As a kid, I always grew up listening to stories and the history of my family and where we came from. The stories of my ancestors were always so interesting to me and eventually when I was 7 years old, we all went to Puerto Rico to visit our family. They lived just outside of San Juan, which is the largest city, at a population of 340,000 people. While I was really young at this time I remember the trip vividly, the swaying palm leaves in the wind and the huge hills me and my brother played on. I remember my family and how they invited us into their home. The most clear memory I have is getting sick from the butter, because I had never had fresh butter before. The point is, the trip made me realize how alive Puerto Rico is, how real the people are. These are people's lives who are talked about every day and without fail we all still do not realize how close these people are to us. Yes, they might live hundreds of miles away and yes, their culture is different than here in the states, but they are still Americans; and many people especially our government seem to not realize the importance of their thoughts and actions.
 
Puerto Rico is a place with a deep and rich history which still exists today. Puerto Rico was “discovered” (discovered is in quotations because people already lived on the islands) by Christopher Columbus in 1493 during his second voyage to the new world. Originally, Puerto Rico was named after St. John the Baptist, but was later changed to Puerto Rico, which means “rich port”. Puerto Rico was originally inhabited by the Taino people who lived in the Caribbean, such as places like Cuba and Jamaica. The Taino are a subgroup of the Arawak people who lived in southeastern U.S and the Caribbean. From when Columbus discovered the island to the Spanish-American war, the Spanish held Puerto Rico as its territory. Like with many Caribbean islands the Spanish brought sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco to grow on the island. They also brought African slaves to the island to farm these crops which is important later in US history. Eventually, the Spanish-American war takes place, and the U.S wins, after the war Spain succeeds Puerto Rico, and other territories, over to the United States. In 1900, the U.S set up a government on the island, and while they had a House of Representatives, Puerto Rico did not have a spot in Washington which is where all of the problems of today started. Since the government set up somewhat of proxy government, many Puerto Ricans believed they not only had a role in government, but that they were also citizens of the United States. Both of these were not the case, but Puerto Ricans did become citizens in 1917, when the island officially became an unincorporated territory of the United States. Along with Puerto Ricans gaining citizenship in 1917, the Jones Act also set up a locally elected House and Senate. The Jones Act was legislation that legally made Puerto Rico a territory of the United States. The Act also allows for anyone born in the new territory become United States citizens under birthright citizenship which is US operates under. Eventually, many Puerto Ricans argued the legality of their citizenship. In Balzac v. Puerto Rico the Supreme Court decided Puerto Rico was not a part of the union, and in fact, was a territory.
 
The final precedent the Supreme Court case set put Puerto Rico in purgatory. Because of the case, Puerto Rico could not become a state, but still the people of Puerto Rico had some of the rights as a mainland American Citizen. In 1922, when the Supreme Court case was decided, Puerto Rico filled all of the requirements of becoming a state. They had the land requirements, as their proposed territory did not overlap with any other sovereign nations territories. Puerto Rico also met the population requirements, as they had a higher population than some of the mainland states. So why did the government not make Puerto Rico a state? A lot of it was political like it is now. Many politicians knew whichever party pushed for Puerto Rico’s statehood would have a huge influence in the new state after statehood and in turn would have gained the support of the people in all future elections. Since both parties knew this, they both kept blocking each other so no one could push statehood through. The second main reason is the culture around immigration and immigrants at the time. During the time of the Supreme Court case, the U.S had just come off of the First World War, and as a result, many people wanted to go back to the isolation they had before the war. At the time the U.S also entered the roaring twenties, a time of prosperity for all. In reality, only white rich Americans got richer, but average quality of life did rise. Ultimately, the U.S did not act because of the racist culture of the time, and the increasing hate for all immigrants, even if those immigrants were U.S citizens.
 
Today, we have moved away from the racist culture of the early 1900’s, but still see distaste for making Puerto Rico a state. Many similarities can be drawn between the Puerto Rico push for statehood and Washington DC’s push for statehood as well as, both have political implications. Republicans are against statehood for both, while democrats are for statehood for both. Meaning if both become states, they will most likely turn into strong democratic states which would likely not change election to election. Overall, the current politics do not support change in either place. Both Puerto Rico and Washington DC are currently in legislative gridlock. Legislative gridlock being when congress is so divided nothing can get through to become law. Not only does legislative gridlock affect other bills, like the national budget, it also effects territories push for statehood. In reality legislative gridlock is not a new issue as our government becomes more polarized and less partisan, we lose sight of why we are fighting in the first place. The reason Puerto Rico is so important is because its citizens need us, and they need our support. The argument should not be a political one it should be a place of economic discussion and not solely an argument about two party politics.
 
While we have not seen progress politically we can still see progress in other areas. In recent years Puerto Rico’s crime rate has been lowered and San Juan is one of the safest cities in the US. Puerto Rico has also been making strides towards making the environment more habitable. Puerto Rico has reduced water pollution and has reduced beach pollution which has allowed for many species to return to their natural habitat on the island. These clean beaches are also more profitable for the island, and the more money the island makes the more money that can be used to fix the island after a tropical storm or hurricane. In finality while Puerto Rico is well deserving of statehood it does not have it, but even with its struggles economically and politically Puerto Rico still triumphs through.