Commonwealth of the Philippines

Philippines, 1935–1946. Draft, not yet reviewed

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth (dependency) of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the Tydings-McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government of the Philippine Islands and was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for full Philippine independence. A period of exile took place during World War II from 1942 to 1945, when Japan occupied the Philippines. The Commonwealth officially ended on July 4, 1946, as the Philippines attained full sovereignty as provided for in Article XVIII of the 1935 Constitution.

Seat of power: Manila

Rulers

Manuel L. Quezon

President of the Philippines, 1935–1944

During his presidency, Quezon tackled the problem of landless peasants. Other major decisions included the reorganization of the islands' military defense, approval of a recommendation for government reorganization, the promotion of settlement and development in Mindanao, dealing with the foreign stranglehold on Philippine trade and commerce, proposals for land reform, and opposing graft and corruption within the government. He established a government in exile in the United States with the outbreak of World War II and the threat of Japanese invasion.

Portrait of Manuel L. Quezon: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information, Public domain, file

José Paciano Laurel

President of the Philippines, 1943–1945

José Laurel served as the president of the Second Philippine Republic, which was a Japanese puppet state during World War II. Since the administration of President Diosdado Macapagal, Laurel has been recognized by later administrations as a former president of the Philippines.

Portrait of José Paciano Laurel: Mainichi Newspaper Office, Public domain, file

Sergio Osmeña

President of the Philippines, 1944–1946

Upon Quezon's sudden death in 1944, Osmeña succeeded him, becoming the first vice president to succeed to the Philippine presidency. He served the shortest term as president of the Philippines, lasting for only 1 year and 300 days. Osmeña was also the first Visayan to become president.

Portrait of Sergio Osmeña: National Library of the Philippines (distributed by Philippine Presidential Museum and Library), Public domain, file

Culture

In 1937, the government selected Tagalog, the language of the capital Manila and its surrounding provinces, as the basis of the national language.
Women's suffrage was adopted, and the economy recovered to pre-Depression levels before the Japanese invasion of the islands in 1941.
Imperial Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines on the morning of December 8, 1941. Estimates of Filipino war dead reached one million, and Manila was extensively damaged when Japanese marines refused to vacate the city despite orders from the Japanese High Command.

Picture

The Quezon Memorial Shrine is a monument and national shrine dedicated to Manuel L. Quezon, the second president of the Philippines, located within the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City.

Image: Julan Shirwod Nueva, CC-BY-SA-4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.