Category: History

PUERTO RICO'S STATUS DEBATE
by Amy Thornbury



CONTENTS



MAPS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER ONE
The Background: Puerto Rico's Political Climate and Relationship
with the U. S.
A. Political Characteristics 8
B. Constitutional and Legal Characteristics 14

CHAPTER TWO
From Shantytown to Shining Star -- An Overview of Puerto
Rico's Economy 20

CHAPTER THREE
Arguments in Favor of Statehood 26

CHAPTER FOUR
Arguments against Statehood 34

CHAPTER FIVE
Military Dominance, The Foraker Act and the Statehood Effort:
1898-1910 43

CHAPTER SIX
Controversy over Citizenship and the Statehood Effort: 1910-1929 56

CHAPTER SEVEN
Statehood for Puerto Rico in the 1930s: Close, But No Cigar 65

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Rise of the Partido Popular Democratico and the Demise of
the Statehood Movement: the 1940s 76

CHAPTER NINE
Estadistas Challenge the PPD: Commonwealth in the 1950s 84
Alaska and Hawaii's Admission, 1959 90

CHAPTER TEN
A Status Plebiscite and the Birth of the Partido Nuevo Progresista:
the 1960s 94

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alternative Futures and PNP Politics: Restlessness in the 1970s 103

CHAPTER TWELVE
A Status Stalemate: the 1980s 109

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Conclusions 119




iv

APPENDICES
Appendix A: Major Puerto Rican Political Parties 125
Appendix B: Official Election Results, 1940-1980 126
Appendix C: PNP-PPD Votes by Municipality, 1968-1976 126
Appendix D: Evolution of the Puerto Rican Statehood Parties 127

SOURCES CONSULTED 128




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