Rubric – Connections to the Philippine-American War HAT
To answer this question correctly, students must explain how the imprisonment of
Filipino insurgents is connected to the explosion of the Maine and Social Darwinism.
Students must explain that the sinking of the Maine precipitated the Spanish-American
War, which led to the American occupation of the Philippines and the imprisonment of
Filipino rebels. Students must also link Social Darwinist theories to the American
decision to maintain control of the Philippines after the end of the Spanish-American
War.
LEVEL
DESCRIPTION
Proficient
QUESTION 1: Student identifies and explains a relevant connection
between the explosion of the Maine and the imprisonment of Filipino
insurgents.
• Example: independence
Sample Student Response:
When the Maine exploded, the U.S. was engaged in a war against Spain,
fighting to liberate Cuba and the Philippines from Spanish control. Once
the U.S. took control, the Filipinos wanted independence from the U.S.
The U.S. refused, so there was another conflict. This time it was the U.S.
versus the people of the Philippines. The insurgents of the photo were
probably arrested for fighting against the U.S. at that time.
• Example: excuse
Sample Student Response:
The USS Maine explosion gave the United States an excuse to go to war
against Spain. After the Spanish-American War, the Philippines were
free from Spanish control. The people in this picture may be prisoners
because they rebelled against the Americans when the Philippines were
under American control. They probably wanted to win back their
independence.
QUESTION 2: Student identifies and explains a relevant connection
between the popularity of Social Darwinism and the imprisonment of
Filipino insurgents.
• Example: responsibility
Sample Student Response:
Social Darwinism led to the idea of the White Man’s Burden. Americans
thought that they were the “fittest to survive” and superior. They felt that
they had a responsibility to take care of the Philippines. They thought
that the Filipinos were unfit to rule, so the Americans tried to take over
the country through war, resulting in the captured prisoners in the photo.
• Example: better
Sample Student Response:
Social Darwinists proposed that whites are better than other ethnicities
in the world. This fueled expansion as Americans tried to bring better
values and ways of living to other groups of people. When people who
lived in “colonies” resisted, they were put in jail.
Emergent
QUESTION 1: Student identifies a relevant connection between the
explosion of the Maine and the imprisonment of Filipino insurgents but
does not provide a complete explanation of that connection.
• Example: Spanish-American War
Sample Student Response:
They are connected because the USS Maine explosion caused the SpanishAmerican War. In the photo description there are prisoners in the
Philippines, which is one of the places where the Spanish-American War
took place.
QUESTION 2: Student identifies a relevant connection between the
popularity of Social Darwinism and the imprisonment of Filipino insurgents
but does not provide a complete explanation of that connection.
• Example: fit to be independent
Sample Student Response:
They are connected because the Social Darwinists believed that the
Philippines were not fit to be independent because they were not white
and therefore inferior beings.
Basic
QUESTION 1: Student does not provide a reasonable explanation for how
the explosion of the Maine is connected to the imprisonment of Filipino
insurgents.
• Example: attack
Sample Student Response:
It is connected because they most likely were imprisoning them to make
sure they would no longer be able to attack U.S. ships.
• Example: don’t like America
Sample Student Response:
The explosion of the USS Maine off the coast of Havana, Cuba, is
connected to the imprisonment of Filipino insurgents because Cuba is
right next to the Philippines and Filipinos don’t like Americans for a lot of
other reasons.
QUESTION 2: Student does not provide a reasonable explanation for how
the popularity of Social Darwinism is connected to the imprisonment of
Filipino insurgents.
• Example: getting in the way
Sample Student Response:
Social Darwinism is the belief that some people are born with the
likelihood to succeed, and the American military imprisoned these people
because they were not doing anything to succeed or further themselves.
They might have just been getting in the way or causing others not to
succeed.
• Example: fittest
Sample Student Response:
Social Darwinism is the battle of the fittest and America needed to
capture somebody that knew something about what was going on so they
captured Filipino insurgents.