The Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project

The year 2017 marked the centennial of the collective naturalization of Puerto Ricans under the terms of the Jones Act of 1917. This was the first organic or territorial act providing for the collective extension of citizenship to a United States territory that was not meant to become a state of the Union. Yet, the Jones Act of 1917 was neither the first or last law extending U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project
The year 2017 marked the centennial of the collective naturalization of Puerto Ricans under the terms of the Jones Act of 1917. This was the first organic or territorial act providing for the collective extension of citizenship to a United States territory that was not meant to become a state of the Union. Yet, the Jones Act of 1917 was neither the first or last law extending U.S. citizenship to Puerto Rico.
United States Army. Corps Of Engineers. (1927) General view of harbor at San Juan, Porto Rico looking South. [S.l] [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/98687143/.

The United States annexed Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898 and has since governed the island as an unincorporated territory. Since 1898, Congress has debated upwards of 100 bills and enacted 11 laws extending four distinct types of citizenship to Puerto Rico. This website provides a documentary history of the federal citizenship legislation for Puerto Rico.

The Puerto Rico Citizenship Archives Project (PRCAP) is part of a larger project documenting the legal history of U.S. territorial citizenship law and policy. Charles R. Venator-Santiago, Associate Professor with a Joint Appointment in El Instituto and Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut, is the coordinator for these projects. The English version of the page is hosted by the University of Connecticut and the Spanish version by the Universidad del Este.

 
Project Coordinator:

Charles R. Venator-Santiago, University of Connecticut

In Collaboration with:

El Instituto, University of Connecticut

UConn Library, University of Connecticut

Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO), Hunter College, CUNY