Chloe Smith

5/7/15

POLS 361

¿Un Puerto Rico Independiente? Should Puerto Rico be an

independent nation from the United States?

Introduction

Colonialism is the, “practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of

one people to another,” 1 and no one knows colonialism better than Puerto Rico. Puerto

Rico has been under the subjugation of other nations since Christopher Columbus landed

on the island, in the name of imperial Spain, on November 19, 1493. Columbus in

Spanish is “Colón,” the very beginning of the word colony. For over 500 years Puerto

Rico has been under the reign of an outside power; today Puerto Rico is under United

States’ control and has been since 1898. There have been debates for the last century

over what is best for Puerto Rico: Independence? Statehood? Maintain the status quo?

This essay will analyze various cultural and political reasons regarding whether or not

Puerto Rico should be an Independent Nation from the United States of America. The

cultural and political aspects include the colonial history of Puerto Rico, former

independence movements, language and education, and economics. I will be arguing

that Puerto Rico should be an independent nation from the United States based on

1 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/colonialism/

historical, cultural, and political reasons. Some of the reasons include the United States

hostile history toward Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is a separate island from the United

States, Puerto Rico is a Spanish speaking people, Puerto Rico is not included entirely by

United States law, and Puerto Rico has a unique culture from the culture of the

continental United States.

Literature Review

Puerto Rico has a long history of colonialism. Since 1492 when Columbus made

his first voyage to the “new world” Puerto Rico has been a colony of Spain or the United

States. After the Spanish American War in 1898 the United States gained control of

Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines. Although Cuba and Philippines were able to

gain their independence from the United States, Puerto Rico has more or less maintained

its status as a colony. Officially, Puerto Rico is a part of the United States

Commonwealth. The U.S. State Departments Foreign Affairs Manual states, “The term

'Commonwealth' does not describe or provide for any specific political status or

relationship. It has, for example, been applied to both states and territories. When used in

connection with areas under U.S. sovereignty that are not states, the term broadly

describes an area that is self-governing under a constitution of its adoption and whose

right of self-government will not be unilaterally withdrawn by Congress.”2 The debate of

2 "U.S. Department of State: Foriegn Affairs Manual." 7 FAM 1120 Acquisition of U.S. Nationnality in the U.S. Territories and Possesions, June 5, 2005.

this Commonwealth status has gone on for decades. Independence? Statehood? Status

Quo? These are the options looked at over and over again regarding Puerto Rico’s

political status. There are a number of reasons on either side of the debate as to what is

best for Puerto Rico, but one seriously important issue is culture.

The first aspect that should be looked at regarding the political state of

Puerto Rico is the issue of culture and whether their unique culture should be independent

from the United States. There has been plenty of discussion about Puerto Rico becoming

the 51st state. This would obviously involve lots of change for the current states and

Puerto Rico in regards to the impending culture clash. One example of culture clash

within a nation is Quebec, Canada in which Patrick Buchanan reviews in his article,

“Give Puerto Rico Freedom and Soverignty”. Quebec is a bilingual province and that is

what Puerto Rico would be if it became the 51st state. Quebec is having issues regarding

cultural differences which is causing lots of discussion on whether or not Quebec should

be an independent nation. The possibilities of cultural impositions and the removal of

other important cultural aspects are too big to overlook. There is also the possibility that

in the future Puerto Rico would try to secede from the United States if said cultural issues

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86756.pdf.

occur which a large issue is being dealt with by Canada.3 Such an important aspect of

culture is language. The official language of Puerto Rico is Spanish and, although the

United States has no official language, everything functions in English. “Puerto Rico

Rejects Statehood, but Debate Not Over” looks at these issues of language and points out

how this would clearly cause problems if Puerto Rico was admitted to the union because

only 2% of the Puerto Rican population speaks only English. Cultural issues beyond

language are also addressed because in Puerto Rico the race/ethnicity/color dynamic is

entirely different than that of the United States. 4 Finally, the cultural identity of Puerto

Rico is a global one. Issues of race, nationalism, imperialism and gender are addressed

through the struggle of Puerto Rico. Manuel Aviles-Santiago, a professor at the

University of Arizona, discusses these issues in his essay, “The Colonial Body Under

Attack.” Aviles-Santiago mentions how Puerto Rico has an independent cultural entity

from that of the United States. It seems as though Puerto Ricans take pageants and the

Olympics very seriously because they are the only times the world views them as

independent from the United States. Clearly one cultural change with independence

would be an increase in nationalism because Puerto Rican pride could be views in other

3 Buchanan, Patrick. "Give Puerto Rico freedom and sovereignty." Human Events 53, no. 36 (September 26, 1997): 20. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 8, 2015).

