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In 1898, the United States became a global empire and annexed the Philippine archipelago. To “prepare” Filipinos for eventual independence, American annexationists sought to engender among Filipinos specific scripts related to gender, sexuality, and religious practice. Central to these scripts was the notion that the patriarchal, heterosexual, nuclear family was key to the survival of the nation. Vices such as gambling, prostitution, and alcohol abuse also took on gendered dynamics as they posed a threat to this familial construct. Before annexation, Filipino revolutionaries were already exploring with notions of citizenship where the patriarchal, heterosexual family was foundational to the survival of the nation. Utilizing archival material left behind by Filipino revolutionaries and American Protestant missionaries, this project highlights that despite similarities between the gendered and sexual scripts they constructed, Filipino scripts remained irreconcilable to American missionaries because the latter were certain of their racial and religious superiority over the people of the Philippines.