The
Platt Amendment was a rider append to the Army Appropriations Act presented to the U.S. Senate by
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
Republican
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
Orville H. PlattOrville Hitchcock Platt was a United States Senator from Connecticut. Born in Washington, Connecticut, he attended the common schools and graduated from The Gunnery in Washington. He studied law in Litchfield, and was admitted to the bar in 1850, commencing practice in Towanda, Pennsylvania...
(1827-1905) replacing the earlier
Teller AmendmentThe Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 19, 1898, in reply to President William McKinley's War Message. It placed a condition of the United States military in Cuba. According to the clause, the U.S. could not annex Cuba but only...
. The amendment stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
since the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
, and defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations until the 1934
Treaty of RelationsThe Treaty of Relations was signed in 1934 between the United States of America and Cuba. It was part of the Good Neighbor Policy developed by Franklin Roosevelt. The treaty rejected the Platt Amendment of 1901 which claimed US right to intervene in Cuban affairs if it recognized a threat to...
. The Amendment ensured U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs, both foreign and domestic, and gave legal standing to U.S.
The
Platt Amendment was a rider append to the Army Appropriations Act presented to the U.S. Senate by
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
Republican
SenatorThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...
Orville H. PlattOrville Hitchcock Platt was a United States Senator from Connecticut. Born in Washington, Connecticut, he attended the common schools and graduated from The Gunnery in Washington. He studied law in Litchfield, and was admitted to the bar in 1850, commencing practice in Towanda, Pennsylvania...
(1827-1905) replacing the earlier
Teller AmendmentThe Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 19, 1898, in reply to President William McKinley's War Message. It placed a condition of the United States military in Cuba. According to the clause, the U.S. could not annex Cuba but only...
. The amendment stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
since the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
, and defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations until the 1934
Treaty of RelationsThe Treaty of Relations was signed in 1934 between the United States of America and Cuba. It was part of the Good Neighbor Policy developed by Franklin Roosevelt. The treaty rejected the Platt Amendment of 1901 which claimed US right to intervene in Cuban affairs if it recognized a threat to...
. The Amendment ensured U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs, both foreign and domestic, and gave legal standing to U.S. claims to certain economic and military territories on the island including
Guantanamo Bay Naval BaseGuantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following on the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is...
.
American occupation of post-war Cuba
The Platt Amendment came in 1899 from the United States to expand its sphere of influence in
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
and protect American investments by pacifying the state. During the Spanish-American War the United States maintained a military arsenal in Cuba to protect US holdings and mediate Spanish-Cuban relations. In 1899, a formal policy of occupation was adopted after fears of an unmanageable revolutionary government in Cuba circulated among the McKinley administration in the wake of the fallen Spanish regime.
In an effort to shape Cuba into a "self-governing colony", the United States established a Rural Guard composed of ex-rebel fighters charged with reducing theft and protecting foreign property. Further, under appointed military general
Leonard WoodLeonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he was awarded the Medal of Honor...
, sanitation systems, road works and a Cuban education system were implemented (all programs and reforms were financed from the Cuban treasury). Franchise was extended to literate, adult, male Cubans with property worth $250. This restricted the largely Afro-Cuban population from participating in the newly-formed government while enforcing American
hegemonyHegemony is the preponderance of power, and the construction of consent from the powerless through cultural values.-In politics:...
in Cuba.
Conditions of the Amendment
Formulated by the American
Secretary of WarThe Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Elihu RootElihu Root was an American lawyer and statesman and the 1912 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the prototype of the 20th century "wise man", who shuttled between high-level government positions in Washington, D.C...
, the Platt Amendment passed through the U.S. Senate by a vote of 43 to 20. Though initially rejected by the Cuban assembly, the amendment was accepted by a vote of 16 to 11 with four abstentions and integrated into the Cuban Constitution.
The amendment stipulated that Cuba would not transfer Cuban land to any power other than the United States, mandated that Cuba would contract no foreign debt without guarantees that the interest could be served from ordinary revenues, and ensured U.S. intervention in Cuban affairs when the United States deemed necessary. It also prevented Cuba from negotiating treaties with any country other than the United States that would either "impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba" or allow "any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise, lodgement in or control over any portion", thus greatly reducing Cuba's power.
