...Should Puerto Rico Become a State? Why Puerto Rico should become a state? This topic has been controversial for a while not only for the residents of Puerto Rico, but also for the residents of the United States. All coins have two faces and stories have two sides, and this is the case of this controversy. In this essay, I will discuss pros and cons of Puerto Rico becoming a state, I will also present my point of view. It will take a careful analysis and serious discussion, may be even national consensus before the moment of admission of a new state into the United States. Becoming a state is not something that happens just because the residents of Puerto Rico agree with, but understanding the history and agreeing with the U.S. terms, Puerto Rico should become the fifty first state of the United States. The Puerto Rican government should encourage the citizens and work harder for the statehood. As a Puerto Rican living in the United States and having my love ones in the Island, I feel the government in Puerto Rico need to make progress and give more encouragement to Puerto Rico to become a state. Puerto Rico became United States territory in 1889 during the Spanish-American war. The first year of the 20th century were marked as the struggle to obtain grater democratic rights from the United States. In 1950, the president Truman signed what is known as a Public Act 600, which allowed Puerto Rico to draft their own constitution, establishing the commonwealth of Puerto Rico; the...
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...Higher Education in Puerto Rico Amanda Morris Consumer Behavior 10 December 2012 Higher Education in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico is an interesting country when looking in comparison with the United States. They have been largely influenced by the US in culture, economics, and education. Because they have had aspirations of becoming the 51st state, they have historically tried to mainstream their culture in tandem with cultural trends in the mainland US. The interesting thing about that is that Puerto Rican people are fiercely proud of their cultural identity, and their heritage. They refer to themselves as Puerto Rican, even when they are second and third generation United States’ citizens. They have fought to keep Spanish in their schools instead of strict English. They hold themselves to even higher standards of education in many aspects. This leads to some interesting nuances in Puerto Rican education and the choices people make when it comes to choosing a college. This paper seeks to briefly examine how consumer behavior relates to higher education in Puerto Rico. Economics play a large factor, as well as strong involvement from the government, and US cultural influences in how and why secondary education choices are made for the people of Puerto Rico. To being with, when thinking about Puerto Rico, one must first look to what makes the country unique. A good starting place would be its basic facts regarding its demographics. Puerto Rico is one of the most...
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...Puerto Ricans Right to Vote Since 1898, after the Spanish-American War, North America has been in control of Puerto Rico. The Jones-Shafroth Act in 1917 only furthered Puerto Rico’s relationship with America, allowing Puerto Ricans to claim U.S. Citizenship. Even though Puerto Ricans House of Delegates all voted against the passing of the Act, the Act was still passed. According to HuffPost Latino Voices, 51% of Puerto Ricans would like to keep their relationship with the United States, leaving 49% of the population wanting to claim independence. Puerto Ricans have been denied the right to Vote for President of the United States, in which who controls limitations and laws that these citizens have to live by. In this paper, I would like...
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...LANG 901 / NAS 006 North American Cultural Studies Winter semester 2013/14 Class trip to Puerto Rico This paper proposes a class trip to Puerto Rico from the 10th to the 24th of March 2014. The first period in San Juan includes activities revolving around the indigenous Taino culture, e.g. their cuisine, musical instruments and history. Guided tours extend on the history of Puerto Rico as we visit the majestic fortifications by the Spanish settlers. Other activities during the first period are salsa lessons, shopping at the fruit market and adventure tours in the reef and rainforest. The second period begins with a visit to Cappara site, archaeological evidence of the first settlement, and ends with camping at famous east-coast beaches. The third period includes a guided jungle survival tour in El Yunque, a Guánica history tour, a visit to the Art Musuem, scuba diving and wall diving. Celebrations (i.e. shows, concerts, dancing etc.) on the streets conclude the third period with the national holiday Día de la Emancipación where students are going to join in. Special attention is going to be given to the costs and educational activities of the second period to substantiate the claim that the present proposal for a class trip is appropriate and promising. We leave our luggage at the New Island Hostel and walk 2.5 km to the Tren Urbano Sagrado Urazon, the train station, where we buy a day saver ticket for $5 to get to Caparra site. The Spanish settlers made this their...
