There was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God’s grace do the very best we could for them, as our fellowmen for whom Christ also died.

This statement is attributed to President William McKinley in connection with U.S. decision-making after the Spanish–American War (1898), when Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States and the U.S. faced the question of annexation versus withdrawal. The quote is commonly presented as McKinley recounting a late-night period of reflection and prayer before concluding that the United States should retain the islands and undertake a “civilizing” mission. However, the wording is not from a known contemporaneous presidential speech or official document; it is most often traced to later recollections reported by others during the ensuing public debate over American imperialism and the Philippine–American War.

The quote frames annexation as a moral and religious obligation rather than a strategic or economic choice. Its language—“educate,” “uplift,” “civilize,” “Christianize”—encapsulates a paternalistic ideology used to justify imperial rule, implying Filipinos were incapable of self-government and required American tutelage. The appeal to shared humanity (“fellowmen for whom Christ also died”) attempts to reconcile conquest with Christian ethics, casting domination as benevolence. Historically, the sentiment illustrates how late-19th-century American expansion could be narrated as humanitarian duty, even as it coincided with violent conflict and resistance in the Philippines.

1) “There was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them…”
2) “…and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died.”
3) Some versions replace “Christianize” with “civilize and Christianize,” or omit “uplift,” while keeping the same overall sequence (“educate… uplift… civilize… Christianize”).