict. The text follows this policy’s expansion into regions like Nueva Vizcaya and Agusan, arguing that direct executive oversight protects vulnerable hill communities from predatory provincial traders, local political overreach, and illicit trades in alcohol and opium.

As the narrative moves toward legal and social structures, Worcester confronts the persistence of slavery and peonage within the islands. He documents the resistance of the newly established Philippine Assembly to passing anti-slavery legislation, detailing how bills passed by the Commission were repeatedly tabled by native legislators. Worcester uses official reports from both American and Filipino governors to assert that human trafficking and unfree labour remain active realities that require federal intervention rather than political denial.

The middle section of the volume shifts to physical development and resource exploitation. Worcester outlines the modernization of the island economy through public works: the construction of deep-water ports, the installation of hundreds of coastal lighthouses, and the exhaustive mapping conducted by the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Surveys. Primitive logging and agricultural techniques give way to modern steam sawmills, mechanized coconut oil processing, and systematic soil fertilization. The narrative frames these material advancements—alongside the construction of mountain highways, regional hospitals, and summer capitals like Baguio—as the essential groundwork for regional stability.

The final chapters transform from an administrative survey into an unyielding political argument regarding the readiness of the Philippines for self-rule. Worcester analyzes the legislative record of the Philippine Assembly, criticizing specific bills that sought to exempt uncultivated lands from taxation, weaken libel laws, or reduce revenues on distilled spirits. He dissects the historical record of the Philippine Insurrection, citing captured military orders to demonstrate that the insurgent government operated as an oppressive oligarchy reliant on coercion.

The volume concludes with an evaluation of the political debate surrounding immediate independence. Worcester argues that premature American withdrawal would instantly subvert public order, re-establish internal ethnic conflict, invite foreign colonial seizure, and undo the broad public health, legal, and economic frameworks established since 1898. He insists that long-term American guardianship remains a moral obligation mandated by treaty commitments and humanitarian necessity.

How It Unfolds

The trade of peaceful administrative routine Worcester introduces the pragmatic shifts in early colonial schooling, replacing foreign texts with practical agricultural and vocational manuals. The Bureau of Education organizes regional corn-growing contests and issues practical circulars on hygiene, land homesteading, and civic duties to supplant older, abstract instructional models.

The pacification of the highlands The author travels through non-Christian mountain territories, establishing personal alliances with local leaders like Bakidan through shared meals and symbolic rituals. By introducing organized athletic contests, athletic field days, and regulated government exchanges, the administration replaces violent head-hunting feuds with non-lethal civic rivalries.

The struggle over anti-slavery legislation Worcester details his prolonged legislative battle to pass explicit prohibitions against slavery and involuntary servitude. Despite mounting evidence from provincial reports detailing human trafficking, the Philippine Assembly consistently tables the Commission's anti-slavery bills, forcing Worcester to lobby for external congressional action.

The building of physical infrastructure The focus shifts to heavy engineering, forest management, and maritime safety across the archipelago. Primitive hand-saws and small axes yield to modern steam sawmills, while the Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Surveys maps thousands of miles of hazardous coastline to secure commercial shipping routes.

The critique of local legislative initiatives Worcester evaluates the legislative output of the Philippine Assembly, highlighting bills that attempted to limit foreign maritime engineers, exempt uncultivated estates from taxation, and dilute libel laws. He argues these measures demonstrate that political power remains concentrated among elite landowners rather than serving the general populace.

The defense of perpetual guardianship The book closes with an analysis of the risks surrounding immediate Philippine independence. Citing historical insurgent orders and private admissions from native politicians, Worcester maintains that withdrawing American sovereignty would prompt immediate civil turmoil, economic collapse, and foreign conquest.