4 2012. "PUERTO RICO REJECTS STATEHOOD, BUT DEBATE NOT OVER." Human Events 68, no. 44: 5. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 3, 2015).

important global settings.5 It is clear that there are many important cultural reasons as to

why Puerto Rico should be an independent nation.

Another important aspect of this debate is what the people of Puerto Rico want.

John Talbot addresses how Puerto Rico has favored the commonwealth status in the past.

In a 1993 Referendum Puerto Rico voted to maintain commonwealth status.6 In a 2012

referendum Puerto Ricans were able to vote on if they wanted to become a state, remain a

part of the Commonwealth, or be independent; in this instance a majority of Puerto

Ricans voted to not become a state. Ruben Berrios Martinez looks at how governor and

other pro-statehood politicians plan to continue their push to officially join the union.

Although Puerto Ricans may not all be looking to become independent a clear majority of

Puerto Ricans do not want to be a state.7 It would not be right for the Puerto Rican people

5 Aviles-Santiago, Manuel G. "The Colonial Body under Attack: Puerto Rican Pageantry and the Embodiment of Colonialism." Puerto Rican Studies Association Conference, 2010, (Accessed February 1, 2015).

6 Talbot, John F. "Puerto Rico says `yes' to commonwealth status." America 169, no. 20 (December 18, 1993): 4. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 8, 2015).

7 Martinez, Ruben Berrios. 1977. "INDEPENDENCE FOR PUERTO RICO: THE ONLY SOLUTION." Foreign Affairs 55, no. 2: 561-583. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed January 26, 2015).

to be forced into statehood if they do not want it as referendums have been against it over

and over.

An additional aspect of the debate as regarding Puerto Rico’s status is what

statehood, commonwealth, and an independent Puerto Rico mean for the United States as

its current sovereign. The issue of sovereignty is well known to the United States

especially during its period of manifest destiny. Richard Brookhiser suggests a new

concept is being applied to Puerto Rico as a part of the Commonwealth which is

unmanifest destiny which would be giving commonwealth properties sovereignty over

their own land. Puerto Rico has been a colony for 400 years—about 120 of those years

with the United States through manifest destiny which is reexamined for today’s world

and whether or not Puerto Rico should be colonized anymore. These changes in

sovereignty already happened in Cuba and the Philippines over 60 years ago.8 Annie Tin

looks at how the United States has already even worked towards creating an independent

Puerto Rico. In 1996 the HR Committee of the House of Representatives created a three

step plan to make Puerto Rico independent, although the1998 referendum did not pass in

favor of independence the United States was clearly ready at this point to offer freedom

to Puerto Rico just like the Philippines and Cuba.9 Clearly if the United States has given

8 Brookhiser, Richard. "Unmanifest Destiny." National Review 52, no. 11 (June 19, 2000): 20-24. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 2, 2015).

9 Tin, Annie. "Panel OKs three-stage process to achieve self-government." Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report 54, no. 26 (June 29, 1996): 1866. Business Source Premier,

up properties of the Commonwealth before and this should be possible once again for

Puerto Rico.

Independence would not be an easy road for Puerto Rico. Like all new nations

there would be many obstacles but these are worth it for Puerto Rico to be sovereign over

its own lands and peoples which has not been a reality of centuries.

History

Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Puerto Rico on November 19th,

1493. This began the Spanish reign of Puerto Rico for 405 years. The people of Puerto

Rico were the Arawaks, Taínos, and Ingeris and they were almost instantly enslaved by

the Spanish conquistadors—very few were able to escape from the Spaniards and into the

forests on the island. The Taínos and Ingeris were almost all eventually murdered once a

permanent colony was settled there10. Although the lives of the Taínos and Ingeris were

basically lost because of the conquistadors rampages; their culture still lives on in English

and Spanish language through words such as tobacco, canoe, hammock, barbecue, and

many more. Today some Taíno and Ingeris blood lives on in Puerto Rican citizens but

EBSCOhost (accessed February 11, 2015).

