When America Chose Empire

When America Chose Empire

By George Ford Smith, Mises Wire | May 04, 2026 In 1901, on far-away Balangiga—a village in Eastern Samar of the Philippines—an American general gave an order that stripped away any notion of “civilizing” or “Christianizing” a foreign people: “Make it a howling wilderness.” General Jacob H. Smith’s command—accompanied by the instruction to “kill everyone over ten”—was not an aberration. It was consistent with a decision made only a few years ear…