CHAPTER 4

THE AMERICAN REGIME

1898-1945
SIR SHANE MICHAEL A. VERGEL DE DIOS
Philippine literature during the American rule
was influenced by two factors: education and
the English language.

With the Americans providing free education,

many were given the chance to study and
English was used as the language of
instruction.
As a colonial power, the United States pursued
policies that it rightfully believed would
promote the social and material well-being of
the Filipinos.

One such policy was the introduction of the

American system of education.
 AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL
SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES
Shortly after arriving in the Philippines, the American
military forces began establishing schools. They opened
the first school in Corregidor when the island fell into
their hands in May 1898.

Soon after they occupied Manila on August 13, 1898,

they reopened seven schools there. In the ensuing
months, the number of schools increased; a school was
established in every other town they had subjugated.
In March 1900, the second Philippine Commission which
was the legislative body during the early decades of
American rule passed Act No. 74.

The latter amendment resulted, inevitably, in a

considerable increase in the number of elementary
schools throughout the archipelago.
Subsequently, several amendments were made to the
school's organic law in order to make provisions for an
expanding educational system and to make public
elementary instruction free to Filipino children.

The latter amendment resulted, inevitably, in a

considerable increase in the number of elementary
schools throughout the archipelago.
In 1902, the legislative body also enacted a law that
provided for the establishment of a high school in
every provincial capital to be supported by the local
government.

"The salaries of teachers should be paid by the central

government until the province should be able to bear all
the expenses of maintaining the secondary schools."
There was also the problem of the dearth of teachers
who could speak the English language, the adopted
medium of instruction in public schools.

In 1901, the first batch of this group of teachers,

numbering around 600, arrived in the Philippines by the
USS Thomas, hence their popular name, Thomasites.
Another step taken by the American authorities to solve
the problem of the lack of teachers was the institution
of the Pensionado Program in 1903.

Under this program, selected Filipino students were sent

as government scholars to the United States for further
studies.
An equally important educational problem in the early
years of American rule was the lack of textbooks to be
used in the schools.

The school officials decided to import these materials

from the United States.
In 1908, the capstone of the public school system was
laid when the University of the Philippines was founded.

As finally established, the American public school

system in the Philippines consisted of three levels: a
seven-year elementary school, a four-year high
school, and a university.
In 1906, there were only 3,342 elementary schools
throughout the archipelago, with an enrollment of
365,530.

In 1935, when the Filipinos were virtually given self-

government with the establishment of the
Commonwealth Government, the figures increased to
7,766 elementary schools, with an enrollment of
1,173,587.
Consequently, they had to conform to the standards and
practices of the public schools in such matters as
curriculum, course of study, and English as the medium
of instruction.
THE STATE OF
PHILIPPINE
LITERATURE
DURING THIS ERA
Early literary works in English showed styles that are
American. It can also be seen that writers who just
started learning English cannot fully showcase their
talent because of the lack of mastery of the language.

The downfall of Spanish colonialism freed the printing

industry from religious censorship.
The active arousal in the field of literature started to be
felt in the following newspapers.
Some of these newspapers were:

1. EL NUEVO DIA (The New Day). Established by Sergio

Osmeña in 1900. The American censors twice banned
this and threatened Osmeña with banishment because
of his nationalistic writings.
2. EL GRITO DEL PUEBLO (The Call of the Nation).
Established by Pascual Poblete in 1900.
3. EL RENACIMIENTO (The Rebirth). Founded by Rafael
Palma in 1901.
Newspapers in our different dialects flourished all over
the archipelago. With some newspapers having a space
for literary pieces, writers were given the chance to
show and prove the true talent of the Filipinos.

Some of these newspapers were:

1. Muling Pagsilang (1903, Tagalog),

2. Ang Kaluwasan (1902, Cebuano),
3. Makinaugalingon (1913, Ilonggo), and
4. Nueva Era (1908, Ilokano).
The best known magazines that capitalized on short
stories and poems were

1. Liwayway (1922, Tagalog),

2. Bisaya (1930, Cebuano),
3. Hiligaynon (1934, Ilonggo), and
4. Bannawag (1934, Ilokano).
The literary genres that flourished during the American
Period were poetry, Zarswela, short stories, and novels.

Poetry was written in the three languages - Filipino,

Spanish, English, and in the different dialects. Some of
the known poets during the American period were
Maximo Kalaw, Carlos P. Romulo, Maria Agoncillo, Paz
Marquez Benitez, Salvador P. Lopez, Jose Garcia Villa,
Carlos Bulosan, and many others.
 There were three collections of poems printed namely

1. Filipino Poetry edited by Rodolfo Dato,

2. The English German Anthology of Poets edited by
Pablo Laslo, and
3. A Pre-war Collection by Carlos Bulosan.
 The Balagtasan, named after Francisco F. Balagtas, is a
debate in verse, a poetical joust done almost
spontaneously between protagonists who debate over
the pros and the cons of a certain issue.

