The Blow from Behind is a polemical work published in 1903 at a time of intense political and military debate regarding the United States’ role in the Philippines following the Spanish-American War. The book is an expansion of an address delivered by the author on Memorial Day, 1902, intended to be an American defense of the war and the U.S. government's Philippine policy. The central theme is a fervent rebuttal of the Anti-Imperialist Movement, which the author views as an unpatriotic and detrimental force—the "blow from behind". The author argues that the Anti-Imperialists used exaggerations and falsehoods to encourage the Filipino enemy and undermine American soldiers. The work attempts to discredit critics by specifically targeting the published financial and mortality statistics of prominent Anti-Imperialist Edward Atkinson. The book also provides a legal and military justification for the American occupation, detailing the complex international obligations that prevented Admiral George Dewey from immediately accepting the Spanish surrender of Manila. It emphasizes the necessity of restraining Emilio Aguinaldo’s forces to prevent a massacre, which would have offered hostile foreign navies (specifically Germany's) a pretext to intervene and take the islands. Ultimately, the author champions President William McKinley’s decision to retain the Philippines, asserting that it was the only course that offered the Filipino people a path to prosperity and self-government.
The blow from behind: a defence of the flag in the Philippines, or, some features of the anti-imperialist movement attending the war With Spain