1. Perplexities in Puerto Rico and Cuba

2. Information- Puerto Rico
The Foraker Act of 1900 accorded the Puerto Ricans a limited degree of popular government.
Congress granted U.S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans in 1917 but withheld full self-rule. Great numbers of Puerto Ricans ultimately moved to New York City, where they added to the complexity of the melting pot
The annexation of Puerto Rico (and the Philippines) posed a large legal problem: Did the constitution follow the flag? Many questions like these were asked by Puerto Rican petitioners in 1900.
In 1901, the supreme court decreed that the flag did outrun the Constitution, and that it (the Constitution) did not necessarily extend with full force to the new windfall.
Puerto Ricans (and Filipinos) did not enjoy American rights.

3. Information- Cuba Cuba presented more problems for America
An American military government led by General Leonard Wood was set up there, and attempted to help them make governmental, financial, educational, and agricultural advancements
Under his leadership, America tried to help Cuba wipe out the yellow fever
They did this by performing tests on volunteers, mainly American soldiers
This led to them finding out that the stegomyia mosquito was a carrier of the disease. By finding this out they were able to wipe out many of the mosquito breeding grounds, effectively stopping the spread of the yellow fever.

4. Information- Cuba
America withdrew from Cuba in 1902, honoring the promise they made in the Teller Amendment of 1898
However, they couldn’t leave the island completely alone, so they forced the Cubans to write their own constitution in 1901, called the Platt Amendment
The Cubans hated this amendment, which ultimately served the purpose of keeping Cuba under American control. They were forced to agree upon three things: to not compromise their independence or take debt beyond their resources, to let the United States intervene and restore order whenever they saw fit, and to sell or lease coaling or naval stations to America whenever they needed them .

5. Primary Source- Platt Amendment (1903)
Approved on May 22, 1903, the Platt Amendment was a treaty between the U.S. and Cuba that attempted to protect Cuba's independence from foreign intervention. It permitted extensive U.S. involvement in Cuban international and domestic affairs for the enforcement of Cuban independence.
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6. OCPVL
Origin: On March 2, 1901, the Platt Amendment was passed and in 1903 was signed in Cuba
Content: Article III required that the government of Cuba consent to the right of the United States to intervene in Cuban affairs for “the preservation of Cuban independence, the maintenance of a government adequate for the protection of life, property, and individual liberty, and for discharging the obligations with respect to Cuba imposed by the Treaty of Paris on the United States, now to be assumed and undertaken by the Government of Cuba.”
Purpose: Permitted the United States to lease or buy lands for the purpose of the establishing naval bases. It also barred Cuba from making a treaty that gave another nation power over its affairs, going into debt, or stopping the United States from imposing a sanitation program on the island
Value: This document was loathed by the Cubans because it put them under American control. This document is important because it illustrated the relationship between Cuba and America during that time period
Limitations: The document was partially written in Spanish so it could have been tampered with or translated wrong

7. FATPB
Format - An amendment, formally written up on a document (half in Spanish and half in English)
Audience- The Cubans, while it was “their constitution”, they really had no say in what went into it and what it said
Topic- The topic was the agreements that were going to be put into place between America and Cuba in order for Cuba to finally be “free”
Place- America and Cuba
Background- It was created to let America control Cuba even though they had pulled their troops off of the island already

8. Discussion Questions
How did the Platt Amendment of 1901 cause the further deterioration of America and Cuba’s relationship?
Was the outcome of the Insular Cases the right decision? Why or why not?