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. Two of the seven pledges were to allow the United States to intervene unilaterally in Cuban affairs, and a pledge to lease land to the United States for naval bases on the island. The Cuban–American Treaty of Relations of 1934 replaced the 1903 Treaty of Relations, and dropped three of the seven pledges.
The 1903 Treaty of Relations was used as justification for the Second Occupation of Cuba from 1906 to 1909. On September 29, 1906, Secretary of War and future U.S. president William Howard Taft initiated the Second Occupation of Cuba when he established the Provisional Government of Cuba under the terms of the treaty in Article three, declaring himself Provisional Governor of Cuba. On October 23, 1906, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 518, ratifying the order.
On May 29, 1934, the United States and Cuba signed the 1934 Treaty of Relations that in its first article overrides the 1903 Treaty of Relations.
During 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. Senator Teller himself advocated for American expansionism, at least initially. In later years however, Teller grew to oppose American imperialism, criticising the American campaigns in Panama and the Philippines. Some historians have questioned Teller's intentions in writing the amendment, claiming that the real motive behind the resolution was to protect American sugar beet growers from Cuban competition. On the other hand, Teller became a leading opponent of land annexation in Cuba to grow sugar in the early 1900s, as well as President Roosevelt's plans to grant tariff preferences to Cuba in 1903.
The Platt Amendment originated from American mistrust in the Cuban Constituent Assembly and a desire to formulate a new relationship between Cuba and the U.S. Senator Orville H. Platt, chair of the Senate Committee on Relations with Cuba, spearheaded the bill alongside General Leonard Wood, the Governor of Cuba at the time, and Secretary of War Elihu Root. Tasked with balancing Cuban independence with American desires to control Cuban politicians deemed unfit for self-governance, they established the Platt Amendment to maintain public order and turn Cuba into a "self-governing colony". The Platt Amendment was initially intended to be its own bill, but it became an amendment as the 56th Congress ended on March 4, 1901, and there was no time for the proposal to be submitted as a separate bill.
Scholars have debated the question of who authored the Platt Amendment. Platt himself insisted that he was the main author, whereas others have argued that Root wrote the Platt Amendment while consulting with General Leonard Wood in Cuba.
The Platt Amendment forbade the Government of Cuba from going into any international agreement that could jeopardize or undermine Cuban independence or permit foreign powers other than the US to use the island for military purposes. It also gave the United States the absolute right to get involved in any Cuban affairs to defend Cuban independence and maintain a strong government that would serve justice to the people. The Amendment additionally required Cuba to lease the United States Cuban land for a coaling station and naval base, which the US still controls at Guantanamo Bay. Lastly, the amendment compelled the Cuban Government to end treaty negotiations with the US by ratifying the amendment in the Cuban constitution.
During American-Cuban negotiations, the United States maintained a provisional military presence in Cuba. American General Leonard Wood, appointed Governor of Cuba, used the financial resources of the Cuban treasury to create sanitation systems. A handful of civil rights, including the right to vote, were extended to literate, adult, male Cubans with property worth $250 or more, largely resulting in exclusion of the Afro-Cuban population and women from participation.
The Platt Amendment was introduced to Congress by Senator Orville H. Platt on February 25, 1901. 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.
The Platt Amendment outlined the role of the United States in Cuba and the Caribbean, limiting Cuba's right to make treaties with other nations and restricting Cuba in the conduct of foreign policy and commercial relations. 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.
Preamble: For the recognition of the independence of the people of Cuba, demanding that the Government of Spain relinquish its authority and government in the island of Cuba, and withdraw its land and naval forces from Cuba and Cuban waters, and directing the President of the United States to use the land and naval forces of the United States to carry these resolutions into effect, the President is hereby authorized to "leave the government and control of the island of Cuba to its people" so soon as a government shall have been established in said island under a constitution which, either as a part thereof or in an ordinance appended thereto, shall define the future relations of the United States with Cuba.
I. That the government of Cuba shall never enter into any treaty or other compact with any foreign power or powers which will impair or tend to impair the independence of Cuba, nor in any manner authorize or permit 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 said island.
II. That said government shall not assume or contract any public debt, to pay the interest upon which, and to make reasonable sinking fund provision for the ultimate discharge of which, the ordinary revenues of the island, after defraying the current expenses of government shall be inadequate.
III. That the government of Cuba consents that the United States may exercise the right to intervene for the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the treaty of Paris on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the government of Cuba.