The Philippine-American War began because the Americans did not want to return them to Spain or hand them over to their rivals, France and Germany. They also came to the conclusion that they were too weak to govern themselves. And to please the people, they told them that they would be Christianized and civilized. Evidence of this can be found when President Mckinley said, “That there was nothing left for us to do but take them all and educate the Filipinos, uplift them, civilize them, and Christianize them” (313). However, America’s real reason for war was to gain a profit from the Philippines since “no land in America surpasses in fertility the plains and valleys of Luzon. Rice and coffee, sugar and coconut, hemp and tobacco. Philippine wood can furnish the world's furniture for a century to come” (314). William James was someone who opposed the war, he wanted to “educate the American public about the horrors of the Philippine War and the evils of imperialism” (314). And in response, many innocent Filipino civilians would be killed. The Philadelphia Ledger reported: “our men were implacable, killing to exterminate men, women, children, captives and captives, active rebels and suspects aged ten years and older, with the prevailing idea that the Filipino as such was little better than a dog”