Tydings-McDuffie Act

a law passed by the Congress of the USA on Mar. 24, 1934, granting administrative autonomy to the Philippines for a ten-year transitional period prior to independence. The law was named after its sponsors, Senators M. Tydings and J. McDuffie.

In 1935, as provided by the act, the Philippines set up its own government, formed a national army, and adopted a constitution for an independent state. Application of the constitution, however, was limited during the transitional period: the president of the USA reserved the right to veto any law adopted by the Philippines, and the Philippine government was not permitted to conduct its own foreign policy. In 1946 the USA agreed to grant independence to the Philippines. Yet in 1946 and 1947, it imposed on the Philippines, in violation of the pledges contained in the Tydings-McDuffie Act, economic and military treaties that represented an infringement of the country’s sovereignty.