The first ever balagtasan was held in March 1924 at the

Insituto de Mujeres, with Corazon de Jesus and
Florentino Collantes as rivals. Jose Corazon de Jesus,
known also as Huseng Batute, became the first ever
king of the Balagtasan.
Short stories in English of early Filipino fictionists are
marked with American style. This all changed with the
founding of the U. P. Writers Club in 1926 whose aim
was to enhance and propagate the "language of
Shakespeare."
With the publication of Paz Marquez Benitez' "Dead
Stars," it was made the landmark of the maturity of the
Filipino writer in English.

Many writers followed Benitez like Icasiano Calalang,

Arturo Rotor, A. E. Litiatco, Paz Latorena, and Manuel
Arguilla started publishing stories manifesting skills in
the use of the foreign language and a keen Filipino
sensibility.
With the publication of Paz Marquez Benitez' "Dead
Stars," it was made the landmark of the maturity of the
Filipino writer in English.

Many writers followed Benitez like Icasiano Calalang,

Arturo Rotor, A. E. Litiatco, Paz Latorena, and Manuel
Arguilla started publishing stories manifesting skills in
the use of the foreign language and a keen Filipino
sensibility.
Liwayway Arceo and Genoveva Edroza Matute are two
fictionist writers that became popular during the
American rule. Their works "Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa"
and "Ako'y Isang Tinig" respectively are used as
models for fine writing. Both writers use a style of
storytelling that uses language through poignant
rendition.

Teodoro Agoncillo's "25 Pinakamahusay na Maikling

Kuwento" included the foremost writers of fiction before
World War II.
LITERARY HISTORY OF
THE PHILIPPINES
DURING THE AMERICAN
REGIME
In 1910, a new group started to write in English. Hence,
Spanish, Tagalog, the Vernaculars, and finally, English,
were the mediums used in literature during these times.

SPANISH - nationalism like honoring Rizal and other

heroes
TAGALOG - continued on lamentations on the
conditions to arouse love for one’s native tongue
ENGLISH - imitated the themes and methods of the
Americans
A. LITERATURE IN SPANISH
The inspiration of our Filipino writers in Spanish was
Rizal not only because of his being a national leader but
also because of his novels NOLI and FILI. These two
novels contained the best qualities of a novel ever
written.

Those who were inspired to write in praise of him were

Cecilio Apostol, Fernando Ma. Guerrero, Jesus Balmori,
Manuel Bernabe and Claro M. Recto.
 CECILIO APOSTOL

Cecilio Apostol wrote poems

dedicated to Rizal, Jacinto, Mabini,
and all other heroes but his poem
dedicated to Rizal is considered
the best poem in praise of the
hero of Bagumbayan.
FERNANDO MA. GUERRERO
It is believed that Fernando Ma.
Guerrero shared with Apostol the
reign in the balagtasan in Spanish
during their time.
He also dedicated a poem to Rizal
but he collected the best of his
poems in a book called
CRISALIDAS, meaning, a kind of
black, wooly caterpillar.
 JESUS BALMORI

Jesus Balmori is well-known for his

pen name Batikuling. He and
Manuel Bernabe participated in a
debate on the topic –
(Remembrance and Forgetfulness).
He was elected Poet Laureate in
Spanish beating Manuel Bernabe.
 MANUEL BERNABE

Manuel Bernabe is a lyric poet and

the fierceness of his nationalistic
spirit was unchanged in any topic
he wrote about. In his debate with
Balmori he was more attractive to
the public because of the
melodious words he used
 CLARO M. RECTO

In nobility of speech and theme,

Claro M. Recto can be compared
with the other writers of Spanish.
He collected his poems in a book
entitled BAJO LOS COCOTEROS
(Under The Coconut Trees).
B. FILIPINO/TAGALOG LITERATURE
FLORANTE AT LAURA of Francisco Balagtas and URBANA
AT FELISA of Modesto de Castro became the inspiration
of the Tagalog writers.
Julian Cruz Balmaceda classified three kinds of Tagalog
poets:
Poets of the Heart (Makata ng Puso)
Poets of Life (Makata ng Buhay)
Poets of the Stage (Makata ng Tanghalan)
b. FILIPINO/TAGALOG LITERATURE

In the realm of short stories that started to appear in

the column. For Pangsandaliang Libangan (Short-time
Leisure) and Dagli (Fast) we find here the names of
Lope K. Santos, Patricio Mariano, and Rosauro Almario.
In the Liwayway Publications, we find Deogracias
Rosario, Teodoro Gener, and Cirio H. Panganiban.
b. FILIPINO/TAGALOG LITERATURE