10 Fewkes, Jesse Walter. 2009. The Aborigines of Puerto Rico and neighboring islands. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=835666.

their cultures and ethnicities are very blended as they have been for centuries. The

Spanish began bringing African slaves in the 1500’s, “A 1530 census on the island

showed a total of 327 white families owning 2,292 black slaves and 473,”11 The cultural

and ethnic effects of the influx of African slaves can still be seen in Puerto Rico today.

Although Puerto Rico was an ocean away Spain kept a close eye on the island and the

rest of its colonies. Puerto Rico was directly ruled by the Council of the Indies which

was four, king appointed, court members—these men made all of the laws for the island

which would then have to be approved by the king. Political parties were formed in

Puerto Rico, much like before the American Revolution, there were two major groups

that favored either independence from Spain or the continuation of the colonial life.

Eventually in the 1890’s Puerto Rico received the right to its own government—just as

states from the USA have their own government12. This somewhat independent

government was however a very short lived governance because on December 10th 1898

Spain and the United Sates signed the treaty of Paris and the United States annexed

Puerto Rico13.

11 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.12 SOLLA SASTRE, JULIA. 2013. "Cuando las provincias de allende los mares sean llamadas por la Constitución" (Acerca del estatus constitucional de Cuba, Puerto Rico y Filipinas, 1837- 1898). (Spanish)." Journal Of Constitutional History / Giornale Di Storia Costituzionale no. 25: 61-78. Historical Abstracts, EBSCOhost (accessed May 7, 2015).13 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Chapter 1. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

Even before the annexation of Puerto Rico the United States had considered the

benefits of land in the Caribbean but it was never in the best interest of the USA to act on

these desires. Right away a military government was put in place—there was no chance

for Puerto Rico to receive independence like Cuba did. Americans felt that Puerto Rico

was too barbaric to be left alone and worried about the political repercussions of a free

Caribbean island that could have be groomed into a true democratic state. The people of

Puerto Rico were originally hostile towards the military government of the United States

and resisted the first efforts to begin Americanizing the colony. This backlash by the

Puerto Rican people forced the United States government to decide that Puerto Rico was

not ready to govern itself or be brought into the Union. Eventually the status of Puerto

Rico was intensely debated though the Foraker Act and the Insular Commissions. There

were a number of different options for what government would be best for the island:

independence, commonwealth, dependency, statehood, or continue with the military

government. Many Puerto Rican’s felt that they at deserved at least the same type of

government that the Spanish had given them during the end of their reign. The American

government was very much torn between independence, dependency, and statehood14.

Some members of Congress believed neither that Puerto Ricans were an uneducated and

incapable people that would not function on their own nor that they deserved the right to

statehood. Others felt that occupying Puerto Rico any longer was an injustice and was

hypocritical when the basis of the Spanish American War was to bring liberty and justice 14 Picó, Fernando. 2006. History of Puerto Rico: a panorama of its people. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers.

to the Spanish colonies; either way statehood or independence was in the cards for Puerto

Rico. On April 12th, 1900 the Foraker Act was passed which allowed the President of the

United States to appoint a governor to Puerto Rico for a four year term and a smaller and

less powerful government modelled after the United States government. The Foraker

Act left Puerto Rico without a Bill of Rights or United States citizenship—in fact many

of the rights gained during Spanish rule were completely taken away by the USA15—

some of these rights include full representation in a metropolitan government, universal

male suffrage, a local government of elected members, and the right to enter commercial

treaties or impose tariffs amongst others. It is clear that from the beginning Puerto Ricans

have been treated as second class citizens from the beginning of their relationship with

the United States16.

Following the creation of the Foraker Act, Puerto Rico began to act out against its

new imperialist government. Arguments were made regarding the 1900 Democratic

platform which had mentioned the importance of governing peoples who wanted to be

governed which could not necessarily be said for the peoples of Puerto Rico.

Additionally, there was a group of ‘anti-imperialists’ who believed that new territories

could only be governed by the United States if the territories were 100% committed to

15 Melón, Damaris Montalvo. 2012. "El Derecho Ambiental en Puerto Rico: ¿Evolución o estancamiento? (Spanish)." Revista De Derecho Puertorriqueño 51, no. 2: 299-322. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 7, 2015).16 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Chapter 2-4. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

the Union which meant that Puerto Rico needed to be a state or be completely

independent from the United States. Downes v Bidwell, a 1901 U.S. Supreme Court case,

decided that the United States could, in fact, govern any territory acquired through treaty,

annexation, or conquest without the restraints imposed by the Constitution17. Life under

the Foraker Act stressed the importance of Americanization because an Americanized

nation would one day be able to self-govern in a true democratic fashion.

