The Fifty-first State

  The fifty-first states are heavily dependent on the United States. Their culture, economy, and domestic and foreign policy are sometimes directly overseen by the United States. In our project, we will consider several countries that not only want to become part of the United States, but are also recognized by the world community as an integral part of the American world. The new territory is accepted only by the decision of the Congress. Section  3 .   New   States   may   be   admitted   by   the   Congress   into   this   Union ;   but   no   new   States   shall   be   formed   or   erected   within   the   Jurisdiction   of   any   other   State ;   nor   any   State   be   formed   by   the   Junction   of   two   or   more   States ,  or   Parts   of   ...

  At first, few Puerto Ricans came to the continental U.S. at all. Although the U.S. tried to promote Puerto Rico as a glamorous tourist destination, in the early 20th century the island suffered a severe economic depression. Poverty was rife, and few of the island’s residents could afford the long boat journey to the mainland. In 1910, there were fewer than 2,000 Puerto Ricans in the continental U.S., mostly in small enclaves in New York City, and twenty years later there were only 40,000 more. After the end of the Second World War, however, Puerto Rican migration exploded. In 1945, there had been 13,000 Puerto Ricans in New York City; in 1946 there were more than 50,000. Over the next decade, more than 25,000 Puerto Ricans would come to the continental U.S. each year, peaking in 1953, when more than 69,000 came. By 1955, nearly 700,000 Puerto Ricans had arrived and by the mid-1960s, more than a million had. As noted in the text, Puerto Rican Nation On The Move, “ migration can ac...

 As citizens, the people of Puerto Rico can move throughout the 50 states just as any other Americans can — legally, this is considered internal migration, not immigration. However, in moving to the mainland, Puerto Ricans leave a homeland with its own distinct identity and culture, and the transition can involve many of the same cultural conflicts and emotional adjustments that most immigrants face. Some writers have suggested that the Puerto Rican migration experience can be seen as an internal immigration — as the experience of a people who move within their own country, but whose new home lies well outside of their emotional home territory. 

 The Puerto Rican Independence Party, or PIP for short, is one of three political parties on the island combating for independence with the United States. Founded in 1946, the independentistas have fought for the opportunity for Puerto Rico to become its own nation for over 70 years. The party represents the independence sector of Puerto Rican elite, consisting of mostly professional middle class and merchants. Some of the logistics of PIP include there idea for the is 49 - lands base economy which would comprise of tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, service industries, new foreign trade and tariff restrictions imposed by the US government. They are 50 deeply devoted to electoral participation and have avoided mass organization. 

 In November of 1992, President George H. W. Bush issued a memo regarding the relationship between the Federal Government and Puerto Rico. The report, titled Memorandum of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, states,  Because Puerto Rico's degree of constitutional self-government, population, and size set it apart from other areas also subject to Federal jurisdiction under Article IV, section 3, clause 2 of the Constitution, I hereby direct all Federal departments, agencies, and officials, to the extent consistent with the Constitution and the laws of the United States, henceforward to treat Puerto Rico administratively as if it were a State, except insofar as doing so with respect to an existing Federal program or activity would increase or decrease Federal receipts or expenditures, or would seriously disrupt the operation of such program or activity. With respect to a Federal program or activity for which no fiscal baseline has been established, this memorandum shall not be cons...

 The Constitution of Puerto Rico may be altered by the Commonwealth so as long as its articles do not conflict with the US constitution or the Puerto Rican Federal Relations Act. In 1950, President Truman authorized a bill that would enable Puerto Rico to draft a local constitution for Federal approval with the condition that the new document would not change Puerto Rico’s status as a territory. Along with the bills that were passed were a series of proposals, some enacted and others not, that looked to further stabilize the United States’ role within the island. These bills are labeled as Presidential task forces. 

The Foraker Act was enacted in 1900, eliminating US military government systems in Puerto Rico.  Major features: 2  Required that the same tariffs, customs, and duties be levied collected and paid upon all articles imported into Puerto Rico from ports other than those of the United States which are required by law to be collected upon importation into the United States from foreign countries. 3  Implemented a temporary tariff on goods transferred between Puerto Rico and the United States. This tariff was set to expire either upon the implementation of local taxation by the Legislature of Puerto Rico sufficient to "meet the necessities of the government" or on the first day of March 1902. 4  Provided that the tariff collected under section 2 would be placed into a fund and held in trust for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico until the Legislature was fully established. After the establishment of the new government, the funds would be transferred to the local tre...