Constructing a Colonial People: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932 PDF
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Constructing a Colonial People This page intentionally left blank Constructing a Colonial People Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932 Pedro A. Caban Westview Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be re- produced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © 1999 by Westview Press, A Member of the Perseus Books Group Published in 1999 in the United States of America by Westview Press, 5500 Central Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80301-2877, and in the United Kingdom by Westview Press, 12 Hid's Copse Road, Cumnor Hill, Oxford OX2 9JJ Find us on the World Wide Web at www.westviewpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Caban, Pedro A. (Pedro Angel) Constructing a colonial people: Puerto Rico and the United States, 1898-1932 / Pedro A. Caban. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index, ISBN 0-8133-3903-0 1. United States—Foreign relations—Puerto Rico. 2. Puerto Rico- Foreign relations—United States. 3. United States—Foreign relations— 1897-1901. 4. United States—Foreign relations—20th century. 5. Imperialism—United States—History. I. Title. E183.8.P8C33 1999 327.7307295—dc21 99-28134 CIP The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. 10 9 8 7 To Pedro Cab&n Caribe and Maria Herndndez Jimenez This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Tables ix Acronyms xi Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 The United States and Puerto Rico, 1 Class Structure and Economic Transformation, 2 Puerto Rico: Sugar Bowl and Gateway to Latin America, 4 Identifying Allies in the Colony, 5 Politics Before 1898: Divided Loyalties, 6 The Colonial State, 8 The Colony on the Verge of Collapse, 9 The Chapters, 10 Positioning the Study, 12 1 U.S. Imperialism and the New Colonial Era 15 Extending the Empire Overseas, 15 The Panacea: Promoting Expansion to Avert Domestic Crisis, 20 Puerto Rico's Place in the War of 1898,29 2 Military Occupation, 1898-1900: Building the Colonial State 41 The War Department and Colonial Rule, 41 Dismantling the Autonomous Government, 46 The Early Economics of Colonialism, 67 The Economic Aftermath of the Military Regimes, 79 The Legacy of the Military Period, 80 3 The Foraker Act: The Politics and Economics of Colonial Legislation 83 Manifest Destiny and Imperialism, 83 New Territories and Alien Peoples: The Great Debate, 85 Tariff: The Overriding Political Issue of the Moment, 91 viz viii Contents Puerto Rico and U.S. Commercial Policy in Latin America, 103 Regional Hegemony and Puerto Rico's Colonial Status, 105 The Colonial State and the Transformation of Puerto Rico, 114 4 The Colonial State at Work: The Executive Council and the Transformation of Puerto Rico, 1900-1917 122 The Executive Council: Agency for "Americanization," 122 New Schools and Alien Ideas, 126 Building the Foundations for Economic Expansion, 139 Laws, Cops, and Jails, 152 The Executive Council and "Americanization," 161 5 Resistance and Acommodation 162 Political Realignments and the New Colonizers, 162 Local Alliances and the Americanizing Mission, 163 The Federal Party: Resisting the Colonial Imprint, 164 The Early Republicans; Local Agents of Americanization, 169 Fine-Tuning the Colonial Regime; Financing Subordination, 171 The Union Puertorriquena: Struggle for Autonomy and Tradition, 182 The Empire Strikes Back, Almost, 187 Potential Unity and Fragmentation, 194 Congress Attacks the Sugar Trusts, 195 6 A New Beginning and the Growing Crisis of Legitimacy 198 The Jones Act Tinkering with the Colonial Formula, 198 The New and Improved Colonial State, 205 Women and the Vote: Making Universal Suffrage Really Universal, 210 The Political Party System: The Politics of the Impractical, 216 Mitigating the Effects of the Depression, 229 7 The FLT, the Socialists, and the Crisis in Colonial Management 235 The Beginnings, 235 Americanization and the Political Process, 239 The Repressive State and the FLT, 241 The Bureau of Labor, 245 Private Wealth, Social Poverty, and Policy Crisis, 250 References 25 Index 273 Tables 4.1 Statistics on Public Education System 138 4.2 Composition of Selected Merchandise Imports to Puerto Rico, 1901 -1920 148 4.3 Expenditures and Disbursements: Coercive Apparatus of the State 160 ix
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