Puerto Rican Immigration
Victoria Gatewood
Elizabeth Orth
Ms. McDonald
Block: 3
DATE 5514
Immigration to the United States
What is the definition of immigration? Immigration means to leave an original country and settle in a new one. It is an important part of our country because it shows that our country was safe and well-organized which made people want to come. There have been many immigrants that came to the United States because their country was not good enough. One of the many countries that arrived and settled in our country was Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s major dates of immigration to the United States were the 1940’s to the 1950’s. The amount of Puerto Rican immigrants during that time period has approximately increased to over 100,000 people. The total number of Puerto Rican immigrants in the United States was around 151,000. Most Puerto Rican immigration increased over the years compared to the 1930’s and 1940’s. During that time there was only 18,000 people.
The influx of Puerto Rican immigrants was for a few reasons. The first reason for immigrating, were the job offers. Many parents or even just regular adults needed to start over. In fact that is the second reason for the influx. People go to our country to start over, to be free, and safe from war and violence. The third reason for the influx of Puerto Rican immigrants was parents wanting their childre...
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...all. The cause of the fall is most likely the economy. When there are no occupations then people do not usually tend to move there. This would result in more immigration then moving to Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has mostly risen since the Spanish War. In fact, as Aristotle would say “We make war that we may live in peace.” The increase or rise would be due to again jobs and money. Where ever the jobs or occupation is again there will be an influx of people. Since the Puerto Ricans still today have citizenship this could also have an effect on the rise as well as the fall to immigration.
One hears of many countries immigrating to the United States but how about Puerto Rico? Immigration is important to our county for many reasons. It shows that we are a great country and people want to come here. One of many minor countries immigrating here was Puerto Rico.
In order to understand the current situation of Puerto Ricans one must look at their history and retrace the sequence of events that led to the current formation of the Puerto Rican people. An important component of this history is the time Puerto Rico spent under Spanish rule. Studying this portion of Puerto Rican history forces us to acknowledge the contribution the Spaniards, European immigrants, and African slaves had on Puerto Rican identity as we consider it today. This also addresses contemporary debates on Puerto Rican identity. An example of this is evident in an essay written by Jose Luis Gonzales entitled "Puerto Rico : Th Four Storied Country". In the article Gonzales points out what he feels is a disregard toward the African contribution to the Puerto Rican identity. He argues that the first Puerto Ricans were black , based on his interpretation that Africans were the first group to come to Puerto Rico and reproduce who did not have ties to a "motherland" because they were slaves. This is unlike the Spaniard elites and Criolles that demonstrated their commitment and loyalty to Spain. Since they had no other place to go, Puerto Rico was their motherland. Gonzalez also points out that the culture of a region is always the culture of the elite, not the popular culture.
The debate on Puerto Rican Identity is a hot bed of controversy, especially in today’s society where American colonialism dominates most of the island’s governmental and economic policies. The country wrestles with the strong influence of its present day colonizers, while it adamantly tries to retain aspects of the legacy of Spanish colonialism. Despite America’s presence, Puerto Ricans maintain what is arguably their own cultural identity which seems largely based on the influence of Spain mixed with customs that might have developed locally.
The events of 7 June 1969 were but one of many moments in the history of New York City's Puerto Rican community that gave rise to and lent support for the Young Lords Party.[4] Indeed over the course of the next five years this ethnic group of radical intellectuals would help bring attention to the plight of the Puerto Rican community in New York City. This essay explores the history of the late twentieth century Puerto Rican migrants in New York City through an examination of the Young Lords Party (1969 to 1974). In doing so, it examines several significant topics, including the growth of the Puerto Rican population in New York City; the unique challenges this ethnic group faced, and the origins, growth and decline of the Young Lords Party.
Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States which makes it easy for natives to travel back and forth. Puerto Ricans first began to arrive in the United States to fill the work void left but those who went on to fight in World War I. Operation Bootstrap was a series of projects that attempted to turn Puerto Rico; a known agricultural economy to one that would concentrate on industrialization and tourism. Puerto Rico enticed many U.S companies with tax exemptions and differential rental rates on industrialized properties and so the shift in the economy had commenced. The shift however did not help the high unemployment rate on the island. Rather than having to deal with the droves of people seeking work they noticed the active recruitment of Puerto Rican workers by U.S. employers. The government began to encourage the departure of Puerto Ricans to the U.S. by requesting the Federal Aviation Administration to lower the airfares between Puerto Rico and the United States. This was an attempt to ch...
This is one of the biggest population increases into our country. Along with these new immigrants will be their culture, just because their new home is in United States does not mean they will live like Americans. Their culture will flourish through their homes, clothes and food. Immigrants will flow to the neighborhoods and areas of the city that host most of their people. Hispanics will likely find pro-Latino neighborhoods just like Asians will migrate to china towns or similar Asian neighborhoods. This is where their culture will be ultimately displayed. For Latino’s west and south Phoenix in Arizona have become havens for these new immigrants. The majority of the areas h...
