Puerto Rico is an island located in the northeastern Caribbean Sea, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States. The islands of Puerto Rico were acquired by the United States in 1898, where Spain ceded the islands to the U.S.
In 1917, the Jones Act declared Puerto Rico to be an “organized but incorporated” territory of the United States, and granted US citizenship to all the residents who wanted it. An “unincorporated territory”, according to the US Supreme Court Insular Cases, of the Unites States is ‘a territory appurtenant and belonging to the United States, but not a part of the United States’. [Lawson p.1124] Since 1952, Puerto Rico, by mutual consent of its people and the United States government, has been a
…show more content…
[Falcón p.28]
During the 110th Congress, three bills concerning Puerto Rico’s political status were introduced. There was the H.R. 900, which would have sanctioned a plebiscite. In the plebiscite, the citizens of Puerto Rico would have voted on whether they wanted to continue the status quo or proceeding toward non-territorial status. The second bill was the H.R. 1230, which would have endorsed a constitutional convention and referendum in Puerto Rico to reflect on status options. There was a meeting held for these two bills in October 2007, by the House Natural Resources Committee. The committee favored an amended version of HR 900, with an intermingling of the two House bills. In August, another House bill was introduced, the S.1936, which proposed a single plebiscite in which the voters would choose between the options of continuing the status quo, acquiring an status of independence or statehood. [Bea p.9-10]
In the 111th Congress, another House Bill was introduced, that concerned the political status of Puerto Rico, the H.R. 2499. H.R. 2499 would permit a two-stage plebiscite in Puerto Rico to reconsider the status issue. This bill was similar to H.R. 900, the only difference being that the 111th Congress legislation would frame the plebiscite questions
For most of its history, Puerto Rico has been controlled by an outside power, and its people oppressed. While Puerto Rico is currently a U.S. territory, Spanish colonialism has had a significant impact on the island’s development and identity. The history of the island itself is proof of this fact, demonstrating each step Puerto Rico took to reach its current state. By examining the stages of Spanish control that Puerto Rico experienced, we can determine how each stage affected the structure and identity of Puerto Rico.
Purpose: To encourage the US and Puerto Rican government to for more interest for Puerto Rico statehood.
Puerto Rico should become the 51st state because nearly 54 percent, or 922,374 people, wanted statehood. Even three American Presidents Gerald Ford, George Bush I, and even Reagan supported statehood. Also “For me, being a U.S. citizen is a lot more than carrying a passport,” says Caraballo-Sandoz. “I’m very hopeful that one day we are going to be a state of the Union.” The people of Puerto Rico deserve better than the way they are being treated. Puerto Ricans
Showing up in sea tempest attacked Puerto Rico since Maria's landfall, President Trump offered a healthy round of congrats to government help endeavors and expressed gratitude toward the island's representative. In any case, the president likewise recommended Maria was not a "genuine calamity," made an odd and misdirecting correlation with the loss of life from Hurricane Katrina, and clowned about how the sea tempest would influence the government spending plan. “Puerto Rico survived the hurricane," President Trump rightly says, and "Now a financial crisis looms largely of their own making." Hard words, but true.
Last Wednesday on October 12, I was able to go to the talk of Nelson A. Denis about War Against All Puerto Ricans. Being born and raised in Puerto Rico, I already knew what Nelson was talking about, however it was still nice to fresh up on some history that I may have forgotten. It was also, nice to see Nelson A. Denis tell the audience how Puerto Rico got to where is now in a clear and unique way.
Dating back to its admission into statehood, reform has been an undeniable element of California. It could even be argued that many important landmarks in our state history were defined by acts of reform, such as the implementation of direct democracy into its state constitution during the progressive era of the late 19th and early 20th century. In modern California, it could be argued that there has been no greater landmark than the passage of Proposition 140.
What historical problems/issues/concerns, as perceived by the policy initiators and/or sponsors of the legislation, including the governor led to the creation of the bill? In other words, what was the nature of the problems that the bill corrected? According to the initiators/sponsors how important is this piece of legislation to the citizens of the state.
Many politicians have different views on what Puerto Rico should do. Should the island become a State, stay a Commonwealth, or become independent. Either way, it would benefit the island.
Thus, if Puerto Rico does clearly agree upon the process of statehood, it is Congress’ obligation to deliberately consider and potentially aid Puerto Rico into statehood, even if it occupies a copious amount of time and effort.
Officially known as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States of America situated in the
In fact, the racial composition of Puerto Rico is 80% white and 20% black. In earlier times, slaves, imported from Africa and other ethnic groups, were brought to work on plantations, and introduced this racial diversity. Slavery, started in Puerto Rico by the Spanish, forced the island into becoming a large agricultural area. Some of the agriculture that still exists includes sugar production and dairy production. Today however, most Puerto Ricans hold jobs that are industrial and exist in the metropolitan areas. Important industries of the island include pharmaceuticals, electronics, textiles, petrochemical, and processed foods. Tourism has also been an important source of income for the island2.
Puerto Rico is smallest and Eastern of the Greater Antilles. The north of Venezuela has left approximately to 500 miles, 80 miles to the east of the Spanish, and to 1.200 miles to the Southeastern of the city of Miami, in the North American state of Florida. The U.S.A.
Since Puerto Rico was first discovered by Christopher Columbus on November 19, 1493, and Spanish colonization ensued in 1508, Puerto Rico has experienced all of these pressures of identity and culture.
One of the most interesting and exciting places I have had the pleasure of visiting was the Island of Puerto Rico. Getting on the plane and arriving on the island was the easy part, but learning to navigate the island and getting reliable transportation was a whole other ball game.
The migration of Puerto Ricans to the United States occurred in two major waves. The first wave was in the 1910s-1940s and the second wave was from the 1960s to the 1990s. Each wave of migrants brought new generations of Puerto Ricans to the United States. Both waves of migrants believed that they were going to live a better life in America and migrated to major cities such as New York City, Chicago, Hartford, etc. The early migrants looked for industrial jobs such as in cigar factories while the later migrants found agricultural work such as in tobacco fields. The communities in which they lived grew larger and larger due to chain migration and because of this, the need for politics evolved.