How Puerto Rico Became A US Territory And What That Actually Means
Long before the United States took possession of Puerto Rico in 1898, the status of the Caribbean island was a global issue. Puerto Rico was colonized by Spain after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1493. From that point forward, the native Taino population on Puerto Rico was forced into servitude by Spanish settlers as part of the encomienda system.
From the 16th century to the 18th centuries, Puerto Rico was held by Spain and served as a military outpost, staging ground for further exploration, and an area exploited for resources alike. By the end of the 19th century, Caribbean lands held by Spain, namely Cuba, were heavily under the economic influence of the United States. This ultimately resulted in war between Cuba and Spain and, in 1898, the involvement of the US.
After the Spanish-American War, Spain was forced to cede numerous territories to the US. Puerto Rico was one of them – and one of the former Spanish lands still held as an American territory. Ever since, the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico has been characterized by tension, uncertainty, and a continued call for Puerto Rican statehood.
Here’s how Puerto Rico and the US got to this point and what the future may hold for both.
At The End Of The Spanish-American War, The US Took Control Of Puerto Rico
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At The End Of The Spanish-American War, The US Took Control Of Puerto Rico
The Spanish-American War began in April 1898 after tensions between Spain and the United States reached their tipping point. The sinking of the USS Maine, a battleship on the border in Havana, Cuba, in February of that year was one of the precipitating events, but the first battle between the two sides took place on May 1, 1898.
Two months later, the US and Spain faced off at the battle of San Juan Heights, ultimately a victory for the former. After the Spanish fleet was destroyed on July 3, 1898, it was clear that Spain could not defeat their opponents. The ceasefire signed on August 12, 1898, preceded the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the war on December 10, 1898.
On February 6, 1899, the Treaty of Paris was ratified by the US Congress. At that point, the US took control of Cuba, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The Treaty was subsequently ratified by Spain on March 19, 1899, and on April 11, 1899, all ratifications were exchanged and approved.
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The US Instituted And Controlled The Government In Puerto Rico In 1900
Photo: Jean Dosserray, Editor en Bruselas BélgicaWikimedia CommonsPublic domain
The US Instituted And Controlled The Government In Puerto Rico In 1900
When the United States assumed control of Puerto Rico, it quickly transitioned the island from an area under the rule of the American military to one controlled by a government under the authority of the US federal government.
The Organic Act of 1900, better known as the Foraker Act, awarded protection to former subjects of the Spanish Crown and installed the office of “Governor of Porto Rico,” an individual to be appointed by the US president. The governor’s duties were articulated, as were the duties of an Executive, a House of Delegates, and the Judiciary.
The 35 delegates in the House of Delegates were to be elected every two years and, to do so, Puerto Rico would “be divided by the executive council into seven districts.” As part of the judicial system, a Supreme Court was to be established, as were lower courts. The president of the United States had oversight of justices and judges and, per the act,
All such proceedings in the Supreme Court of the United States shall be conducted in the English language.
Salaries of all government officials were allocated. With respect to laws applying to Puerto Rico, a commission of “three members, at least one of whom shall be a native citizen” was to be appointed by the US President” to,
compile and revise the laws of Porto Rico; also the various codes of procedure and systems of municipal government now in force, and to frame and report such legislation as may be necessary to make a simple, harmonious, and economical government, establish justice and secure its prompt and efficient administration…
It was also tasked with instituting a systems of instruction, taxation, and funding while “securing and extending the benefits of a republican form of government to all inhabitants of Porto Rico.”
Puerto Ricans Were Granted US Citizenship In 1917
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Puerto Ricans Were Granted US Citizenship In 1917
The Foraker Act was not without controversy. In 1906, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Ortega v. Lara that,
the jurisdiction of the District Court of the United States for Porto Rico in civil cases shall, in addition to that conferred by the act of April twelfth, nineteen hundred, extend to and embrace controversies where the parties, or either of them, are citizens of the United States, or citizens or subjects of a foreign State or States.
