A Look at the Platt Amendment

The Platt Amendment was created by an individual named Orville Platt. It was an Amendment that mapped out the conditions between Cuba and the United States around the time of the Spanish-American War. Essentially, Orville Platt created an agreement of terms on whichthe United States and Cuba would eventually agree. For the United States, this was sent to Congress for voting; it passed through with a majority and was ready to be integrated into the U.S. Constitution. However, before it could be official the Platt Amendment had to be sent to Cuba and be voted on. The initial response to the Platt Amendment was a poor one. The Cuban Assembly turned it down when it first came to the floor. However, it did eventually get accepted and verified with a majority vote from the Cuban Assembly and was implemented into their Constitution as well. The Platt Amendment outlines the following conditions: Cuba is not allowed to sign any treaties or contracts with foreign powers or house foreign naval bases and impair their own freedom as a nation. The Cuban Government cannot sign contracts and accrue debt with foreign powers unless there is a legitimate revenue source in which they can pay the money back. Furthermore, the Platt Amendment outlined that the United States is allowed to intervene in political matters regarding Cuba, in order to preserve Cuba’s independence. Cuba is also required to change the conditions of the land to make it more sanitary and to alleviate the issue of epidemics. Cuba agreed to let the United States maintain their overall independence under the provision the United States had set forth.