Compact

You've probably seen parking spaces for compact cars only, meaning small cars. However, Congress uses the word compact in the Platt Amendment to mean an agreement or a treaty. Think of a compact as something you shake hands on—an alliance, an arrangement, or a deal.

Constitution

There is the Constitution, and then there are simply constitutions. Any country can have a constitution, as it is simply a document laying out the rules for the government of that nation.

Think of a constitution as a rulebook. Just like any game or sport has a set of rules that must be followed, so do the governments of countries, and those rules are all listed (and usually added to or changed, as needed) in a constitution.

Defray

Defray means to have money to pay for something. In the Platt Amendment Congress talks about how Cuba must keep money on hand to pay for any debts, after "defraying the current expenses of government" (II). Meaning: Cuba must have enough money to pay for whatever regular things a government pays for (maybe police, garbage removal, etc.) and still have money leftover in case of debts.

Execute

Besides being the primary action in Game of Thrones and the French Revolution, execute can also mean to carry something out (even if that something is killing someone).

If you execute your homework you carry it out, or complete it. It does not (necessarily) mean that you put your HW through a shredder…

Joint Resolution

As we all learned from Schoolhouse Rock, any new law or rule made by the U.S. government must go through both the Congress and the President. The law or rule is considered approved (that's the "resolution" part) once both groups have given the thumbs up (that's the "joint" part).

Lodgement

Here's an example of Congress being a bit old-school. We don't use the word lodgement anymore; we'd probably just use "lodging." As you've probably guessed, it means staying in a place. In the Platt Amendment's first rule (I), Congress says Cuba can't allow any other country to stay on the island—for example, setting up a military base or resource collection.

Omit

Omit means to leave out. If you omit a step in a math problem, you'll probably get the wrong answer. In the Platt Amendment, Congress says that the Isle of Pines is omitted from the boundaries of Cuba (VI), meaning that the small isle doesn't count as part of Cuba.

Ordinance

Ordinance is a fancy word for a law passed by a local government. A good example would be whenever you go to the park and you see a sign that says "no dogs allowed," "no loitering after sunset," or something like that.

Those rules are ordinances, created and set by the local government (in this case, the city). In the Platt Amendment, Congress requires Cuba's government to create ordinances that include or follow the seven rules listed in the document.

Ratify

Ratify means to run your kitchen with a team of rats. Just kidding, although Remy did whip up some delicious delicacies.

Ratify means to formally approve something, like a law or a rule. The Platt Amendment says that Cuba must agree to ratify any law the U.S. might create while still occupying the island (IV).

Relinquish

Relinquish is a fancy word for giving something up. In the Platt Amendment, Congress talks about an earlier agreement between Spain and Cuba where Spain agreed to relinquish, or give up, its "authority and government in the island of Cuba" (Intro).

Sanitation

Sanitation means cleanliness. Usually the word is used with cities or towns, such as keeping things clean so that disease doesn't spread. A sewer or a flushing toilet would be examples of sanitation systems.

In the Platt Amendment, Congress wants Cuba to focus on keeping sanitation at a high level so that all of the diseases that popped up in the Spanish-American War don't spread to the U.S. (V).

Sinking Fund

When you throw your money into a river and watch it disappear, that's a sinking fund. Just kidding…although the image kind of works.

A sinking fund is money that a government sets aside in order to pay off a debt. For example, a government might save 5% of all the money it makes in a year to work at paying off a debt it owes to another country.

Treaty of Paris

History is a bit confusing when it comes to treaties signed in Paris. There was a Treaty of Paris to end the French and Indian War, one to end the American Revolution, and one to end the Spanish-American War.

Oh, and like a hundred other Treaties of Paris.

For our purposes here, the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War set rules for the U.S., Spain, and Cuba regarding who would control what land (Spain lost a lot of islands to the U.S.) and who could create their own nation (that's Cuba).