The Platt Amendment allowed Cuba only a limited right to conduct its own foreign and debt policies. It gave the United States an open door to intervene in Cuban affairs and define land claims. The Isle of Pines (now called Isla de la Juventud) was deemed outside the boundaries of Cuba until the title to it was adjusted in a future treaty. Cuba also agreed to sell or lease to the United States "lands necessary for coaling or naval stations at certain specified points to be agreed upon." The amendment leased
Guantánamo BayGuantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following on the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is...
to the United States and provided for a formal treaty detailing all the foregoing provisions.
After
U.S. PresidentPresident is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, trade unions, universities, and countries. Etymologically, a "president" is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
withdrew federal troops from the island in 1902, Cuba signed the
Cuban-American TreatyThe Cuban-American Treaty was signed on February 17, 1903, by the first president of Cuba, Tomás Estrada Palma, and on February 23, 1903, by the president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt...
(1903) outlining U.S. power in Cuba and the Caribbean.
Tomás Estrada PalmaTomás Estrada y Palma was a Cuban political figure,. He served as the first President of Cuba between 1902 and 1906.-Fight for independence:...
, who had earlier favored outright annexation of Cuba by the United States, became President of Cuba on May 20, 1902.
Reactions
Many Cubans considered the provisions of the Platt Amendment to be an
imperialistImperialism, as defined by the dictionary of human geography, is “the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” Imperialism, in many ways, is described...
infringement of their
sovereigntySovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. Havana gave formal protest to General
WoodWood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...
. Cuban senator Juan Gualberto Gómez denounced the amendment stating, "To reserve to the U.S. the faculty of deciding for themselves when independence is menaced and when therefore they ought to intervene, to preserve it, is equivalent to delivering up the key of our house so that they can enter it at all hours when the desire takes them, day or night."
A cartoon drawn by
Jesus CastellanosJesús Castellanos y Villageliú was a Cuban writer, journalist, critic, caricaturist and lawyer born in Havana, Cuba on August 8, 1878.-Family and early years:...
on April 12, 1901, in the Cuban paper
La Discusión showed "The Cuban People" represented by a crucified Jesus Christ between two thieves, General Wood and American President
William McKinleyWilliam McKinley Jr. was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to the office....
. Cuban public opinion was depicted as Mary Magdalene on her knees crying at the foot of the cross and Senator Platt, depicted as a Roman soldier, is holding a spear that reads "The Platt Amendment". Governor Wood, who saw in Castellanos's drawing an unfriendly gesture toward the United States, gave order to apprehend Dr. Manuel M. Coronado, editor of
La Discusión, and Castellanos. Both were arrested for criminal libel and held in the Vivac prison of Havana, and the offices of
La Discusión were sealed (Wood was persuaded to release them on the following day).
Aftermath
Following acceptance of the amendment, the United States ratified a
tariffA tariff is a duty imposed on goods when they are moved across a political boundary.-History:...
pact that gave Cuban
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
preference in the U.S. market and
protectionProtectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states, through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other restrictive government regulations designed to discourage imports, and prevent foreign take-over of local markets and companies...
to select U.S. products in the Cuban market. As a result of U.S. action sugar production dominated the Cuban economy while Cuban domestic consumption became increasingly
dependentCategory:Uncategorized articles needing expert attentionDependency theory is a body of social science theories predicated on the notion that resources flow from a "periphery" of poor and underdeveloped states to a "core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the...
on U.S. producers.
With the exception of U.S. rights to Guantánamo Bay, the Platt Amendment provisions were repealed in 1934 when the
Treaty of RelationsThe Treaty of Relations was signed in 1934 between the United States of America and Cuba. It was part of the Good Neighbor Policy developed by Franklin Roosevelt. The treaty rejected the Platt Amendment of 1901 which claimed US right to intervene in Cuban affairs if it recognized a threat to...
was negotiated as a part of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "
Good Neighbor policyThe Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. The United States wished to have good relations with its neighbors, especially at a time when conflicts were beginning to rise once again, and...
" toward Latin America. The long-term lease of Guantánamo Bay still continues, and according to the treaty, that right can be revoked only by the consent of both parties, or by abandonment of "the said naval station". The Cuban government under Castro strongly denounces the treaty on grounds that article 52 of the 1969
Vienna Convention on the Law of TreatiesThe Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is a treaty concerning the customary international law on treaties between states. It was adopted on 22 May 1969 and opened for signature on 23 May 1969. The Convention entered into force on 27 January 1980...
declares a treaty void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force. However, Article 4 of the same document states that Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties shall not be retroactively applied to any treaties made before itself.
External links