On February 4th, 1899, war broke out between the United States and the Philippines. The two nations had begun as allies against Spain the previous year, during the Spanish-American War. The Spanish had occupied the Philippines for three centuries, and the U.S. arrived promising to drive out the European colonial power. But after the Spanish left, the Americans stayed, in defiance of widespread calls for Philippine independence.

America’s bloody war in the Philippines was the nation’s first major overseas conflict. It spanned the tumultuous early years of the 20th century and shaped the political destiny of Teddy Roosevelt, who began the war as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and ended it as President. And it marked the emergence of the United States as a true global power. But the war divided Americans and came at great cost to the people of the Philippines.

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