In short, everyone in Puerto Rico was subject to the government established by the United States.
With clarification about the rights and treatment of the residents of Puerto Rico taking shape, another act soon shifted the status of those individuals once again. In 1917, Puerto Ricans were awarded US citizenship per the Jones-Shafroth Act. Also called the Organic Act of Puerto Rico or the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1917, the law instituted a Bill of Rights, formally established Executive, Judicial, and Legislative departments, and articulated other aspects of an insular government. Birthright citizenship, which had not been awarded by the Foraker Act, was granted to individuals born on the island and archipelago of Puerto Rico.
The individuals who were now citizens of the United States would immediately be subject to the Selective Service Act of 1917. This meant male citizens could be drafted into military service. The date the Jones-Shafroth Act was enacted was March 2, 1917; the United States entered World War I in April, and the Selective Service Act went into effect in May 1917.
Puerto Rico Ratified Its Own Constitution In 1952
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Puerto Rico Ratified Its Own Constitution In 1952
Early 20th century legislation granted Puerto Ricans statutory citizenship and ultimately made Puerto Rico an unincorporated territory. As an unincorporated territory, parts of the US Constitution apply to Puerto Rico, but its citizens do not have constitutional rights.
As essentially a colony, residents of Puerto Rico do not have representation in the United States Congress and do not vote for the President of the United States. One Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico serves as a non-voting member of the US House of Representatives.
Puerto Rico has its own taxation system, but some of what Puerto Ricans pay each year apply to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) – what funds Social Security and Medicare. Depending on where one’s income comes from, US federal income tax may also apply to some residents of Puerto Rico.
That said, Puerto Rico became a commonwealth in 1952 and ratified the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico that same year. The preamble read, in part,
We, the people of Puerto Rico, in order to organize ourselves politically on a fully democratic basis, to promote the general welfare, and to secure for ourselves and our posterity the complete enjoyment of human rights, placing our trust in Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the commonwealth which, in the exercise of our natural rights, we now create within our union with the United States of America.
The Constitution has nine articles:
Article I, The Commonwealth
Article II, Bill of Rights
Article III, The Legislative
Article IV, The Executive
Article V, The Judiciary
Article VI, General Provisions
Article VII, Amendments to the Constitution
Article VIII, Senatorial and Representative Districts
Article IX, Transitory Provisions
Puerto Rico Has Held Four Referenda On Its Status Since 2012
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Puerto Rico Has Held Four Referenda On Its Status Since 2012
A report issued by the President of the United States’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status in 2007 ultimately determined,
The plenary Congressional authority over a non-state area thus lasts as long as the area retains that status. It terminates when the area loses that status either by virtue of its admission or by the termination of the sovereignty of the United States over the area by the grant of independence, or by its surrender to the sovereignty of another country.
Put another way, Puerto Rico can be surrendered to other country or the US can grant its independence. The United Nations called “upon the Government of the United States to expedite a process that would allow the Puerto Rican people to exercise fully their inalienable right to self-determination and independence” in 2009 but, with no action to that effect taken, the body reasserted its call as recently as 2023.
Three referenda (also called plebiscites) (in 1967, 1993, and 1998) all resulted in the majority of the population voting against change.
In 2012, voters were asked three possible outcomes: becoming a US state, gaining independence, or becoming a sovereign nation in association with the United States. For the first time in Puerto Rico’s history, statehood was the favored choice.
Results from the 2017 referendum indicated 97% of voters favored statehood, but only 23% of registered voters in Puerto Rico took part. A subsequent referendum in 2020 again showed signs of statehood being the preferred choice with 52% of voters in favor of the option. In 2024, Puerto Rican voters again considered their status, with 58% voting in favor of statehood.
None of the referenda were binding and Congress did not respond with any change. There have been efforts by some individuals within the legislative branch to change the status of Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Status Act introduced by Representative Raul Grijalva from Arizona in 2023 serves as an example.
As of February 2026, Puerto Rico remains an unincorporated territory.