Category: History PUERTO RICO'S STATUS DEBATE by Amy Thornbury

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


I cannot begin to express adequately my gratitude to so many people who have helped me realize my goal of writing an honors thesis -- an accomplishment which I often doubted I would achieve. The person who instilled the drive in me to write an honors thesis was my former history advisor at Kenyon College, Mr. William Scott, whom I thank for encouraging me to undertake such a rewarding (although there were moments when I called it other names!) project.
I owe many thanks to my family and friends for their emotional and practical support, and for understanding when my head was in Puerto Rico although my body was not. In particular, I thank my parents for always keeping one eye open for resources in Puerto Rico which would assist my project. Most of all, I heartily thank my husband John for constructive advice and for keeping me sane through my long hours of research and writing.
I am indebted to the following Puerto Ricans with whom I had the honor and pleasure to speak: Mr. Luis A. Ferré; Mr. Antonio Roig Ferré; Mr. Marco Rigau; Mr. Jesús Mantilla; Mr. Híram Melendez; and Ms. María (Lola) Gonzalez. Their warm and generous assistance was an invaluable source of information for much of this thesis.
Finally, it is with deep appreciation and respect that I thank two history professors at Washington University who have probably grown tired of seeing me standing outside their offices over the past few months. I thank Dr. Max Okenfuss who agreed to be my second reader and gave helpful criticism and comments, and Dr. Richard Walter, who tirelessly read the various drafts and provided the benefit of his expertise in U. S.-Latin American affairs to this project. While their intelligence has illuminated nearly every page of this thesis, they assume no responsibility for the views I have expressed.


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