It rested upon two unknown quantities.

The first was the nature of the Filipinos.
Would they remain irreconcilable, ever ready to take advantage of a moment of weakness?
If such were to be the case, we could look for no real conquest, but only a forcible occupation, which the people of the United States would never consent to maintain.

The second unknown quantity was the American people themselves.

Would they sustain the occupation sufficiently long to give a reasonable test of the possibilities of success?
Two events brought these uncertainties to an end.

In the first place, William Jennings Bryan was defeated for the presidency in November, 1900, and President McKinley was given four more years in which to complete the experiment.