Race and Empire : The United States Over Puerto Rico
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Like an imperial chameleon that changes colors to match its surroundings, the U.S. government has employed euphemisms, rhetorical abstractions, and—at one point in time—openly racist language to justify the unequal status of Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans in the Union. Even today, apologists for the U.S. colonial endeavor, while avoiding openly racist labels, nonetheless continue to use paternalistic justifications that are little more than code for views that Puerto Ricans are essentially unfit to be complete U.S. citizens, on an equal standing with the rest of the nation. This Article examines the racial underpinnings that gave rise to the legal twists and turns of the U.S. continued colonial relationship with Puerto Rico.
Recommended Citation
103 Or. L. Rev. 483
