Platt Amendment, 1903

Cuban history seemed to be on the brink of change at the turn of the 20th century, but perhaps not the change that many Latin American countries had already achieved of independence. Cuba was under United States intervention starting in 1898 and ending in 1902 with the enactment of the Cuban Constitution. However, the independence declared by Cuba was not true freedom, as the Constitution included an addition that would heavily shape Cuban policy for the following century.

what the Platt Amendement included

The Platt Amendment was written by Orville H. Platt, a Republican Senator from Connecticut. The amendment detailed what the US declared its responsibilities over Cuba were including a wide range of powers. One of the most influential in the following years was the right authored into the amendment for the military to intervene if the US viewed necessary. Other highly influential aspects were imparting the US with the ability to seize Cuban land for military or naval bases, and coal mining. Author M.T. Leonard describes the United States treatment of Cuba was that of a powerful country dictating that another country is unable to govern themselves, and therefore must be protected from their own devices (Leonard 2017).

effects of the Platt Amendment

Louis A. Pérez describes Cuba striving for independence and a decolonized existence was rendered mute by the United States intervention in the country and establishing a permanent treaty in the Constitution of the country that gave much of the country’s sovereignty to a foreign power whenever they deemed necessary (Pérez xvi-xvii). The United States interests were completely vested in capitalist gain, specifically the continued control of the Panama Canal for trade (Leonard 2017).

Ultimately the Platt Amendment inspired a sense of nationalism within the Cuban people and greatly impacted their view and desire of self-sovereignty which became a major element of Cuban US affairs up to resent time. The shift of Cuba to Communism was greatly influenced as a rejection of American superimposed Capitalism, which saw its inception in the US intervention and the eventual inclusion of the Platt Amendment into the Cuban Constitution (Pérez xvii). This document represents a narrative of Cuban affairs with the United States, which was an increasingly influential relationship throughout the Cold War of the late 20th century.

works cited

Leonard, Thomas M. “Platt Amendment.” In Latin American History and Culture: Encyclopedia of Modern Latin America (1900 to the Present), by Thomas M. Leonard. Facts On File, 2017.

Pérez, L. A. (1991). “Introduction.” In Cuba under the Platt Amendment, 1902-1934 (pp. Xv-Xvii). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press.

Riches, Christopher, and Jan Palmowski. “Cuba.” In A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. : Oxford University Press.

primary source

Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of Cuba Embodying the Provisions Defining Their Future Relations as Contained in the Act of Congress Approved March 2, 1901, signed 05/22/1903; General Records of the United States Government, 1778 – 2006, RG 11, National Archives.

By Lilia Federico