The first Philippine Assembly elections were held across the Philippines on July 30, 1907. The Philippine Organic Act of 1902 established a bicameral Philippine Legislature composed of the appointed Philippine Commission as the upper house and the elected Philippine Assembly as the lower house. The first national election for a legislative body in the Philippines, and considered to be a de facto independence referendum, the newly-formed Nacionalista Party, advocating independence, defeated the more established Progresista Party, which were conservative. Formation of political parties With the conclusion of the Philippine–American War (then known as the "Philippine Insurrection") and the establishment of the American colonial Insular Government under the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, elections were held in various parts of the Philippines. Divisions developed between the Federalistas who advocated for statehood within the United States, and the Independistas those who advocated for independence. The opposition to American rule were unable to mount a united front for the 1906 local elections, with only the Comitė de Intereses Filipinos presenting a united, yet limited, organization. By mid-1906, those opposed to American rule began organizing themselves into political parties. The Comitė de la Union Nacional and the Partido Popular Independista merged to create the Partido de la Union Nacionalista. The Union Nacionalistas rejected a hardline path and instead chose an evolutionary position. Meanwhile, the Independistas urged immediate independence from the U.S. After failing to broker a deal with the Independistas, the Union Nacionalista proposed a merger with the Federalistas. Juan Sumulong, who led the Federalistas, advocated a radical policy, more in line with the "conservative" wing of the Union Nacionalistas led by Rafael Palma. The Federalistas consulted Governor-General James Francis Smith, who then sought to advise Taft on the matter. Both Smith and Taft opposed the union, with Smith saying to Sumulong that a fusion will "result in the complete obliteration of the conservative element as a political actor in the community." The refusal of Federalistas reopened talks between the Union Nacionalista and the Independistas. The Independistas organized themselves in January 1907 with a leadership election. To prevent further split, Alberto Barretto and Justo Lukban were elected co-leaders of the party. The election of Fernando Guerrero, Sergio Osmeña, Teodoro Sandiko and Isauro Gabaldon as counselors marked the first time that a Manila-based political group established links with provincial leaders. The Nacionalistas and the Progresistas In late January, the Federalistas organized themselves into a new