History of Puerto Rico
11
The new political status sparked the creation of more political groups on the island. In 1900, the Partido Federal (Federal Party) and the Partido Obrero Socialista de Puerto Rico (Socialist Labor Party of Puerto Rico) were founded. The former campaigned for Puerto Rico to become one of the states in the United States while the latter followed the ideals of the Socialist Labor Party of America. Four years later, in 1904, Luis Muñoz Rivera and José de Diego restructured the American Federal Party into the Partido Unionista de Puerto Rico (Unionist Party of Puerto Rico) with the intention of fighting against the colonial government established under the Foraker Act. In 1909, Rosendo Matienzo Cintrón, Manuel Zeno Gandía, Luis Llorens Torres, Eugenio Benítez Castaño, and Pedro Franceschi founded the Partido Independentista (Independence Party). It was the first political party whose agenda was the independence of Puerto Rico. The status quo was again altered in 1909 when the Foraker Act, due to weaknesses and a small crisis in Puerto Rico's government, was modified by the Olmsted Amendment. This Amendment placed the supervision of Puerto Rican affairs in the jurisdiction of an executive department to be designated by the president. In 1914, the first Puerto Rican officers, Martin Travieso (Secretary) and Manuel V. Domenech (Commissioner of Interiors), were assigned to the Executive Cabinet, allowing islanders a majority. A 1915 delegation from Puerto Rico, accompanied by the Governor Arthur Yager, traveled to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to grant the island more autonomy. This delegation and speeches made by Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera in Congress, coupled
with political and economic interests, led to the drafting of the Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 (Jones Act). The Jones Act was approved on December 5, 1916, and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on March 2, 1917. The law made Puerto Rico a United States territory which is "organized but unincorporated." Puerto Ricans were also collectively made U.S. citizens. via the Jones Act. The Act allowed conscription to be extended to the island, sending 20,000 Puerto Rican soldiers to the United States Army during the First World War. The Act also divided governmental powers into three branches: executive (appointed by the President of the United States), legislative, and judicial. The legislative branch was composed of the senate, consisting of 19 members, and a house of representatives, consisting of 39 members. The members of the legislature were freely elected by the Puerto Rican people. A bill of rights, which established elections to be held every four years, was also created. The Act also made English the official language of the Puerto Rican courts. On October 11, 1918, an earthquake occurred, with an approximate magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale, accompanied by a tsunami reaching 6.1 metres (20 feet) in height. The epicenter was located northwest of Aguadilla in the Mona Passage (between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic). This earthquake caused great damage and loss of life at Mayagüez, and lesser damage along the west coast. Tremors continued for several weeks.
Jones Act of 1917