The Platt Amendment was United States legislation enacted as part of the Army Appropriations Act of 1901 that defined the relationship between the United States and Cuba following the Spanish–American War. It stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish–American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba sign a treaty accepting these seven conditions. It helped to define the terms of Cuba–United States relations.
On June 12, 1901, the Cuban Constitutional Assembly approved the Platt Amendment, which had been proposed by the United States of America. The document came with a withdrawal of U.S troops from Cuba after the Spanish-American War. It amended its constitution to contain, word for word, the seven applicable demands of the Platt Amendment.
On May 22, 1903, Cuba entered into a treaty with the United States to make the same required seven pledges: the Cuban–American Treaty of Relations of 1903. On October 23, 1906, President Roosevelt issued , ratifying the order.
Background
thumb|Senator [[Orville H. Platt, creator of the Platt Amendment]]thumb|Cartoon protesting the AmendmentDuring the Spanish–American War, the United States maintained a large 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.
The Platt Amendment was an addition to the earlier Teller Amendment, which had previously limited US involvement in Cuba relating to its treatment after the war. In particular, the Teller Amendment prevented annexation of Cuba by the US, which had been proposed by various expansionist American political entities. It passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 43 to 20, and although it was 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 1901 Cuban Constitution. It also 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, and that Cuba must sell or lease lands to the United States necessary for coaling or the development of naval stations. The U.S. invoked the Platt Amendment to begin the Second Occupation of Cuba and install a Provisional Government.
Political instability and frequent American occupation through the early 1900s meant that legitimate constitutional rule was increasingly difficult to come about. Though Cuban citizens enjoyed an improved standard of living in this period, Article 40 of the 1901 Cuban Constitution and Article III of the Platt Amendment meant that constitutional rights could be suspended under emergency provisions. As well as becoming disenfranchised through voting acts, Afro-Cubans were also blocked from many state institutions as they now required educational or property qualifications to be gained.
thumb|[[Guantanamo Bay Naval Base|Guantanamo Bay from satellite images]]
Women activists were also disappointed by the result of the Platt Amendment's conditions. As with Afro-Cubans, women played important roles in the Cuban independence movement and were characterised as 'mambisas', or courageous warrior mothers symbolizing the struggle for social justice. However, they were also denied voting rights and female suffrage would not be obtained until 1940.
The long-term lease of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base continues. The Cuban government since 1959 has strongly denounced the treaty as a violation of Article 52 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 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.
Historian Louis A. Perez Jr. has argued that the Platt Amendment resulted in the conditions it had hoped to avoid, including Cuban volatility.
In popular culture
The Platt Amendment is used in the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High as an example of high school students not paying attention in class.
See also
- Pearcy v. Stranahan (1907), U.S. Supreme Court case on the status of the Isle of Pines
- Spooner Amendment (1901), pertaining to the Philippines
- Teller Amendment (1898), recognizing Cuba's right to independence
- Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, leased to the US under the Platt Amendment