Commonwealth of the Philippines

The Commonwealth of the Philippines was an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established under the Tydings-McDuffie Act to replace the Insular Government and was designed as a transitional administration preparing the islands for full independence after ten years. The 1935 constitution created a strong executive and a supreme court, and the legislature, dominated by the Nacionalista Party, was initially unicameral before becoming bicameral. Manuel L. Quezon was inaugurated as president in November 1935. The Commonwealth adopted Tagalog as the basis of a national language in 1937, extended women's suffrage, and pursued ambitious programmes of defence, education and economic development. The Japanese invasion of 1941 forced the government into exile in the United States, and Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. The Commonwealth was restored after the war, and on 4 July 1946 the United States recognised Philippine independence. The period is remembered as the final stage of American colonial rule and as the constitutional foundation of the modern Philippine state.