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...History Project Imperial Age in Puerto Rico President William McKinley took office in 1897, his goal was to make an agreement with Spain without going into war with them. At the beginning of his plan everything seem to work but as time progressed, the peaceful plan failed. On the other hand Theodore Roosevelt encouraged war and believed the only way the U.S. would take control of the Caribbean, would be by going into war. Even though McKinley refused to go to war, two events made him change his mind. A private letter was published in New York Journal calling President Mckinley “weak” the letter was written by a Spanish Minister. On the same month of February 1898 a ship blew up in Havana killing 260 american men. New York Journal claimed that the Spanish had caused the explosion, which led to the Spanish-American war. The United States declared war on April 20th. The first battle took place in the Philippine Islands in Manuka. Over the past two months of battle, Americans joined with the Filipinos and by August, Manuka surrendered. Battles had ended in the philippine Island but they continued in a different part of the Caribbean. 125,000 Americans had volunteered to continue the fight in the Caribbean islands. The second battle was in Cuba which later leading to...
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...When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as positive as was thought it would be. During early U.S. rule, Puerto Ricans still were not included in the majority of governmental relations, and as with Spaniards, Americans who were sent to rule in Puerto Rico had never been there before and were ignorant about the history, culture, Spanish language, etc. Basically, Puerto Rico continued being ruled by foreigners who sought to complete their own interests, as opposed to looking to what are the interests of the nation they are invading and ruling. A cogent metaphor in Ferré's novel for the unrequited hopes that Puerto Rico had when United States invaded is Tony Torres, who is supposedly going to dance in Kerenski's adaptation of Swan Lake and Firebird . The people who lived in Machuelo Abajo...
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...In my journal entry of a subordinate group member I will be talking about is Puerto Rican. I remember when I was a young girl moving from Puerto Rico to the United States. My family and I were moving to Maine from Puerto Rico. I was very sad to be moving away from my home to a new place where I didn’t know anyone and didn’t know what to expect. My family was dealing with a lot in Puerto Rico, we had lost our home and they lost their jobs. So we had no choice to move to the United States. My trip to Portland, Maine was unforgettable. When we got on the plane to go to the United States it was very scary, since I had never been on an airplane before. We took off from the runway to go to the United States; I was looking out the window. I could see so much from air, everything looked so small. I was so sad that we were leaving our home, but my mom started talking about our history. Back in the Spanish-American War of 1898, Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain to the United States. When the 1900’s came around the U.S. Congress established a civil government on the island. In result of this Puerto Ricans began to migrate to the United States, and almost immediately after this the island became a U.S. protectorate. It was such a long trip to Portland, Maine. We had to land in Philadelphia International Airport for a three hour layover. I found it very interesting, the airport was so big and many different kinds of people in the airport. It was time to board the plane to get to Portland...
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...the capitalist countries of the world in the recent past. Globalization in particular has led to the birth and expansion of neo-colonialism. Puerto Rico forms the most significant example of this movement. First, it was a colony of Spain for about 4 centuries. However, through war, the country managed to kick out their colonial masters in 1898. Thereafter, the United States, a modern colonial master was obtained. As a consequence, struggle for independence and nationalism of the country has been frustrated by the hegemonic power created by the United States. Further, the economy of the country has been extremely downtrodden and this forms the focus of the paper. On 3rd May 2017, Puerto Rico was officially declared the largest bankrupt nation by the public bond market of the United States. As stated by Gonzalez (2017), the economy of the country has reached a breaking point with a debt of $123 billion owed by the government and public corporations to the bondholders. This is ironical for a country that has been dubbed by many as a perfect tourist destination. The poverty level in the country...
