250th anniversary of the founding of the United States

As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, Puerto Rico, too, has cause for celebration, notes contributing STAR columnist Gregorio Igartúa.

Puerto Rico — time to celebrate!

By GREGORIO IGARTÚA DE LA ROSA

Special to The STAR

The year 2026 holds great historical significance for our nation, marking the 250th anniversary of its founding in 1775. Given the importance of this event, impactful cultural activities have been organized -- particularly in the capital, Washington, D.C. -- that will go down in history.

Puerto Rico, too, has cause for celebration.

Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in 1898 under the Treaty of Paris. Since the signing of the Treaty, Puerto Rico has held the constitutional status of a United States territory, subject to Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution -- that is, subject to the authority of Congress.

The treaty allowed Spanish citizens residing on the island to either retain their citizenship or renounce it and become American nationals under the custody and jurisdiction of the United States. Over 99% of the inhabitants renounced their Spanish citizenship and applied to become American nationals. The U.S. acquisition of Puerto Rico initiated a process of assimilation and government organization modeled on the republican form found at the national and state levels -- comprising executive, legislative, and judicial branches -- and structured on a federalist basis: One nation, two flags.

On July 28, 1898 -- three days after U.S. troops landed in Guánica, Puerto Rico -- Gen. Nelson A. Miles, commander of the expeditionary force, proclaimed:

‘‘In the course of the war waged by the people of the United States against the Kingdom of Spain -- in the name of liberty, justice, and humanity -- its military forces have come to occupy the island of Puerto Rico. They come bearing the flag of liberty, inspired by noble purposes …

They bring you the pledge of a free people, whose greatest strength is justice and humanity for all who live within its fold …’’

The United States of America has a federalist government, constitutionally designed by the nation’s Founding Fathers to ensure that states remained internally independent while a central government held national sovereignty, and to guarantee that the same rights applied to all citizens.

This political structure was eloquently explained by Justice Kennedy in the case United States v. Thornton: ‘‘... In my view, however, it is well settled that the whole people of the United States asserted their political identity and unity of purpose when they created the federal system. … Federalism was our Nation’s own discovery. The Framers split the atom of sovereignty. It was the genius of their idea that our citizens would have two political capacities, one state and one federal, each protected from incursion by the other. The resulting Constitution created a legal system unprecedented in form and design, establishing two orders of government, each with its own characteristics and its own set of mutual rights and obligations regarding the people who sustain it and are governed by it’’ (Thornton – 514 U.S. 779, 1995).

As we shall see, our federalist system has been gradually implemented in Puerto Rico over the years -- since 1898 -- assimilating Puerto Rico to the status of a state:

* In 1917, residents of Puerto Rico were granted U.S. citizenship by their own free and voluntary choice, and after 1941 by birth, as provided by Congress through the enactment of laws to that effect. To date, 3.2 million U.S. citizens reside in Puerto Rico, and 5.5 million have moved to the mainland, where they have worked and continue to work in building our nation, and where they enjoy freedom of movement within the Nation.

* Since 1917, Puerto Rican U.S. citizens have demonstrated their loyalty to the United States of America and to democracy by serving with dedication and honor in all armed conflicts in our country’s armed forces. In fact, there is no family in Puerto Rico that does not have a relative who has served in the military, some of whom have sadly died in combat. Some have even risen to the rank of general. Of particular note, Luis Raúl Esteves, born in Aguadilla in 1893, was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1915 along with Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley in what became known as ‘‘the Class of Generals.’’Maj. Gen. Esteves went on to become adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard.

In 1952, the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico established a republican form of government in accordance with Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. Through the 1952 Constitution, citizens pledged -- by direct vote -- allegiance to their U.S. citizenship and to the Constitution of the United States of America, and accepted the authority of the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, acknowledging the national government in the same manner as states do under federalism.

We, the U.S. citizens of Puerto Rico, are subject to the jurisdiction of the three branches of the United States government. Significantly, we have contributed to shaping the nation as it exists today. As Don Luis Muñoz Marín once said, “We are Americans, not Pro Americans.”

May God bless the United States of America!

Gregorio Igartúa De La Rosa is an attorney and longtime advocate of U.S. statehood for Puerto Rico.