The Spring Medicine and the Sugar

April 29th, 1901

Dr. McKinley gives Cuba his Platt Amendment medicine with a sugar cube--Reduced Duties on Cuban Sugar. 

The caption reads “Dr. McKinley - There's always a way to get along with these youngsters, if you know how.”

Contemporary news accounts relate that Cuba had been offered some concessions to ease the passage of the Platt Amendment, which gave the US a level of control over Cuban affairs.

See Also: United States - Cuba Relations; William McKinley

From Hennepin County Library 

A Precautionary Amendment

April 22nd, 1901

President McKinley places the Platt Amendment Extinguisher on child Cuba's back before he will allow Cuba to play with fireworks (Independence, Self-Government, Political Issues etc.) 

The caption reads “Yes, sonny, you can have the fire works for your celebration; but I must insist on your wearing this extinguisher.”

Contemporary news accounts relate that the United States insisted on the Platt Amendment as part of the bill which would withdraw US troops from Cuba. The Amendment stated that US troops would not be withdrawn until the Cuban Constitution included the provisions demanded by the Amendment, which would restrict some of Cuba's foreign and domestic affairs and require U.S. oversight.

See Also: United States - Cuba Relations; William McKinley

From Hennepin County Library

Introduction On 02 March 1901, the Platt Amendment was passed as part of the 1901 Army Appropriations Bill. It stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States (US) troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish-American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba signs a treaty accepting these seven conditions. It defined the terms of Cuban–US relations essentially to be an…

Introduction The Teller Amendment was an amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, enacted on 20 April 1898, in reply to President William McKinley’s War Message. It placed a condition on the United States (US) military’s presence in Cuba. According to the clause, the US could not annex Cuba but only leave “control of the island to its people.” In short, the US would help…

Introduction Big stick ideology, big stick diplomacy, or big stick policy refers to President Theodore Roosevelt’s foreign policy, “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. William Allen Rogers’s 1904 cartoon recreates the big-stick diplomacy of US President Theodore Roosevelt as an episode in Gulliver’s Travels. Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as “the exercise of…

Cuba Makes a Discovery

May 22nd, 1901

Cuba as a child attempts to steer the Cuban Ship of State through a storm. He wears the life vest of the Platt Amendment. 

The caption reads “The Young Navigator - ‘Why, this isn't a collar after all; it's a life preserver.'”

Contemporary news accounts relate that Cuba had voted to accept the Platt Amendment, which would give the United States a degree of control over their foreign relations, in exchange for ending the American occupation.

See Also:  United States - Cuba Relations

From Hennepin County Library