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...English 102 10 March 2008 Puerto Rico walks away from commonwealth. I will not pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. This must be the words of thousands of Puerto Ricans living in the island today wishing that their small island would once and for all become free from the colonization of the United States. Puerto Rico has been living under U.S. domination for the past 92 years and it’s considered the last nation in Latin America that is still living in colonization. Puerto Ricans want to be free and should be allowed to be free; to have the opportunity to vote for the president who sends its young people to war, to have their own currency, to fly one flag in all their schools and finally to feel pride in being an independent nation and not labeled with terms like “territory” and “commonwealth”. Bigger and more powerful nations that inhabit smaller nations for various benefits should never deny a nation’s culture and roots, instead in these modern times people should be allowed to govern themselves and be independent nations. In the midst of the struggle over status (U.S commonwealth or Independency) only one clear realization can come of this, Puerto Rico ought to be independent and refuse commonwealth to the United States of America. One of the many benefits citizens from all democratic countries enjoy is the ability to choose their chief in command. As a commonwealth under the United States, Puerto Rican citizens cannot...
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...knowledge of Puerto Rican history. The four islands were conquered by the Spanish in 1493 and became not only a major military base but also a slave port. The Spanish, African and native Taino’s created a hybrid race which became Puerto Ricans. By the late 1800s Puerto Rico, along with Cuba, was on its way to becoming an independent country, but was side-tract by the Spanish-American War. Through the Treaty of Paris, the islands were given to the U.S. which invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and enforced a military rule until 1900. The government was then ruled by American civilians until the islands officially became a colony in 1917. With the new colony rule, American citizenship was imposed on the islanders along with the draft. The creation of the American colony allowed the U.S. to legally break apart the islands’ economy which it did successfully. By the 1940s the U.S. government implemented Operation Bootstrap, which promoted the illegal sterilization and guinea pig like usage of the Puerto Rican women and the attempt to Americanize the colony. “La Operacion” or the operation also included planned migrations from island to the continental U.S., especially into areas that required factory laborers, restaurant, hotel and other service jobs. In 1952 in order to keep peace within the U.N., the international community and Puerto Rico, the U.S. renamed the relationship from colony to commonwealth or “Estado Libre Asociado” (literally translated to Free Associated State). Puerto Rico...
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...Control of Health Care in Puerto Rico Josie Valentín Walden University Overview of the health care system The Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH), the State Health Agency (SHA), is a free-standing, independent agency. Under its jurisdiction are all the health-related affairs of Puerto Rico. The PRDH performs the following functions: Planning, evaluating, and regulating as well as auditing the programmatic, administrative, and fiscal aspects of health facilities and services. The PRDH performs these duties in the public and private health sectors of the commonwealth. The system is driven by health needs or problems to produce health results or outcomes. The government’s role in health, once limited primarily to protecting the public from epidemics of infectious diseases. This information are Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov /phppo/inpho/profile/pr Who controls health care in Puerto Rico today? Why? Several affiliated organizations function under the SHA. Included in this group are the General Health Council, Administration of Health Facilities and Services, Administration of Medical Services of Puerto Rico, and Central Areawide Comprehensive Health Services Corporation (CACHSC). The CACHSC is a private non-profit organization which serves as fiscal agent to the SHA for Federal grants earmarked to provide high-quality primary and migrant health care to medically underserved and low income residents of the mountainous municipalities. The General Council of...
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...know our heritage and where you ancestors came from. We may be United States citizens but our culture and homeland is elsewhere. Somewhere I am hoping you will one day visit. Here is a little bit of history about our dear homeland. The island of Puerto Rico (formerly Porto Rico) is the most easterly of the Greater Antilles group of the West Indies island chain. Located more than a thousand miles southeast of Miami, Puerto Rico is bounded on the north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Virgin Passage (which separates it from the Virgin Islands), on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the Mona Passage (which separates it from the Dominican Republic). Puerto Rico is 35 miles wide (from north to south), 95 miles long (from east to west) and has 311 miles of coastline. Its land mass measures 3,423 square miles, about two-thirds the area of the state of Connecticut. (Green). Puerto Rico was discovered by Christopher Columbus on Novemeber 19th, 1493. The name Puerto Rico, meaning "rich port," was given to the island by its Spanish conquistadors (or conquerors); according to tradition, the name comes from Ponce de León himself, who upon first seeing the port of San Juan is said to have exclaimed, "¡Ay que puerto rico!" ("What a rich port!"). (Green). Puerto Rico is unique in that it is an autonomous Commonwealth of the United States, and its people think of the island as un estado libre asociado, or a "free associate state" of the United States. (Green). Unfortunately...
