Teller vs Platt Henry M Orville H Amendment

Teller vs. Platt Henry M. Orville H.

Amendment = ? A·mend·ment (noun) l a minor change in a document. l 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

Mc. Kinley’s Appeal for War April 11, 1898 After the USS Maine sunk, Mc. Kinley 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. ”

l Congress debated the President's request for a week, then said: YES! l They. . . 1) Recognized Cuban Independence. 2) Demanded Spain relinquish authority and withdraw from Cuba. 3) Permitted President Mc. Kinley 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=5 c-H 1 Ja. SWq 4

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?

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) 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). 2) Diminished its territorial boundaries. 3) Demanded Cuba sell lands to the U. S. for coaling and naval stations (Guantanamo Bay). 4) Demanded the maintenance of sanitary conditions. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ds. OThsxed. MQ

Why Did U. S restrict Cuban independence? Responsible Selfish • 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 Explicit Reasons? Implicit Reasons?

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.