| US Military Dictionary: Teller Amendment |
An amendment sponsored by Republican senator Henry M. Teller and adopted by Congress on April 20, 1898. It authorized the use of U.S. military force to establish Cuban independence from Spain. It followed President William McKinley's request for force on April 11 and was supported in lieu of a U.S. annexation of Cuba. A U.S. protectorate over the island was established under the Platt Amendment.
See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.
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| US History Encyclopedia: Teller Amendment |
Teller Amendment, a disclaimer on the part of the United States in 1898 of any intention "to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction or control" over the island of Cuba when it should have been freed from Spanish rule. It was proposed in the Senate by Henry M. Teller of Colorado and adopted, 19 April as an amendment to the joint resolution declaring Cuba independent and authorizing intervention. Spain declared war on the United States five days later. By August, the United States had expelled Spanish forces from the island. Despite Teller's amendment, the United States intervened in Cuban internal affairs deep into the twentieth century.
Bibliography
LaFeber, Walter. The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion, 1860–1898. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University, 1963.
Perez, Louis A., Jr. Cuba and the United States: Ties of Singular Intimacy. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1990.
| Wikipedia: Teller Amendment |
The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 19, 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. could not annex Cuba but only leave "control of the island to its people."
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In the political atmosphere in the U.S. growing out of the Cuban struggle for independence, and following on the February 15, 1898 sinking of the USS Maine in Havana harbor President William McKinley, on 11 April, 1898, asked the Congress,
"... to authorize and empower the President to take measures to secure a full and final termination of hostilities between the government of Spain and the people of Cuba, and to secure in the island the establishment of a stable government, capable of maintaining order and observing its international obligations, insuring peace and tranquillity and the security of its citizens as well as our own, and to use the military and naval forces of the United States as may be necessary for these purposes."[1][2]
Congress debated a joint resolution in response to the president's request for a week. In near-final form, it's three parts constituted:
"[a] joint resolution 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. (Congressional Record p. 4062)"[3]
Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado proposed the amendment to ensure that the United States would not establish permanent control over Cuba following the cessation of hostilities with Spain. The McKinley administration would not recognize belligerency or independence as it was unsure of the form an insurgency government might take. Without recognizing some government in Cuba, Congressmen feared McKinley was simply priming the island for annexation. The Teller clause quelled any anxiety of annexation by stating that the United States
"... hereby disclaims any disposition of intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island except for pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people."[3]
The Senate passed the amendment, 42 to 35, on April 19, 1898, and the House concurred the same day, 311 to 6. President McKinley signed the joint resolution on April 20, 1898, and the ultimatum was forwarded to Spain.
The Spanish-American War lasted from April 25 to August 12, 1898, and it ended with the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. As a result, Spain lost control over the remains of its overseas empire consisting of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippine islands, Guam and other islands.
After Spanish troops left the island in December 1898, the United States occupied Cuba until 1902, and as promised in the Teller Amendment did not attempt to annex the island. However, under the Platt Amendment, crafted in 1901 by U.S. Secretary of War Elihu Root to replace the Teller Amendment, important decisions of the government of Cuba remained subject to override by the United States. This suzerainty bred resentment toward the U.S.
According to Gregory Weeks, author of US and Latin American Relations (Peason, 2008, p. 56), "The Teller Amendment, authored by a Colorado Senator who wanted to make sure that Cuba's sugar would not compete with his state's crop of beet sugar, prohibited the president from annexing Cuba."
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