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...España. Ponce de León vivió durante una época de grandes descubrimientos y emoción. Ponce de León es bien sabido, la reivindicación y nombrar lo que hoy es la Florida, el descubrimiento de Puerto Rico, y su búsqueda incesante de los clásicos de antaño, la Fuente de la Juventud. El 19 de noviembre 1493 Ponce de León fue uno de los primeros europeos en ver la pequeña isla de Borinquen, el nombre indígena de Puerto Rico. Ponce de León navegó a Puerto Rico en 1506 con 200 hombres a la isla y se enteró de que había ricos yacimientos de oro. Esclavizó a los nativos, y los obligó a la mina de oro para él. Ponce de León dejó Puerto Rico y regresó en 1508 esta vez trajo consigo sólo cincuenta hombres. En este viaje el barco pasó por una terrible tormenta que le hizo correr hacia las rocas en dos ocasiones. La tripulación se vio obligada a lanzar sobre la mayor parte de sus suministros con el fin de mantener el barco se hunda. Después de Ponce de León llegó finalmente a Puerto Rico se convirtió en el gobernador de la isla. Esto le llevó a ser muy rico, y el hombre más poderoso de la isla, que sólo recibieron órdenes del mismo tipo. En 1511 el rey Fernando ordenó a Ponce de León como gobernador reemplazado por Diego Colón. La vida de Ponce de León habría sido difícil si se quedaba en Puerto Rico ya que gran parte de su poder sobre la isla fue tomada cuando su rango se lo llevaron. Fue en este momento en que Ponce de León comenzó su búsqueda de la Fuente de la Juventud. Muchos historiadores...
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...Traditional Christmas in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico’s Christmas is all about fun, joy, and family union. Traditions are yet to be lost in our country, we celebrate it by joining family and friends together, and enjoy the traditional foods of the time. Unlike other parts of the world, Christmas in Puerto Rico is not only celebrated in Christmas’s eve, it is celebrated the whole month of December, and it is extended to January of the New Year. Certainly Puertorrican Christmas is the most joyful of them all. Hurricane Preparation History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads to major hurricane disasters. They can cause immense damage to coastlines and several miles inland. The first thing to do when preparing for a hurricane is to gather a list of important contacts, such as: hospitals, evacuation areas, law enforcement, etc. Everyone needs to be prepared for the unexpected; having a supply kit is a must in these times. Having an emergency plan to protect your family is of upmost priority. If you have businesses, properties, or pets, you should focus yourself in getting them to safety, or at least insured for anything that could happen. Local Tourism in Puerto Rico There are so many places to see in our island, that any unaware visitor might end up missing some of the best sights the island has to offer. Visitors find themselves with exotic hideaways, white sandy beaches, mountains and valleys, and many other natural wonders. Tourists...
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...Hispanics in America Krystyn Whitehair-Bills Cultural Diversity 09/14/2011 “Hispanic” is a term used to group a wide range of cultures and people into one category, in my opinion, kind of like the term “White”. Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and even Columbians are a few nations that are classified as “Hispanic”. Although there are many different groups of people lumped together in one category, it does not mean that they are all the same. In some instances when comparing two groups of Hispanics, they can seem completely different. Each group has different traditions, beliefs, and cultures. Hispanic people come from Southern American countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Colombia. They immigrate to the United States most often because it is relatively close and offers many opportunities to achieve something many only dream about. Mexican Americans are a group of people who come from Mexico in search of ways to make a better life for themselves or their families. These people have worked as migrant workers that would come to town so they could work in the orchards or other labor jobs for the money, and take it home with them at the end of the season. In addition, Mexican Americans generally do not tend to go farther than high school with their education, this could reflect on their average pay, which is lower than the national average. I believe the people are ok with this because even a low wage job in the United States pays better...
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