<P> Article V of the peace protocol signed on August 12 had mandated negotiations to conclude a treaty of peace to begin in Paris not later than October 1 , 1898 . President McKinley sent a five - man commission , initially instructed to demand no more than Luzon , Guam , and Puerto Rico ; which would have provided a limited U.S. empire of pinpoint colonies to support a global fleet and provide communication links . In Paris , the commission was besieged with advice , particularly from American generals and European diplomats , to demand the entire Philippine archipelago . The unanimous recommendation was that `` it would certainly be cheaper and more humane to take the entire Philippines than to keep only part of it . '' On October 28 , 1898 , McKinley wired the commission that `` cessation of Luzon alone , leaving the rest of the islands subject to Spanish rule , or to be the subject of future contention , can not be justified on political , commercial , or humanitarian grounds . The cessation must be the whole archipeligo or none . The latter is wholly inadmissible , and the former must therefore be required . '' The Spanish negotiators were furious over the `` immodist demands of a conqueror '' , but their wounded pride was assuaged by an offer of twenty million dollars for `` Spanish improvements '' to the islands . The Spaniards capitulated , and on December 10 , 1898 , the U.S. and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris , formally ending the Spanish -- American War . In Article III , Spain ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States , as follows : `` Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands , and comprehending the islands lying within the following line : ( ... geographic description elided ... ) . The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars ( $20,000,000 ) within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty . '' </P>
<P> Article V of the peace protocol signed on August 12 had mandated negotiations to conclude a treaty of peace to begin in Paris not later than October 1 , 1898 . President McKinley sent a five - man commission , initially instructed to demand no more than Luzon , Guam , and Puerto Rico ; which would have provided a limited U.S. empire of pinpoint colonies to support a global fleet and provide communication links . In Paris , the commission was besieged with advice , particularly from American generals and European diplomats , to demand the entire Philippine archipelago . The unanimous recommendation was that `` it would certainly be cheaper and more humane to take the entire Philippines than to keep only part of it . '' On October 28 , 1898 , McKinley wired the commission that `` cessation of Luzon alone , leaving the rest of the islands subject to Spanish rule , or to be the subject of future contention , can not be justified on political , commercial , or humanitarian grounds . The cessation must be the whole archipeligo or none . The latter is wholly inadmissible , and the former must therefore be required . '' The Spanish negotiators were furious over the `` immodist demands of a conqueror '' , but their wounded pride was assuaged by an offer of twenty million dollars for `` Spanish improvements '' to the islands . The Spaniards capitulated , and on December 10 , 1898 , the U.S. and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris , formally ending the Spanish -- American War . In Article III , Spain ceded the Philippine archipelago to the United States , as follows : `` Spain cedes to the United States the archipelago known as the Philippine Islands , and comprehending the islands lying within the following line : ( ... geographic description elided ... ) . The United States will pay to Spain the sum of twenty million dollars ( $20,000,000 ) within three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty . '' </P>
how much did the us buy the philippines for
how much did the us buy the philippines for
the sum of twenty million dollars ( $20,000,000 )
the sum of twenty million dollars ( $20,000,000 )