Americanization entailed teaching Puerto Rico to be a liberal democracy that would

follow is the steps of the United States; promoting civil liberties and forever stressing the

importance of freedom. It eventually became clear that the Foraker Act favored

Americans over Puerto Ricans because it allowed for Americans to travel with ease and

they had greater freedoms in Puerto Rico than Puerto Ricans as they were able to follow

only American laws. It was as though the Americans only followed federal laws and

ignored those of the state, this could never happen in one of the 50 states but Puerto Rico

was not viewed on the same level as an individual state, therefore people felt they could

ignore local laws without repercussions. Muñoz Rivera, a noted Puerto Rican author and

intellectual, felt very strongly about Puerto Rican independence from the United States

and stated in a manifesto directed at the Puerto Rican people,

“You are nothing but slaves. You are ruled by a President that is elected without your

vote. A Council appointed at the whim of the President legislates for you. You do not

17 Van Middeldyk, R. A., and Martin Grove Brumbaugh. 2005. The history of Puerto Rico: from the Spanish discovery to the American occupation. San Juan P.R.: Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades.

even effectively intervene in the approval of the taxes that weigh upon you. Such a

shame would not be tolerated by… even the Patagonian tribes; such slavery would be

undeserved in you manfully attempt to reject it, but is shall degrade you if you sheepishly

accept it.18”

Following the release of Rivera’s manifesto the Union Party was created; the Union

Party’s platform demanded full self-governance either as a state equal to all other states

in the Union or by Puerto Rico being an independent nation under the United States

protectorate. Washington was astounded by the first official party platform of

independence as only activist groups had mentioned independence before. Discussions

of United States citizenship for Puerto Ricans began which appeased Unionists because it

was a beacon of hope on the equality front and being American citizens was also not seen

as a threat to the possibility of independence. President Taft suggested that amendments

be made to the Foraker Act as to appease the Puerto Ricans but only minor changes that

did not include citizenship were made. The Foraker Act was meant to be temporary and

eventually in 1914 discussions of a new bill began19.

The Jones Act was first proposed in 1914 of which the main goal was to give

Puerto Rico a civil government. Rivera felt that the act was not liberal enough and

18 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.19 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Chapter 5. Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

fought effortlessly until his death in 1916 to include more rights in the bill. Rivera had

even submitted his own bill to Congress which sought out far more rights for Puerto

Ricans but overall was full of modest requests compared to the platform of his Union

Party. All in all the Jones Act appeared to be a small, but positive, step toward self-

government as Puerto Rico was given the right to have an elected Senate—with a

number of imposed safeguards including the Governor’s veto and the President of the

United States ultimately had the final say. Just like with the Foraker Act there was a lot

of unhappiness amongst the Puerto Ricans regarding the Jones Act which was not a

magical solution for the political disdain of the Union Party.

As time went on unhappiness with the Jones Act grew. By the 1930’s Puerto

Rico was in worse shape than it had been ever before. The economy was not doing well

at all and Unionists began using violence as means to draw attention to the problems.

Puerto Rico was receiving about $10 million in aid and loans annually from the United

States government just to keep the economy afloat. The Governor had begun using his

veto power regularly the more the Puerto Rican people sought to change laws and

introduce new bills. To tackle the economic issues in Puerto Rico in 1935 President

Roosevelt, by executive order, created the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration

(PRRA). The PRRA spent about $58 million between 1935 and 1938 and established a

cooperative to acquire and operate a sugar mill, built hydroelectric facilities, glass plants,

cement plants, instituted health care, slum clearing, rural electrification, and education.

Many were upset that the New Deal extended to Puerto Rico and felt that the President

had over stepped his powers. In 1943 President Roosevelt suggested to Congress that

Puerto Rico be able to elect its own Governor as to give Puerto Rico more rights.

