# Eight Days in Manila - When the U.S. Became an Empire

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-shorts-6691663/eight-days-in-manila-when-the-u-s-became-an-empire
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-shorts-6691663/eight-days-in-manila-when-the-u-s-became-an-empire.md
Podcast: [History Shorts](https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-shorts-6691663)
Published: 2026-09-24T04:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://2c68e044-1b71-48bf-a5c5-2792f5a14f4c.libsyn.com/eight-days-in-manila-when-the-us-became-an-empire
Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pdcn.co/e/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/2c68e044-1b71-48bf-a5c5-2792f5a14f4c/Manila_Bay.mp3?dest-id=4947215
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-shorts-6691663/episodes/eight-days-in-manila-when-the-u-s-became-an-empire
Duration seconds: 996

## Resource

On May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay. Then the cable went silent. For nearly a week, Americans had no reliable news from the Philippines. Newspapers speculated that Dewey had been defeated, captured, or perhaps had never fought at all. Meanwhile, events in Manila kept moving. Dewey worked with Filipino revolutionary Emilio Aguinaldo, whose forces soon resumed their campaign against Spanish rule. By the time news of Dewey's victory reached the United States, the Philippines had suddenly become central to a much larger question: Would America replace Spain as a colonial power in Asia? In this episode of History Shorts , we explore the extraordinary days when military victory, revolution, imperial ambition, and delayed communication helped transform America's role in the world. This week is about compressed time—moments when history does decades of work in days. It's also the idea behind my new book, Eight Days in August: The Final Week of World War II , out now from Stackpole Books. BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGZ7R12D?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback SUPPORT THE SHOW: https://www.patreon.com/c/HistoryShortsPodcast ADVERTISE : https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/advertise LEARN MORE: https://www.historyshortspodcast.com/ SPONSORED BY: https://www.podcastrepublic.net/get-it-now

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