Two collections of Tagalog short stories were published

during the American Period. First was the

a. MGA KUWENTONG GINTO (Golden Stories) -

published in 1936, written by written by Alejandro
Abadilla and Clodualdo del Mundo contained the 25
best stories according to them.
b. FILIPINO/TAGALOG LITERATURE

b. KUWENTONG GINTO ng 50 BATIKANG KUWENTISTA

(50 Golden Stories by 50 Noted Storytellers) in 1939 -

written by Pedrito Reyes. PAROLANG GINTO (Golden

Lantern) and TALAANG BUGHAW (Blue List) of Abadilla
became popular during this period.
C. PHILIPPINE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
In a way, we can say that we can trace the beginnings of
Philippine literature in English with the coming of the
Americans. For this purpose, we can divide this period
into three time frames, namely:

1. The Period of Re-orientation: 1898-1910

2. The Period of Imitation: 1910-1925
3. The Period of Self-Discovery: 1925-1941
THE PERIOD OF RE-ORIENTATION

By 1900, English came to be used as a medium of

instruction in public schools. From the American
forces, the first teachers of English.
Writers of this period were still adjusting to the
newfound freedom after the paralyzing effect of
repression of thought and speech under the
Spanish regime.
THE PERIOD OF RE-ORIENTATION
(1898 - 1910)
Not much was produced during this period and
what literature was produced was not much of
literary worth.
The first attempts in English were in two
periodicals of this time:
El Renacimiento: founded in Manila by Rafael
Palma in 1901.
Philippines Free Press: established in Manila in
1905 by R. McCullough Dick and D. Theo Rogers.
THE PERIOD OF IMITATION (1910 - 1924)
By 1919, the UP College Folio published the literary
compositions of the first Filipino writers in English. They
were the pioneers in short story writing. Writers of this
folio included
Fernando Maramag (the best editorial writer of this
period)
Juan F. Salazar,
Jose M. Hernandez,
Vicente del Fierro,
Francisco M. Africa and
Victoriano Yamzon
THE PERIOD OF IMITATION (1910 - 1924)

In the field of short stories, DEAD STARS by Paz Marquez

Benitez written in the early 1920’s stand out as a model
of perfection in character delineation, local color, plot
and message. Other short stories published during this
time were but poor imitations of their foreign models.
THE PERIOD OF IMITATION (1910 - 1924)

The UP College Folio was later replaced by the

Philippine Collegian. Newspapers and periodicals also
saw print during this time like the Bulletin, the
Philippines Herald (1920), the Philippine Review, the
Independent, Rising Philippines and Citizens, and the
Philippine Education Magazine 1924.
 D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY
(1925 - 1941)

By this time, Filipino writers had acquired the mastery of

English writing. They now confidently and competently
wrote on a lot of subjects although the old-time
favorites of love and youth persisted. They went into all
forms of writing like the novel and the drama.
D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY (1925 - 1941)

Aside from poetry, short story has likewise flourished

during this time. Numerous short story writers were
motivated due to incentives given by these publications:
Philippine Free Press
The Graphic
The Philippine Magazine
UP Literary Apprentice
D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY (1925 - 1941)
The essay during this period was greatly improved in
quality and quantity. There have been improvements on
the subject, content and style of writing essays. During
this period, various Filipino essayists were classified
according to:
1. Political, social, and reflective essays

These essays were opinions and viewpoints by the

essayists using their newspaper columns which
appeared regularly hence, they were very popular
during this time.
D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY (1925 - 1941)
2. Critical essays. These essays were serious
treatment of various issues during this period. As
these essayists regularly appeared in various
newspaper columns, they became very popular during
this time.
3. Personal or familiar essays. These essays were
casual and light in terms of the mood they were
written. They provided a sort of entertainment and
relaxation for the readers.
D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY (1925 - 1941)
Writing biographies and autobiographies became
fashionable during this period. Some notable
biographies during this period include:

1. Quezon was a biography written about Manuel L.

Quezon by I.P. Caballero and Marcelo de Gracia
Concepcion.
2. The Great Malayan was a biography that won the
Commonwealth Literary Contest for a biography
about Rizal. It was written by Carlos Quirino, the
most famous biographer of this period.
D. THE PERIOD OF SELF-DISCOVERY (1925 - 1941)

3. Quezon, the Man of Destiny was another biography

written about Manuel L. Quezon by Carlos Quirino, the
most famous biographer of the period.

4. The Birth of Discontent was an autobiography

written by I.V. Mallari.