Empirical Exhibitions: Barbarians in Buffalo
The Pan-American Exposition came occurred in a very crucial time. In the Philippines, the interim government was battling a violent rebellion. On the domestic front, an anti-imperialist fervor began sweeping the nation. The issue became a topic of national debate as it was casted into the limelight during the 1900 presidential election. William Jennings Bryan, leader of the Populist Movement and advocate for pacifism, ran as a Democrat on an anti-imperialist platform, when running against William McKinley. Fair organizers desperately needed to convince the American public, that interventionist policy towards the Philippines was not only beneficial, but founded on moral grounds. Luckily for them, the anti-imperialist fervor failed to sweep the nation. The anti-imperialist position was a minority opinion, at that.
The Pan-American Exposition featured exhibits dedicated to America’s new colonial possessions. Cuba, Alaska, Guam, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii each had their own exhibits, while the Philippine Village was the focus of the imperial exhibits, as it was deemed by the American government to be the most important of the new colonies. The exhibit constructed for the Filipinos was by far the most elaborate of the assembly. The Filipino exhibit was also unique, as it received attention and funding from the federal government. However, fair organizers could not acquire the funding they deemed necessary for the construction of the Philippine Reservation. Fair planners sought to receive $150,000 to $175,000 from Washington, but were only awarded $10,000, which proved to be a significant disappointment for the board.[1] Management of federal funding was headed by the Smithsonian, which appointed Frank E. Hilder to collect the materials needed for the exhibit. Hilder, who worked as a translator to the Bureau of American Ethnology, was sent to the Philippines in order to gather artifacts which encompassed every phase of native Filipino life. In the month that Hilder was stationed in the Philippines he gathered over ten-thousand artifacts and an immense volume of photographs.[2] In a memorandum sent to Hilder before he left for the Philippines, the government left directions for Hilder’s mission: “The object of sending a special agent to the Philippine Islands, is to obtain such articles and information as will illustrate the natural resources of the Islands, the characteristics and mode of life of the inhabitants, and the principal features and methods of government, past or present.”[3] As public interest and curiosity about the colonies and their respective inhabitants increased, their role in exhibition grew imperative, and became a common showcase among the fairs up until American involvement in World War One. Hilder, unfortunately, would never see his work come into fruition, as he passed away shortly before Buffalo opened its door to the world.
The Filipino Village at Buffalo’s World Fair was located on the Pan (the midway), encompassed 11 acres, and was designed after an authentic Philippine community. Fairgoers approaching the village were greeted by a unit of American soldiers guarding a large, war-torn gate, a model of the fort located in Manila Bay.[4] This acted as a commemoration of war, and American triumph overseas. As for the Filipino Village, visitors were in for an extravagant experience. Patrons, while inside, were provided transportation by means of a wagon drawn by water buffalo. The village had a large, man-made lake, which included canoes, and fishermen. The village also contained a church and a school; exemplifying what progressive steps had been made in terms of civilizing the “savage.” Meanwhile, in the Philippines, missionaries were spreading the word of God, much to the opposition of the Filipinos. The resurgence in Christianity reminded the native Filipinos of Spanish oppression. While the missionaries’ presence was not forced by the American government, they certainly did not contest it. “He (William Taft) admits that there is a deep feeling against the friars and that they are “really hated” by the Filipinos.”[5] Filipino natives in the exhibit were ordered to go about their day as they would normally on the islands. Visitors could watch the Filipinos as they prepared foods, or manufactured goods of their own, by hand. Hoffman suggests the exhibit provided a renewed appreciation of American life. Fairgoers watched as the natives struggled with simple tasks, such as starting a fire, the process of which seem all too difficult to spectating Americans.[6] The exhibit gave way to a renewed sense of technological appreciation, leading many fairgoers to realize the privilege of being American must not be taken for granted. Visitors took away their own assumptions on the people of the Philippines as a whole, based on their representation at the world’s fair. The Pan- American Herald, a journal published by the fair’s organization, described the Filipino people as an unmotivated race that advocates lethargy. The article claimed that laziness was a natural characteristic of those that hail from the Philippines.[7] At the height of the exposition Rud Virchow, a world renowned scientist, published an article dealing with the Filipino question of race. He divides the Filipino population into two distinct categories: the Negritos and the Indios. In his article he describes the Negritos as an endangered people, their numbers merely resting around 25,000. Virchow classifies the Negritos as “the aboriginal people, uncivilized, and present little hope of development.” [8] He backs these claims with extensive skull analyses of both classes. Based from his studies in phrenology, Virchow asserts that the skull of the Indio “has the appearance of a race capable of development.”[9]
Just as had been done in Omaha, the Pan-American Exposition would showcase the Filipinos in contrast to both Native and African Americans. Many Americans made a connection between Native Americans and Filipinos, finding a number of similarities.[10] All three ethnic groups could be found in their respective exhibits, which were located on the midway. Their close proximity, hinted at the notion that these groups held something in common, in that American guidance was needed to stimulate progress, giving way to a positive tomorrow. Filipinos, Native Americans, and African Americans also shared another common trait: mass exploitation at the hands of the federal government.
[1] D.O. Hoffman, “The Philippine Exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition,” National Geographic, Vl. 12. March, 1901. P119
[2] Hoffman. National Geographic. P.120
[3] Rydell. All the World’s a Fair. P 140
[4] Rydell, All the World’s a Fair, P143
[5] Frank Leslie, “New Mexicans Tributes of Honor to the President,” Leslie’s Weekly, May 28, 1903. New York
[6] Hoffman. National Geographic. P.121
[7] Richard Barry, Pan-American Herald. “Filipino Characteristics” Jul. 2 1900. P 10-12
[8] Rud Virchow, “Popular Science Monthly, 1901
[9] Rud Virchow, “Popular Science Monthly, 1901
[10] C.B.S. “The Philippine Educational Exhibit” The Outlook, Sept 7, 1901
The Phillipine Village: Imperialism Exhibited 