What was the Teller Amendment?
Legislative history. Signed into law by President William McKinley on April 20, 1898. 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 ...
Which amendment prohibited the President from importing beet sugar?
According to Gregory Weeks, author of U.S. 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 annexing Cuba."
What was William McKinley's war message?
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 ...
When was the ultimatum passed?
The Senate passed the amendment by voice vote, then passed the amended version of the resolution 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.
Which amendment gives the right to a jury trial?
Considered one of the most straightforward amendments in the Bill or Rights, the Seventh Amendment extends the right to a jury trial to federal civil cases such as automobile accidents, property disputes, breach of contract, and discrimination lawsuits.
When was the 13th amendment ratified?
13th Amendment (ratified 1865 ) More than six decades passed between ratification of the 12th and 13th Amendments. With the United States roiled by sectional tensions over slavery, few in the post-founding generations wanted to provoke a constitutional crisis by proposing a potentially divisive amendment.
How long did it take for the 20th amendment to be ratified?
Before ratification of the 20th Amendment, 13 months had passed between the election of a new Congress and the time it held its first meeting. The amendment shortened this “lame-duck” period by specifying that regular terms for members of the Senate and House of Representatives begin on January 3 of the year following their election. It also moved up the inauguration of the president by six weeks, moving it to January 20. The 20th Amendment was quickly proposed, passed and ratified during the Great Depression, when many people regretted that Franklin D. Roosevelt had to wait four months to succeed the unpopular Herbert Hoover.
Why did the Civil Rights Movement abolish poll taxes?
Though only five states still had such taxes in place by 1964, supporters of the civil rights movement saw their abolition as an important objective in combating racism and discrimination against Black Americans. The 24th Amendment applied only to federal elections, and after its ratification several southern states tried to maintain poll taxes for separately held state elections. In Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), the Supreme Court deemed such taxes a violation of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.
How many votes do you need to pass an amendment?
According to Article V of the Constitution, an amendment must either be proposed by Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of state legislatures. Either way, a proposed amendment only becomes part of the Constitution when ratified by ...
What is the 8th amendment? What is its purpose?
The Eighth Amendment continues the theme of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments by targeting potential abuses on the part of the criminal justice system. In banning the requirement of “excessive bail,” the imposition of “excessive fines,” and the infliction of “cruel and unusual punishment,” but leaving the exact interpretation of these terms unclear, it paved the way for future generations to battle over their meaning. In particular, differing opinions over what constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment” fuel the ongoing debate in the United States over capital punishment.
What is the 2nd amendment?
The text of the Second Amendment reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed .” During the Revolutionary War era, “militia” referred to groups of men who banded together to protect their communities, towns, colonies and eventually states.
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 Cuba gai…
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.