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
Immigration to a developed country has a lot of problem associated with it. In particular, United States has not been spared of these problems according to many experts (Massey et al. 53). On my view, though there is a positive inclination towards immigration that people tend to overlook. Firstly, there are the cultural differences; many people migrating to this country are from different localities. The ethnical perspective of these people is nearly incompatible. This incompatibility leads to exchange of the aspects of the two cultures hence enrichment of the untied states culture. This is a positive impact to of immigration. If the new people were just visiting and going back to where they came from, then such exchange could not have happened, therefore, after all immigration is not only a negative aspect in ...
The early 1900s was a period of mass immigration for the United States. At the turn of the 20th century religious preferences and political persecution were major reasons behind immigration. Many Jews came to America in search of freedom. People of other religious backgrounds also came because the United States was composed of a diverse group of people with different religious preferences. The immigrants did not feel like outcasts in America. Political persecution in Russia forced many of its citizens to emigrate. Most chose to come to America because the country was culturally diverse and they could feel safe there. Economic problems at this time also drove people to America. Many countries around the world were just starting to develop so they were poor and lacked jobs. Their citizens were in desperate need of money; so many fathers immigrated to America in search of a job to support their family with. This was a common occurrence among Asian immigrants. Only later did their families join them through new laws and quotas in the United States immigration policy. However, this soon led to an enormous number of immigrants so the policy was revised to lower quotas and accept more skilled people and less family members.
The colonization of Puerto Rico by the Americans resulted to a decline in the economy; the presence of the American took every opportunity that the people of Puerto Rico had. In addition, colonization made Puerto Rico a foreign country; this made the import tax to increase rapidly. The Americans took the economy of that country from their hands and into their own; they controlled everything for the time that they colonized the country. In addition, all the farmers were forced to work for the Americans under severe conditions and less wages, thus declining the economy of Puerto Rico. Below is a picture of the people of Puerto Rico on the streets demonstrating on the declining economy under
For a long time, illegal immigrants have been entering the United States, and it has been a big issue concerning the world today. Hispanics today form the fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States. An example of how many illegal immigrants migrate to the U.S. is found in the book Voyages by Cathy Small; she explains that many Tongan immigrants migrated in the year 1976. Out of 1,993 Tongan’s, Olunga had grown approximately 2%, so by all means that at least 40% of its population had migrated between the years 1956 and 1976. By 1970 the inhabitants’ population growth was already dropping. This means that there were 200 people less than the past years.
After the Spanish-American war, Spain granted the United States with full ownership of the island of Puerto Rico, which largely benefited the United States with profitable agricultural land, in the same way, Puerto Rican citizens were all benefited when they received U.S. citizenship, this granted them with greater opportunities that awaited them in the United States. However, despite their citizenship, Puerto Ricans are yet to have a vote in national U.S. elections. The ownership of the island has mostly benefited the United States as it is able to control the land, and impose tax and restrictions. Due to this, Puerto Rico transformed from a local economy, to one that is dominated by external U.S. companies. Because of many programs that have been implemented in order to stimulate economic development, the economy has progressed. However, one of the negative side effects left the population dealing with high income tax, as well as leading the economy further away from the local farmers and into the capitalist economy of the United States. It seems as if the relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico benefit the capitalist country and its economy but fails to befit much of the islands population as they are later faced with high income tax and high unemployment rates. Because of the high unemployment, the Puerto
The spark in the number of immigrants entering the United States began in the late nineteen sixties to the early nineteen seventies. People came to the United States because the United Farm Workers movement got jobs to provided higher salaries, improved working conditions, health benefits, minimizing segregation within the work environment, retirement plans, and even formed a credit union specifically for farm workers and immigrants. These were all factors which contributed to the increase in immigrants in the United States. (As life began to improve for immigrants within the United States, others thought the same could happen to them). Many immigrants thought of this as an opportunity to form a new and improved lifestyle. To this day the number of immigrants continue to grow, and their lives increasingly improve.
Many politicians have different views on what Puerto Rico should do. Should the island become a State, stay a Commonwealth, or become independent. Either way, it would benefit the island.
Immigration is one of the most political and economic issues been raised by the states. Most of the financial burdens for social services fall largely on the states and local governments through their entitlement programs which are over weighing the budgets.
During the last 10-15 years of the Progressive Era, more than 15 million immigrants arrived in the United States— a number equal to the total number of immigrants that arrived in the previous 40 years. In 1910, three-fourths of New York City's population was made up of either immigrants or first generation Americans. Unlike earlier immigrants, the majority of the newcomers during this time came from non-English speaking European countries. Immigrants mostly traveled in from...