Why 3.5 Million American Citizens Don't Get to Vote | The Insular Cases

In episode 60 of Supreme Court Briefs, what's the deal with Puerto Rico? Is it really part of the United States? Are its residents actually U.S. citizens? If they are citizens, do they have the full rights of U.S. citizens? Basically, it's complicated.

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Paris, France
December 10, 1898

The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Paris (no not that one, not that one, not that one, yes that one) The one that ended the Spanish-American War. You may remember the war as either a passing mention in your history class textbook or heard about future American President Theodore Roosevelt's service during the war with the Rough Riders. But the war is a lot more influential than many people realize. That’s because the Treaty of Paris saw the loser, Spain, hand over its territories of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the victor, the United States. Meanwhile, the United States had also, independently, took over Hawaii, using the war as political cover. However, the United States government had no idea how to figure out the political and legal implications of these people living in these shiny new territories.

While the United States was experienced in dealing with new territory throughout its history of purchase and uh...conquest, controlling the far-away islands of Puerto Rico and the Philippines were going to be a lot harder than deciding the fate of, say, Kansas and Nebraska. For one, Puerto Rico and the Philippines were colonies, not soon-to-be-states. All the United States government really had to go off of was Article 9 of the Treaty of Paris, which said that #1: “The civil rights and political status of the native inhabitants of the territories hereby ceded to the United States shall be determined by Congress.” And #2: the little known part about the Dred Scott decision that said that, besides getting new states, there’s no Constitutionally-given power the U.S. can use to maintain colonies.

But that wasn’t going to stop the William McKinley administration and his buddies in Congress from going about it their way. In 1900, the Foraker Act set up a government in Puerto Rico with specific Puerto Rican citizenship for the island’s inhabitants. Now, this was not to be with, ya know...United States citizenship. Oh, and the law also had numerous caveats relating to matters of tariffs on imported Puerto Rican goods, which would come up again and again in the most famous (or infamous) of the Insular Cases. While historians have labelled at least 16 different cases as part of the “Insular Cases,” to keep it simple, I’m going to talk about the ones that left the biggest impact. Oh, and all of the ones I picked have to deal with Puerto Rico.

While we’ve been talking about Puerto Rico-specific cases, they all represent a larger point of the Insular Cases. Today, most American territories and their citizens remain in this weird limbo where they are fully a part of the United States for some things like taxes and citizenship, but they can’t take advantage of everything that comes with being a part of the Union, like full representation in Congress.

[iammrbeat]

My book about everything you need to know about the Supreme Court is now available!

[LuinTathren]

I feel that Puerto Rico should decide their own status. But the US should definitely take more responsibility for their citizens. The aftermath of Hurricane Maria was badly mishandled.

[SlingstoneGiantKiller]

These folks should have full rights. That they don't is a stain on our nation's honor. Utterly disgusting.

[iammaxhailme]

The very founding cry of our nation was "no taxation without representation" yet about 3.5 million Puerto Ricans and about 700 thousand Washington DCers do not get repesented in the senate or the house. This is unamerican and must be addressed.

[Deejaynerate]

I'm glad you got to talk about these cases! As a Puertorican myself, I think it's important to recognize how mistreated and abused the unincorporated territories have been due to the constant negligence of Congress and the Supreme Court, especially in light of Hurricane María and the recent earthquakes. While I'm not necessarily in favor of statehood, getting rid of the "free associated state" that has been branded upon the island is an important step to both heal those past wounds and give Puerto Rico and its fellow territories, like Guam or the US Mariana Islands, the proper rights they deserve, whether independent from the states or properly present in Congress and the Electoral College.

[EforEvery]

Very informative! I’m glad you’re unafraid to dive into these deeper and darker cases in this series!

[sunsettundra]

I’m Puerto Rican and I’d like for this island to be its own free country but it is a very long shot. If the only options are statehood or unincorporated state, then I’ll take statehood.

[SorenCowellShah]

American Samoans (that is, someone born in American Samoa, or whose parent is an American Samoan) still aren’t full American citizens, just “American Nationals” instead, meaning even if they move do the mainland, they can’t vote. They have to naturalize like foreigners to become full citizens.

[calvincoolidge]

I still got a term left so Keep Cool with Coolidge in 2024

[iammrbeat]

Should the United States Congress allow Puerto Rico to become the 51st state?

[ibrahimkalmati]

GIVE THEM statehood or give them their freedom as sovereign nation

[trigilaen]

Why do I feel like changing my underwear when watching Supreme Court Briefs?

[CarlosRodriguez-dhmm]

As a Puerto Rican born in the Continental US, I've always been pro statehood, but it's a hard sell for many on the island. Their political system isn't even Democrats vs Republican; It's centered around the question of statehood, territory, and independence. The people are entirely split on the manner.
Personally, while I favor statehood, I more strongly favor localized consent. I'd like to see a vote with a clear 2/3 majority decide Puerto Rico's status with the US. Until then, maintain the status quo.

[marctelfer]

Sort answer "these islands are our empire"
Long answer starts with "we're not huge fans of empire... but..."

[Snwjunke]

I have alot of Puerto Rican relatives, so it always confused me how some ppl think that Puerto Rico isn't a part of the US and i've always been saddened by how the island has been treated by the federal government :(

[boricua]

I agree with you. Puerto Rico should become a state.

[GOODYGOODGOOD]

5:12 I love how his face is giving off the expression "why am I always in these?"

[notchuckproductions]

There should be amendment to the constitution that gives Citizens of USA territories more rights, and also explains how their relationship to USA.

[elicarlson]

Thanks for covering this serious topic!

[moosemangarfield]

“55 seconds ago”.
Literally never clicked faster in my life.