Passage of the Tydings–McDuffie Act

Date: March 24, 1934 • Location: Shaw, United States

The Tydings–McDuffie Act is passed by the United States Congress, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.

The Philippine Independence Act, or Tydings–McDuffie Act, is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then a US territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. Under the act, the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines was written and the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established, with the first directly elected president of the Philippines. It also established limitations on Filipino immigration to the United States.