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On December 10, 1898 the Peace Treaty of Paris was signed. This ended the Spanish- American War and granted the United States Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines (Schaefer 33). Because of this, the Philippines have many things in common with the United States. One example of their similarity would be the fact that both countries had to fight to get to the condition they are today (Schaefer 33). Throughout the American colonization of the Philippines, America has left some of their customs and traditions in the culture of the Philippines. English was beginning to be more widely spoken, street signs were Americanized, telephone poles were set up, and train stations were established (Schaefer 34). The Filipinos were starting to assimilate the American way of life into their own. Some Filipino customs and traditions, however, have not been changed. For example, Tagalog is still as widely spoken as English is (Schaefer 34). Both countries’ customs and traditions have been influenced by many different countries’ cultures (World Book 10-12). Going along with this idea, the religions in the two countries are very diverse (Foster 158). In the Philippines, about ninety percent of the population is Christian and eight out