논문 / 대공황 , 미국의 필리핀 식민통치 변형 = The Great Depression , Transformation of American Colonial Rule in the Philippines

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Partial free trade was established when the United States Congress approved the Payne-Aldrich Act. in August 1909 By this law, American goods of all kinds and in unlimited quantities could enter the Philippines free of duty. Philippine exports, however, were allowed to enter the United States under specific quota limitations. In 1913, Congress passed the Underwood-Simmons Act which abolished the quota limitations on Philippine exports to the United States. The free trade relations established in 1913 remained practically unchanged until the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Act in 1934. The Philippine Assembly protested the establishment of free trade on the ground that it would have a prejudicial effect on the revenues of the country and would make it difficult to protect the native industries. But they could not change the situation. Philippine trade with the United States increased considerably with the establishment of sovereignty in the Philippines, and even more so with the adoption of free trade. The adoption of free trade was responsible for the economic prosperity achieved during the American regime. The prosperity brought about by free trade, however, was not only artificial and illusory but was also dependent upon the continuation of free trade relations between the United States and the Philippines. As the Philippine economy had become utterly dependent on the American market and the Filipinos had become more accustomed to American goods, the struggle against free trade had become so increasingly hopeless that it had to be abondoned altogether. In the 1930`s, the United States was suffering from a most serious depression and certain American vested interests became the PIS(Philippine Independence Mission)`s aggressive allies in its agitation for independence. The strongest force working for the settlement of the Philippine problem consisted of farmers and dairymen. Believing that the free entry of Philippine agricultural products, particularly sugar and coconut oil, had made grave inroads upon the income of the American farmers, representatives of American agricultural interests agitated for Philipiine independence. To summarize their repetitious arguments, the commodities produced by American agriculture were subjected to downward price pressure by the free entry of Philippine products into the United States. The latter was regarded as a serious menace to their very existence. The farmers` demand for Philippine independence was supported by various labor groups in the United States on moral, social, and economic grounds. The influx of cheap Filipino labor to the United States, particularly to the Pacific Coast, had increased considerably in the 1920`s. American labor organization sought the restriction of Filipino immigration. They laid stress on the competition of cheap Filipino labor with American labor. When all efforts at exclusion failed, these groups also demanded strongly Philippine independence. Under this situation, American political leaders could not find alternatives. In view of the all too-engrossing implementation of the New Deal program to solve the depression problem, Congress and President Roosevelt were ill-disposed to revive the Philippine question. After some debates, both chambers approved the bill and on March 24, 1934, President Roosevelt signed it into law. It was the Philippine Commonwealth and Independence Law(or the Tydings-McDuffie Law). Through the guidance of the above act, the Filipino peoples could get their absolute independence after 10 years from then.