Lecture: The Challenges and Promises of Governance in the Philippines, 1912-1925

Between 1912 and 1920, Manila witnessed a radical shift in Philippine-American relations. For the first time in Philippine-American affairs, a Democrat sat in America’s oval office. This led to the establishment of the Philippine Senate and the political triumvirate of Sergio Osmeña, Manuel Quezon, and Francis Burton Harrison. The experiment of joint rule came to an end with the 1921 Wood-Forbes Mission, and the subsequent dysfunctional relationship between Senator Quezon and Governor General Leonard Wood. Their final showdown centered on the peoples of Luzon’s Cordillera mountains and the obscure but heroic figure of John Chrysostom Early.

👤 About the Author:
Dr. Shelton Woods earned his PhD in Southeast Asian History from UCLA. He is the Distinguished Professor of Southeast Asian History and Associate Dean at Boise State University. The author of seven books, his latest work is Governor of the Cordillera: John Early and the Philippine Highlanders (Cornell University Press and Ateneo University Press). Born in Manila, Dr. Woods spent his first eighteen years in the city of Baguio.