The People

• Dean C. Worcester: The author and Secretary of the Interior of the Philippine Islands (1901–1913). He positions himself as a tireless, pragmatic administrator determined to bring scientific management, physical safety, and legal order to the archipelago. He fiercely defends the non-Christian hill tribes against lowland political exploitation and opposes early Philippine independence.
• Bakidan: A Kalinga chieftain who forms a vital diplomatic alliance with Worcester during early mountain explorations. He guides the American delegation through hostile tribal settlements, using subtle behavioral cues—such as whether he sits during formal greetings—to signal to the Americans whether a village is safe to enter.
• Manuel L. Quezon: A prominent Filipino politician and Resident Commissioner to the United States. He acts as Worcester's primary political opponent in the debate over native governance, publicly denying the existence of slavery in the islands and characterizing Worcester's administrative reports as slanderous attacks on Filipino self-governance.
• James H. Blount: A former United States district judge in the Philippines whose writings opposing American annexation are systematically attacked by Worcester. Worcester cites historical military records and combat reports to refute Blount's claims regarding the peaceful nature of the early insurgent government and the mildness of pre-annexation tribal relations.
• William McKinley: The late President of the United States whose official instructions to the Philippine Commission are appended and repeatedly cited as the moral foundation of American policy. His directives command civil officers to respect personal dignity, eliminate barbarous practices, and uphold public faith.

In Its Own Voice

"He squeezed a mass of it into a ball and gave it to me. I ate it, and then rendered him a similar service. He ate in turn, and we were friends!"

Worcester describes the practical, personal ritual used to forge a binding peace alliance with Bakidan, a Kalinga chief, deep within the non-Christian mountain territories.

"The personal equation is of vital importance in dealing with wild men. They know nothing of laws or policies, but they understand individuals uncommon well."

Reflecting on early frontier policy, Worcester summarizes his philosophy that personal integrity and firm, direct dealing matter far more to indigenous leaders than formal legal codes.

"To-day there are about sixty steam sawmills in operation and orders have been placed for others, some of which will have a capacity of one hundred thousand board feet of lumber per day."

The author highlights the radical transition from primitive hand-sawing methods to modern, capital-intensive lumber extraction brought about by American administrative planning.

What It's Really About

The Philippines: Past and Present (Volume 2) is fundamentally an extended argument for the legitimacy of paternalistic colonial governance. Worcester contends that statehood cannot be manufactured through abstract political ideals or sudden legislative declarations. Instead, genuine self-governance requires a long, foundational process of material, institutional, and educational development.

Underneath its detailed chapters on forestry, road-building, and public health lies a persistent ideological clash between Western administrative utilitarianism and native political nationalism. Worcester views the lowland political elite with deep suspicion, arguing that their push for immediate independence conceals a desire to exploit marginalized hill tribes and maintain feudal land tenure systems. The text wrestles with the ethics of colonial authority, asserting that the duty to protect vulnerable minorities, eliminate forced labor, and establish physical security supersedes local demands for immediate political sovereignty. Ultimately, the book asserts that true liberty is built on stable infrastructure, clean governance, and the impartial rule of law rather than immediate national independence.

Why Read It Today

This volume offers an unvarnished, first-hand window into the mechanics of early twentieth-century American imperialism. Readers interested in colonial history, political science, and Southeast Asian studies will find it an indispensable, highly detailed primary source. Worcester writes with absolute administrative confidence, combining the precise observations of a field naturalist with the firm rhetoric of a colonial minister.

The reading experience is intense, dense, and uncompromisingly detailed. Worcester supports his claims with long legislative extracts, official census reports, court documents, and military dispatches. Modern readers must navigate the obvious period attitudes, colonial condescension, and ethnocentric terminology that permeate the text, particularly when Worcester discusses the "wild" or non-Christian populations. The book does not attempt to be neutral; it is an aggressive, highly specific polemic written to defeat anti-imperialist critics in Washington and Manila.

What remains compelling is the sheer scope of the material documentation. Whether describing the dangerous tracking of the elusive tamarau in the dense thickets of Mindoro, detailing the installation of wireless telegraph lines, or dissecting the floor debates of the Philippine Assembly, Worcester provides a granular look at a pivotal moment in American foreign policy. It stands as a powerful artifact of an era when nations sought to redraw foreign societies through engineering, bureaucracy, and executive power.