Around the same time the Puerto Rican Legislative Assembly demanded an end of the

colonial rule of Puerto Rico and that the United States recognizes Puerto Rico’s right to

self-determination. The ultimate decision made regarding Puerto Rico’s demand was

that it would not be humored. Abe Fortas, of the Supreme Court, stated; “Now the

United States will retain sovereignty over Puerto Rico. The United States will continue

to be supreme in Puerto Rico, and that is flat. There is just not any question about it. We

might just as well quit if we are not going to proceed on the basis, and you might as well

have that very clearly in mind that the United States, under the scheme will continue to

be supreme in Puerto Rico.20”

The United States felt very strongly that Puerto Rico needed to stay connected to the

United States no matter what because. In a post-World War II world the fear of

vulnerable countries, such as Puerto Rico, becoming communists was prominent in all

democratic nations. The United States recognized the possibility that Puerto Rico could

swing to the left if it was independent, as well as the rest of the fragile Latin American

countries, which brought the United States a lot of fear and Puerto Rico gave democracy

a little home in the Caribbean for stability and guidance. President Roosevelt’s

20 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

suggestions about giving Puerto Rico to elect its own Governor were revisited after the

Supreme Courts response to Puerto Rico’s demands. In 1943 Senator Millard Tydings

filed a bill that addressed the ultimate status of Puerto Rico. Tydings suggested that

Puerto Rico be autonomously dependent on the United States as to retain military and

diplomatic power instead of independence. The bill from Senator Tydings, the Elective

Governor Act, was eventually approved in 1947 by President Harry Truman21.

The Elective Governor Act is what initially created the commonwealth of status

of Puerto Rico. Under a proposed commonwealth government, Puerto Rico can create

its own laws and receive federal funding with no strings attached, all while possessing

irrevocable United States citizenship and forcing the United States to maintain Puerto

Rican policies it may no longer want by mandating a “mutual consent” clause in an initial

United States -Puerto Rico pact. Puerto Rico also has a representative in the House of

Representatives but no voting rights and Puerto Ricans do not have the right to vote in

United States Presidential elections. The years following the creation of the creation of

the Commonwealth were seemingly peaceful but from 1948-1952 any nationalist act in

Puerto Rico was deemed illegal—this included having Puerto Rican flag, signing

nationalist songs, and even discussing independence. While France and Great Britain

were starting to lose their colonies during this period the United States was doing

21 Monge, Jose Trías. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Chapter 6-8. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.

everything possible to ensure that Puerto Rico would not end up as an independent nation

like the other Caribbean colonies.

Puerto Rico is still currently a member of the United States Commonwealth sixty-

eight years later. Laws regarding government structure, voting and citizenship have all

remained the same. A local Constitution was drafted in 1950 by the Puerto Rican people

which is still in effect today22. Puerto Rico is also to abide by all federal laws that are set

but, like a state, Puerto Rico can set its own laws as well. Puerto Rico has an interesting

tax set up because they do pay some federal taxes and the local government taxes its

citizens but under operation bootstrap, set up by the United States government, American

businesses can go into Puerto Rico and help build industry tax free. The United States

used Puerto Rico and Operation Bootstrap to as a guinea pig for the Caribbean Basin

Initiative that which also allows American companies to go to other Caribbean nations

and help build industry without having to pay taxes. This has given Puerto Rico a major

advantage because the island has received tremendous economic help in the form of

revenue and jobs from Operation Bootstrap23.

Independence Movements

22 Puerto Rico. 1953. Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. S.l: s.n.]. http://search.ebscohost.com/direct.asp?db=aph&jid=26EJ&scope=site.23 Collins, Susan Margaret, Barry Bosworth, and Miguel A. Soto-Class. 2006. The economy of Puerto Rico restoring growth. San Juan, P.R.: Center for the New Economy. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10141092.

Since colonial times Puerto Rico has been fighting for freedom from its

imperialistic oppressors. The Taíno rebellion of 1511 attacked the village of Sotomayor

and killed 80 Spanish colonists. The few Taíno were no match for the number of

Spaniards nor their guns which caused the revolt to fail. After, many Taíno either fled

the island or committed suicide. Again in the 1890s the Puerto Rican people began to

rebel. In 1896 a group from Yauco who supported independence joined forces to

overthrow the Spanish government in the island. The group was led by Antonio Mattei

Lluberas and Mateo Mercado. Unfortunately the military learned of their plans and put

both men in prison but both were shortly released. In 1897, Lluberas went New York

City and visited the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee and the planned a major coup

de etad. Military leaders once again learned of these plans to over throw the Spanish

government and shut down the operation. On March 24, 1897, Velez and his men

planned to attack the Spanish Civil Guard, to gain control of their arms and ammunition.

