This volume presents a comprehensive Filipino perspective on the political relationship between the Philippines and the United States during the American colonial period. Authored by Maximo M. Kalaw, a young Filipino educated under the American system, it is noted as a significant early intellectual work articulating the nation's demand for immediate independence. Published in 1916, at a time of escalating legislative debate in the U.S. Congress, the book systematically reviews the history of the Philippine-American relationship, from the acquisition of the islands following the Spanish-American War to the debates over the Jones Philippine Bill and the Clarke Amendment, which proposed a timeline for independence. The work serves as a political manifesto, arguing that the desire for national self-determination is absolute and cannot be suppressed, even among the generation raised under American tutelage. The importance of the document is underscored by the inclusion of an introduction from Manuel L. Quezon, then Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the U.S. House of Representatives and a leading figure in the independence movement.
The case for the Filipinos