Which resolutions declare that the United States had no intentions of ruling Cuba after she had gained independence from Spain?

Answer 1

The Teller Amendment was not a resolution, but an amendment to the joint resolution passed by the House and Senate in 1898 giving President McKinley the authority he had requested to send U.S. armed forces to Cuba to intervene in its war of independence against Spain.

BACKGROUND: The Cuban War of Independence had already been under way for a few years and the rebels had established an independent government. However, Spain had never conceded defeat and many Cubans remained loyal to Spain. In January 1898, loyalists rioted in Havana and the U.S. Consul-General told Washington he was afraid for the safety of American citizens living in Cuba and the millions of American dollars invested there. In response, the battleship U.S.S. Maine arrived in Havana in the last week of January. On February 15, 1898, it was sunk by an explosion, killing 258 members of the crew. The U.S. blamed Spain for the sinking. Spain knew it could not win a war against the U.S. so it tried to negotiate with the U.S., offering concessions to the rebels short of independence.

The limited concessions were not acceptable to the U.S. and so President McKinley requested consent by Congress to his sending troops to Cuba. Congress' resolution declared support for Cuban independence, demanded Spanish withdrawal, and authorized the president to use military force as necessary to help achieve these goals.

THE TELLER AMENDMENT: An amendment to the original resolution was suggested by Senator Teller of Colorado and passed, stating that the U.S. did not intend to take control over Cuba itself and clarified that the armed forces would be withdrawn once the war was over.

REALITY: The Spanish-American War quickly ended with Spain's defeat. On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the war and establishing Cuban independence. However, though the war had been begun by Cuba and U.S. intervention was supposedly on Cuba's behalf, the U.S. did not allow Cuba to participate in the Paris peace talks that determined Cuba's future. The War ended in 1898 but U.S. troops did not leave the new nation until 1902.

Furthermore, the Teller Amendment was replaced by the Platt Amendment in 1901, under which the U.S. granted itself the right to intervene militarily in Cuban affairs "for the preservation of Cuban independence [and] the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property and individual liberty. . ." This amendment, which understandably created great resentment among the Cubans, remained in effect until 1934.