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Question 1: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 2: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 3: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 4: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 5: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 6: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 7: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
The list below contains all the results that have been accumulated from the 1909 Survey.
Read moreQuestion 1: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet?
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SEE COLLECTIONThe citizenship provision for Puerto Rico and the other Spanish ultramarine territories annexed under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 departed from established precedents of United States territorial expansionism. Whereas all prior treaties of U.S. territorial annexation contained provisions providing for the collective naturalization (or promised to do so at a later time) of the inhabitants of annexed territories, the Treaty of Paris ascribed a local non-citizenship nationality on Puerto Ricans.
In 1909, persons born in the Puerto Rican islands acquired a Puerto Rican citizenship at birth. The first question of the 1909 Survey of Puerto Rican Elites inquired whether U.S. citizenship should be extended to Puerto Ricans.
The U.S. Constitution contains two sources of citizenship. The Naturalization Clause (U.S.Const., Art. 1, §8, cl. 4) authorizes Congress to enact naturalization laws for persons born outside of the United States. In contrast, the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (U.S. Const., 14 th Amend., cl. 1) conferrs jus soli or birthright citizenship on most persons born in the United States. This clause also authorizes Congress to write naturalization legislation for eligible aliens born outside of the United States but seeking to naturalize in a state, district or territory. Throughout the Nineteenth-Century interpretations of both clauses treated territories as a constitutional part of the United States for citizenship purposes.
In 1898, the Fourteenth Amendment applied in a U.S. territory in two ways. Historically, Congress enacted legislation extending birthright citizenship by legislation. Initially, Congress enacted
References:
Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1906, Pub. L. No. 59-338, 34 Stat. 596 (1906).
Civil Rights Act of 1866, Pub. L. No. 39-31, 14 Stat. 27 (1866).
Foraker Act of 1900, ch. 191, 31 Stat. 77 (1900).
Jones Act of 1917, Pub. L. No. 64-368, 39 Stat. 951 (1917).
Treaty of Paris of 1898. 30 Stat. 1754 (1899).
United States Congress (1878) Revised Statutes of the United States, 1873-1874, 43 rd Cong., 1 st sess., Washington: Government Printing Office.
Secondary Sources:
A comprehensive bibliography and references are available at the: Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project or for a PDF version click here
Related Sources:
Pérez Varela, Tomás. Conversación en torno a la ciudadanía: Los cuestionarios de 1909. Monografía de investigación (2007). Available at:
Rosario Urrutia, Mayra. “Desde la isla: el Interrogatorio de 1909 y la consulta sobre la ciudadanía estadounidense,” Op.Cit., 24 (2019), 100-155.