990
edits
Changes
→US Territory
At the beginning of the 20th century, Puerto Rico was effectively ruled by a military governor appointed by the President. The Foraker Act in 1900 gave Puerto Rico limited ability to control its sovereignty by establishing a 35-member House of Representatives for the island. A judicial system was also established with one US non-voting representative assigned. The US could still appoint the governor and Upper House in the legislative system. The new Act did enable Puerto Rico to enact its own laws, but any of these laws could be overturned by the US government. In the early years after the US had been given Puerto Rico, there was a wide-spread independence movement, similar to Cuba and other former Spanish colonies. This continued after the US possession of the island and in 1914 the House of Representatives in Puerto Rico voted unanimously for independence from the US. However, the US government saw this vote as unconstitutional and a violation of the Foraker Act that had established the legislative parameters for Puerto Rico, rejecting the independence vote.
The results of the initial vote for independence from the US led to friction and hostility between government officials who were elected and those appointed to govern the island by the US President and government. In 1917, the Jones–Shafroth Act was enacted, which granted citizenship to Puerto Rico's citizens born after April 25, 1898. This led to further friction because it was seen as plot by the elected officials as an attempt to draft Puerto Rico's residents into World War I. However, the Act did also expand some of the rights Puerto Ricans by enabling an elected Senate and bill of rights to govern the island's citizens.
==Recent History==