Upon their arrival, they were ambushed by Spanish forces and the rebels quickly

retreated when a firefight began. On March 26, a group headed by Jose Nicolas Quiñones

Torres and Ramon Torres fought Spanish colonial forces Attempted Coup of Yauco and

was the first time that the flag of Puerto Rico was flown on the island24.

24 MEYER, GERALD J. 2011. "PEDRO ALBIZU CAMPOS, GILBERTO CONCEPCIÓN DE GRACIA, AND VITO MARCANTONIO'S COLLABORATION IN THE CAUSE OF PUERTO RICO'S INDEPENDENCE." Centro Journal 23, no. 1: 87-123. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 29, 2015).

In 1898 after the annexation of Puerto Rico by the United States the Nationalist

movement began to attract violent supporters of independence. The colonization of

Puerto Rico was seen as a part of American manifest destiny. President Theodore

Roosevelt stated that "It is manifest destiny for a nation to own the islands which border

its shores.” And, he said, if "any South American country misbehaves it should be

spanked." He and succeeding presidents supported American corporations with military

force on occasion and the use of Puerto Rico for plantations. By 1930, over 40 percent of

all the land in Puerto Rico had been converted into sugar plantations owned by Domino

Sugar. Puerto Ricans did not appreciate their lands being seized for plantations.

In 1919, Puerto Rico had two major organizations that supported independence:

the Nationalist Youth and the Independence Association. Beginning in the 1930s violence

was the main tactic of Puerto Rican Nationalists. On April 6, 1932, Nationalist partisans

marched into the capitol building in San Juan to protest the legislative proposal to

approve the present Puerto Rican flag, the official flag of the insular government. Then

on October 24, 1935, a confrontation with police at the University of Puerto Rico killed

four Puerto Rican Nationalist Party supporters and one policeman. This is now known as

the Río Piedras Massacre. On February 23, 1936, Colonel Elisha Francis Riggs,

formerly the highest police officer in the island, was assassinated in retaliation for the Río

Piedras events by Nationalists Hiram Rosado and Elías Beauchamp. Rosado and

Beauchamp were arrested, and summarily executed without a trial at the police

headquarters in San Juan. Despite their awful actions it is very clear that justice was not

something the American run courts were willing to give Puerto Ricans due to their lack

of a trial. On March 21, 1937, a march in Ponce by the Nationalist Party, organized to

commemorate the ending of slavery in Puerto Rico, resulted in the deaths of 17 unarmed

citizens and 2 policemen and is now known as the Ponce Massacre. On July 25, 1938,

shots were fired at the US colonial governor, Blanton Winship during a parade and

actually killed Police Colonel Luis Irizarry. Finally, on June 10, 1948, the United States-

appointed Governor of Puerto Rico signed into law a bill passed by the Puerto Rican

Senate, which was controlled by elected PPD representatives. It prohibited discussion of

independence, fighting for liberation of the island, and significantly curtailed other Puerto

Rican independence activities. Gag Law or Law 53 as it was officially known, made it

illegal to display the Puerto Rican flag, or sing a patriotic song. At this point the violence

of the Nationalist party worried many Puerto Ricans and the Gag Law was accepted as a

way to help end the violence on the island against both Americans and Puerto Ricans25.

A similar case to Puerto Rico’s is that of The Philippines. The United States

annexed The Philippines at the same time as Puerto Rico but The Philippines have since

become independent from the United States. In the early 1940’s discussions had taken

place regarding the possibility of independence for the Philippines but after the start of

25 MEYER, GERALD J. 2011. "PEDRO ALBIZU CAMPOS, GILBERTO CONCEPCIÓN DE GRACIA, AND VITO MARCANTONIO'S COLLABORATION IN THE CAUSE OF PUERTO RICO'S INDEPENDENCE." Centro Journal 23, no. 1: 87-123. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 29, 2015).

World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor it seemed necessary for the United States to

maintain control over this set of pacific islands. The war resulted in about one million

Filipino casualties and unmeasurable damage to the land. Manuel Roxas was elected

President in April 1946 for the independent Second Republic of the Philippines. In a

formal declaration, the American flag was lowered in Luneta, Manila and raised the

Filipino National flag. Finally, independence was granted to the Republic of the

Philippines dated July 4, 194626. That day representatives of the United States of America

and of the Republic of the Philippines signed a Treaty of General Relations between the

two governments. The National anthem of the Philippines was played next to America’s.

