1898 was one of the major turning points in U.S. History, all because of a very short, small war ninety miles off the coast of Florida over Cuba. Before 1898 the nation, although among the largest, strongest, and fastest growing economies in the world, was not considered a world power. By 1899, it easily ranked as such.

2. McKinley’s Ghost

How did the United States end up "owning" the Philippines in the first place? And when, where, and why did American foreign policy move from George Washington's admonition to "avoid foreign entanglements", to bettering the world through the active spread of our cherished values and form of government, even if required by force of arms?

3. Theodore Roosevelt: First Governor General of the Philippines?

Few people are aware that in 1900 Theodore Roosevelt made an all-out political effort to become the first Governor General of the Philippines rather than accepting an almost assured nomination for the Vice Presidency. Had he succeeded, U.S. history might have taken a far different path.

4. The Legend of the Colt 45 Semi-Automatic Pistol and the Moros

Anyone who served in the U.S. military from just before World War I until the mid-1980's has probably heard the tale that the famed official sidearm for nearly seventy-five years had been inspired by the "fanatical" charges and ability of the Moros to "eat" bullet after bullet. Was it true, false, or just exaggerated?

5. "The Malanao Moros" and "A Trip Around the Lake"

Two 1903 first-person accounts of Pershing and the Moros of Lake Lanao. 1st Lt. Bowman, Capt. John J. Pershing's Adjutant, makes observations of dealing with the Maranaos of Lake Lanao. Frank P. Heliu, a U.S. Navy Ensign who accompanied Pershing during the last of his Lake Lanao campaigns as an observer just prior to returning to the U.S. for discharge, tells of his experiences in an article written for Charles Scribner & Sons. (Articles from Pershing Collection, Library of Congress).

6. George Ade's Comic Opera: The Sultan of Sulu - 1902 (includes photographs)

George Ade was one of America's premier humorists at the turn of the 19th Century. A visit to the Philippines inspired Ade to write a madcap, irreverent musical parody of the nation's fumbling attempts to impose its government and way of life on its new and completely befuddled Muslim subjects--and, unintentionally a few of its more egregious sins. A runaway success on Broadway, it helped introduce Moroland into the American consciousness.

7. Table of organization for the U.S. Army during the Moro Campaigns

How the U.S. Army was organized during the time of the Moro Campaigns.