The Philippine Problem, authored by Major William H. Anderson and published in 1939 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons, offers a critical perspective on the political, economic, and social realities of the Philippines during the American colonial period and the Commonwealth era (1935–1946). Having arrived in the archipelago as an American military officer during the Spanish-American War and subsequently transitioning into a prominent Manila businessman and commercial figure, Anderson drew from four decades of firsthand experience in the islands.
Published on the eve of World War II and following the passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934 (which set a ten-year timeline for full Philippine independence), the work evaluates the complexities, failures, and unintended consequences of U.S. colonial administration in the Philippines.