It was a moment of liberating glory for these people that had not been independent in

centuries. Despite the treaty the U.S. retained dozens of military bases, including a few

major ones. The Bell Trade Act was signed and provided a mechanism for American

import quotas to be established on Philippine articles which "are coming, or are likely to

come, into substantial competition with like articles the product of the United States". It

also required U.S. citizens and corporations be granted equal access to Philippine

minerals, forests, and other natural resources. In hearings before the Senate Committee

on Finance, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs William L. Clayton

described the law as "clearly inconsistent with the basic foreign economic policy of this

country" and "clearly inconsistent with our promise to grant the Philippines genuine

26 Wong Kwok, Chu. 1982. "THE JONES BILLS 1912-16: A REAPPRAISAL OF FILIPINO VIEWS ON INDEPENDENCE." Journal Of Southeast Asian Studies 13, no. 2: 252-269. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed April 19, 2015).

independence." Despite the obvious overstep of American laws the Philippine

government had little choice but to accept these terms for independence because the

United States Congress was threatening to withhold very necessary post-World War II

rebuilding funds unless the Bell Act was ratified. The Philippine Congress passed it on

July 2, 1946. It is obvious that the United States has always had little respect for its

colonies and commonwealth because the Philippines only were only able to become

independent after their lives had been lost, lands had been ravaged, and it was easier for

the United States to pay a little money and maintain perks of the industry rather than hang

onto the Philippines as part commonwealth or a state27.

Culture

There are a number of cultural aspects as to why Puerto Rico should become

independent from the United States. A primary reason is the difference in language.

Although the United States does not have an official language it would be very likely that

more and more of Puerto Rico would be switched over to English which would impact

the state’s Hispanic culture. “The Case Against Statehood” mentions, “Puerto Ricans

have bluntly challenged mainland Americans to decide on the nature of the

multiculturalism they purport to embrace, and the island's current status needs to be

considered in the broader context of the problem now afflicting multilingual societies

elsewhere. Based on the positions taken by its leaders and inhabitants, the admission

27 Zwick, Jim. "The Anti-Imperialist League and the Origins of Filipino-American Oppositional Solidarity." Amerasia Journal 24, no. 2 (August 1998): 64. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed April 29, 2015).

of Puerto Rico as a state would require that Spanish be granted the same status as English

throughout the United States.”28 The Puerto Rican education system functions entirely in

Spanish which would pose many problems if the education system were ever taken over

by the United States. Clearly the issue of language is an immense barrier to statehood. As

it would be so difficult for Puerto Rico to culturally acclimate to statehood the next

obvious step would be independence because maintaining this cultural disparity in the

commonwealth will not work forever.

Beyond the scope of language there are a number of cultural aspects as to why

Puerto Rico should be independent from the United States. Puerto Ricans have a strong

cultural identity as ‘Puerto Ricans’ rather than as ‘Americans’. Currently the only time

this nationality pride can be expressed during the Olympics and in some international

beauty pageants—in all other instances Puerto Rico remains forgotten and voiceless29.

Puerto Rico also has a unique ethnic make-up—obviously the entire island is Hispanic

but it is also “mestiza” which is a Spanish concept similar to being bi or multiracial.

Almost 100% of Puerto Ricans have both Spanish and African roots and some even have

indigenous blood as well30. Aside from being a completely ethnically unique island it

28 Rubinstein, Alvin Z. "The Case against Puerto Rican Statehood." Orbis 45, no. 3 (Summer2001 2001): 415. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 12, 2015).29 Mintz, Sidney W. 1966. Puerto Rico: An Essay in the Definition of a National Culture. n.p.: 1966. ERIC, EBSCOhost (accessed April 19, 2015).30 Via, Marc, Christopher R. Gignoux, Lindsey A. Roth, Laura Fejerman, Joshua Galanter, Shweta Choudhry, and Juan Carlos Martínez-Cruzado, et al. 2011. "History Shaped the Geographic Distribution of Genomic Admixture on the Island of Puerto Rico."Plos ONE 6, no. 1: 1-8. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 7, 2015).

would also be the only state, theoretically, to be made up of 100% minorities31. This has

been an issue in the past for the USA regarding the admission of New Mexico into the

Union. Finally, many United States citizens are not even aware of how Puerto Rico’s

commonwealth status affects Americans and Puerto Ricans. Many believe that Puerto

Rico is already an independent nation. Clearly, if it is unknown that Puerto Rico is even

a ‘part’ of the United States their culture is strong enough to stand on its own without the

United States hanging over them with the commonwealth title.

