The
Tydings-McDuffie Act (officially the
Philippine Independence Act; Public Law 73-127) approved on
March 24, 1934 was a
United States federal law which provided for self-government of the
Philippines and for Filipino independence (from the
United States) after a period of ten years. It was authored by Maryland Senator
Millard E. Tydings and Alabama Representative
John McDuffie.
In 1934, Philippine politician Manuel L. Quezon headed a "Philippine Independence mission" to Washington, DC that successfully secured the act's passage in Congress.
The Tydings-McDuffie Act provided for the drafting and guidelines of a Constitution for a 10-year "transitional period" which became the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines before the granting of Philippine independence, during which the US would maintain military forces in the Philippines. Furthermore, during this period the American President was granted the power to call into military service all military forces of the Philippine government. The act permitted the maintenance of US naval bases, within this region, for two years after independence.
The act reclassified all Filipinos that were living in the United States as aliens for the purposes of immigration to America. Filipinos were no longer allowed to work legally in the US, and a quota of 50 immigrants per year was established.
