Teller vs. Platt
Henry M.
Orville H.
Amendment = ?
A·mend·ment (noun)
 a minor change in a document.
 a change or addition to a legal or
statutory document.
What were
the Teller and
Platt
Amendments
amending?
Teller Amendment
. . . amended
U.S. Congressional approval for war
McKinley’s Appeal
for War April 11, 1898
After the USS Maine sunk, McKinley asked
Congress to go to war:
1) “... to authorize and empower the
President to take measures to secure a
full and final termination of hostilities
between the government of Spain and
the people of Cuba . . . “
2) “ . . . to ensure in the island the
establishment of a stable government,
capable of maintaining order and
observing its international obligations,
insuring peace and tranquility and the
security of its citizens as well as our
own . . .
3) “ . . . and to use the military and naval
forces of the United States as may be
necessary for these purposes.”
 Congress debated the
President's request for a
week, then said: YES!
 They . . .
1) Recognized Cuban
Independence.
2) Demanded Spain
relinquish authority and
withdraw from Cuba.
3) Permitted President
McKinley to direct
military to carry these
resolutions into effect.
Congressional
Response: WAR!
April 19, 1898
Teller Amendment
April 20, 1898
Placed conditions on U.S.
intervention in Cuba:
• The U.S. could not
annex Cuba.
• Leave "control of the
island to its people."
• In short, the U.S.
would help Cuba gain
independence, then
withdraw all troops
from the country.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5c-H1JaSWq4
Spanish-American
WAR
. . . to liberate Cuba
U.S. Defeated Spain
(in 4 months)
Liberating Cuba?
Pacific Acquisitions:
Philippines, Guam, (Hawaii)
Caribbean Acquisitions:
Puerto Rico
What about Cuba?
•
•
•
•
Could Cuba be annexed?
No. Not really.
The Teller Amendment!
The war had been fought to free Cubans from
foreign rule.
• Annexing Cuba, therefore, would constitute
an obvious hypocrisy - one that the American
people and anti-imperialists could not ignore.
So What Did
America Do?
Did they leave
Cuba?
No
American troops
and delegates
were stationed in
Cuba . . . for 3
years
Cuba fell under the Governorship of
General Leonard Wood
But What Did He Do?
Did he put them
into concentration
camps like Spain’s
Valeriano Weyler?
No
• Leonard Wood oversaw the building of
schools
• A sanitation system
• Agricultural reforms
• Urban renewal
• Drained pools of standing water, eliminating
mosquitos and yellow fever
Despite these reforms . . .
• Cubans still wanted
independence
• So they rebelled
• Wanting the Americans
out
With public pressure mounting in
Cuba and at home in America . . .
• U.S. and Cuban delegates began drafting
a new constitution.
• Congress agreed to remove U.S. troops,
but only if Cuba accepted the Platt
Amendment
• Cuba agreed, so a new constitution was
drafted, one that limited Cuba’s
independence.
Platt Amendment
. . . amended
The Teller Amendment!
(which had guaranteed Cuban
independence)
Platt Amendment
March 2, 1901
• Made conditions for U.S withdrawal
from Cuba.
• Defined Cuban-U.S. relations to be
an unequal one of U.S. dominance
over Cuba.
• Limited Cuba’s independence in the
following ways . . .
Platt Amendment Conditions:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Restricted Cuba’s foreign policy and
commercial relations (Cuba could not make
treatises or take loans the U.S. felt detrimental
to the island’s independence).
Diminished its territorial boundaries.
Demanded Cuba sell lands to the U.S. for
coaling and naval stations (Guantanamo Bay).
Demanded the maintenance of sanitary
conditions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsOThsxedMQ
Why Did U.S restrict Cuban independence?
Responsible
Selfish
Explicit Reasons?
Implicit Reasons?
• Establish mutual prosperity
through trade
• Promote sanitation standards
• Eliminate disease
• Fiscal stability by restricting
irresponsible borrowing
• Political stability by avoiding
potentially dangerous alliances
• Military presence to protect
trade and preserve peace and
stability on the island
• Establish trade monopoly
• Seize land for naval and
coaling bases
• Seize resources and cash
crops
• Oppress and dominate
people
• Take over the world/create
a world empire
The Platt Amendment made
Cuba a U.S
Protectorate
Implicit within this paternalistic
relationship is the belief that Cuba was
unable to care for itself responsibly
•
•
•
•
Why did America believe this?
Were they justified in believing this?
What prejudicial assumptions were being made?
What were the facts/empirical evidence used to
justify their paternalism?
• Did victory in war justify America’s control over
the ‘colonial spoils’?
The U.S.
nevertheless
reneged on their
deal
But Why?
Because they were:
1) Selfish? Hypocritical? Cruel? Evil?
2) Seeking the highest good for Cuba and
themselves, trying to make the most
out of a complicated situation?
You decide
Consider the
Aftermath
• Following the Platt amendment, the U.S. cut tariffs
between the two countries - giving Cubans sugar
preference in U.S. markets, and U.S. product
preference in Cuban markets - producing much wealth
on both sides.
• Most of the Platt Amendment was repealed in 1934 as
a part of FDR's "Good Neighbor policy" toward Latin
America.
• In 1940 the Cuban gov’t eliminated the Platt
Amendment.
• The long-term lease of Guantánamo Bay, however,
continues, despite Castro’s protestations.