What was the Teller Amendment?
The Teller Amendment came about as a joint resolution to one of President McKinley’s war messages. It was a response to what President McKinley had to say about the status of Cuba and the United States.
Why was the Teller Amendment created?
The reason that this particular Amendment was created was to ensure that issues between Spain and the United States could be alleviated. There were high tensions regarding the acquisition of Cuba by Spain and the United States’ control over it. The Teller Amendment simply ensured that the United States could not permanently acquire Cuba.
What was the purpose of the Teller Amendment?
The Teller Amendment was an amendment to this declaration which declared that when the United States had overthrown Spanish rule of Cuba it would give the Cubans their freedom. The imperial powers of Europe were skeptical, however the United States withdrew from Cuba in 1902 as promised.
What was the Foraker Act?
The Foraker act of 1900 gave the Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government and in 1917 granted them US citizenship. Insular Cases. These were a series of US Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the US by the Spanish-American war in 1898.
When did the anti-British sentiment flare?
America's anti-British feeling, which periodically came to a head, flared ominously in 1895-1896 over Venezuela. For more than a half-century, the jungle boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela had been in dispute. The Venezuelans, whose claims on the whole were extravagant, had repeatedly urged arbitration.
Overview
The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on April 20, 1898, in reply to President William McKinley's War Message. It placed a condition on the United States military's presence in Cuba. According to the clause, the U.S. could not annex Cuba but only leave "control of the island to its people." In short, the U.S. would help Cu…
McKinley's war message
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 ensure in the isla…
Congressional response
Congress debated a joint resolution in response to the president's request for a week. In near-final form, its 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 t…
The Teller Amendment
Senator Henry M. Teller, a Republican from Colorado (who had switched parties after leading a revolt against the dominant gold-favoring party wing at the 1896 Republican National Convention) proposed the amendment to ensure that the United States would not establish permanent control over Cuba following the cessation of hostilities with Spain. The Republican McKinley administration would not recognize belligerency or independence as it was unsure of the form a…
See also
• Monroe Doctrine
• Cuba–United States relations
• History of Cuba
• Sphere of influence
• Spanish–American War
External links
• "H.J. Res. 233, Teller Amendment, April 16, 1898". Exhibitions ~ Legislative Highlights. Washington, D.C.: United States Capitol Visitor Center.
• "The House Recognition of Cuban Independence from Spain, April 18, 1898 – April 19, 1898". Office of Art & Archives ~ Office of the Historian. Washington, D.C.: Historian of the United States House of Representatives.