Platt Amendment
Encyclopedia
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
Republican Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Orville H. Platt
Orville H. Platt
Orville 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...
replacing the earlier Teller Amendment
Teller Amendment
The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 20, 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...
. Approved on May 22, 1903, it stipulated the conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main 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...
at the end of the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
and defined the terms of Cuban-U.S. relations until the 1934 Treaty of Relations
Treaty of Relations
The 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 Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
.
Background
During the Spanish-American War, the United States maintained a military arsenal in Cuba to protect U.S. holdings and to mediate Spanish-Cuban relations. In 1899, the McKinley administration settled on occupation as its response to the appearance of a revolutionary government in Cuba following the end of Spanish control.In an effort to turn Cuba into a "self-governing colony", the United States established a Rural Guard composed of ex-rebel fighters to maintain public order, reduce theft, and protect foreign property. American General Leonard Wood
Leonard Wood
Leonard 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 received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...
, using the financial resources of the Cuban treasury, oversaw the development of sanitation systems, road works, and an education system. The franchise was extended to literate, adult, male Cubans with property worth $250, which excluded the largely Afro-Cuban population from participation.
Conditions of the Amendment
The Platt Amendment was formulated by the American Secretary of WarUnited States Secretary of War
The 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 Root
Elihu Root
Elihu 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...
. It passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 43 to 20. Though initially rejected by the Cuban assembly, the amendment was eventually accepted by a vote of 16 to 11 with four abstentions and integrated into the 1902 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 payments could be met from ordinary revenues, and permitted 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" and from allowing "any foreign power or powers to obtain by colonization or for military or naval purposes or otherwise, lodgement in or control over any portion" of Cuban territory.
The Platt Amendment restricted Cuba in the conduct of foreign policy and commercial relations. It established that Cuba's boundaries would not include the Isle of Pines (Isla de la Juventud) until its title could be established 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 Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on of land and water at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas...
to the United States and provided for a formal treaty detailing all the foregoing provisions.
After U.S. President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
withdrew federal troops from the island in 1902, Cuba signed the Cuban-American Treaty
Cuban-American Treaty
The 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 the role of the U.S. in Cuba and the Caribbean. Tomás Estrada Palma, who had once favored outright annexation of Cuba by the United States, became President of Cuba on May 20, 1902.
Aftermath
Following acceptance of the amendment, the United States ratified a tariffTariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
pact that gave Cuban sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
preference in the U.S. market and protection
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
to select U.S. products in the Cuban market. As a result, sugar production dominated the Cuban economy while Cuban domestic consumption became increasingly dependent on U.S. producers.
With the exception of U.S. rights to Guantánamo Bay, most provisions of the Platt Amendment provisions were repealed in 1934 when the Treaty of Relations
Treaty of Relations
The 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...
between the U.S. and Cuba was negotiated as a part of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor policy
Good Neighbor policy
The Good Neighbor policy was the foreign policy of the administration of United States President Franklin Roosevelt toward the countries of Latin America. Its main principle was that of non-intervention and non-interference in the domestic affairs of Latin America...
" toward Latin America. José Manuel Cortina
José Manuel Cortina
José Manuel Cortina y Garcia was a Cuban politician, lawyer and journalist....
and other members of the Cuban Constitutional Convention of 1940 eliminated the Platt Amendment from the new Cuban Constitution.
The long-term lease of Guantánamo Bay continues. That lease can be revoked by the consent of both parties or by American abandonment of the site. The Cuban government under Castro has strongly denounced the treaty as a violation of article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties
The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is a treaty concerning the 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. The VCLT has been ratified by 111 states as of November...
, which declares a treaty void if procured by the threat or use of force. However, Article 4 of the Vienna Convention states that its provisions shall not be applied retroactively.
See also
- Pearcy v. StranahanPearcy v. StranahanPercy v. Stranahan, 205 U.S. 257, was a ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States with regard to ownership of an island off the southern coast of Cuba .-Background:...
- 1907 Supreme CourtSupreme Court of the United StatesThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case which settled the status of the Isle of Pines