Drawbacks to Independence

There are a few different arguments against Puerto Rico becoming an independent

nation which is the possibility of statehood or maintaining the status quo and keeping

Puerto Rico as a member of the Commonwealth. Granting Puerto Rico statehood would

offer its citizens a number of benefits that they are not receiving

currently. In 2013 this was even brought up in the Senate.32The first obvious benefit for

Puerto Rican citizens would be the ability to vote in presidential elections. Along with

this, Puerto Rico would finally have a voice and a vote in both the House and Senate.

Puerto Rico could also reap all of the economic benefits of being a state rather than the

limited benefits offered now as a member of the commonwealth. Some possible

31 Rivera-Rideau, Petra R. 2013. "From Carolina to Loíza: race, place and Puerto Rican racial democracy." Identities 20, no. 5: 616-632. SPORTDiscus, EBSCOhost (accessed April 12, 2015).32 Glazier, Kyle. "Puerto Rico Statehood Bill Introduced In Senate." Bond Buyer 123, no. 34060 (February 13, 2014): 1. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 12, 2015).

drawbacks would include increased taxes for Puerto Rican citizens to begin covering the

costs of the increased benefits. There are some dissenting opinions on whether or not

statehood would be enough for Puerto Rico, on this, Kyle Glazier stated,

“If Puerto Rico becomes a state, it would lose the authority it has now as a

commonwealth to issue triple tax-exempt bonds.”33 In addition, Raphael Hernandez

Colon believes that admitting Puerto Rico into the union will not add enough money to

the United States’ pool to cause any economic growth, it would only be enough to cover

growing social welfare programs.34

Another argument against independence is that it would take lots of time to set

Puerto Rico up for success as an independent nation.. “Puerto Rico: Denied Presidential

Vote” states,“The island experiences slower growth and higher unemployment than the

US mainland. In fact, in 2003, per capita income was only US$11,279, while that of

Mississippi, the poorest US state, was US$23,448.”35Puerto Rico is almost totally reliant

on the United States for all of its imports—severing ties could have negative effects on

jobs between Puerto Rica and the United States as well as Puerto Rico’s economic state.

On a related note, many American businesses do operate in Puerto Rico, this could deter

33 Glazier, Kyle. "Puerto Rico Statehood Bill Introduced In Senate." Bond Buyer 123, no. 34060 (February 13, 2014): 1. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 9, 2015).34 HERNÁNDEZ COLÓN, RAFAEL. "The price of statehood." Caribbean Business 42, no. 12 (April 3, 2014): 20. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 10, 2015).35 "Puerto Rico: Denied Presidential Vote." Latin America Monitor: Caribbean Monitor 21, no. 12 (December 2004): 1-6. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed April 12, 2015)

these American companies from staying which could also pull the economy down.

Clearly there are a number of economic reasons that would make it difficult for Puerto

Rico to thrive as an independent nation.

Conclusion

Looking back, this essay will analyzed various cultural and political reasons

regarding whether or not Puerto Rico should be an independent nation from the United

States of America. The cultural and political aspects included the colonial history of

Puerto Rico, past independence movements, language and education, and economics. I

have argued that Puerto Rico should be an independent nation from the United States

based on historical, cultural, and political reasons. Some of the reasons included the

United States hostile history toward Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico is a separate island from

the United States, Puerto Rico is a Spanish speaking people, Puerto Rico is not included

entirely by United States law, and Puerto Rico has a unique culture from the culture of

the continental United States. I am calling on the United State Congress to release

Puerto Rico from the United States Commonwealth and so the island can be its own

independent nation. Puerto Rico deserves the opportunity to let its culture flourish

without influence of the ever-looming imperialists. 523 of colonization has been more

than enough for the people of Puerto Rico—it is the United States’ duty to promote

freedom for all from oppressive governments and in this instance it means the United

States giving up its every prized Caribbean territory. Granting independence to Puerto

Rico would allow this twenty-first century colony to grow in ways that have never been

possible. There are a few economical drawbacks to independence but the importance of

cultural growth far outweighs the economic difficulties. To conclude, it is necessary for

the United States’ Congress to set forth a plan to allow Puerto Rico to be independent

from the United States as to protect their culture and support the fundamental beliefs of

freedom that the U.S.A so firmly believes in.

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