Breakthrough From Colonialism: An Interdisciplinary Study of Statehood

This mammoth, multi-faceted product of unrelenting research and analysis is not only indispensable to an in-depth understanding of the compelling historical, constitutional, and moral reasons why Puerto Rico qualifies for statehood, but also provides a detailed, scholarly, and analytical history of the entire American statehood process, from the germination of decolonization through the admission of each of thirty-seven territories into the Union.


Prompted by the need, imposed by the fading promise of Operation Bootstrap, to comprehend the realities of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States and the manifold nuances of the statehood alternative, the research encompassed an intensive investigation of the role of the Federal Government in the constitutional, legal, historical, economic, social, and cultural development of each of the territories ultimately admitted, followed by an examination of the relevance of the experiences of each such entity (with Alaska and Hawaii receiving special and extensive attention) to Puerto Rico’s situation ―past, present, and future. This interdisciplinary approach concludes with four lengthy chapters on policy implications and options ―economic, constitutional, and cultural― for the 1980s should Puerto Rico be admitted to the sisterhood of States.


The study demonstrates convincingly that the only legal or constitutional bar to Puerto Rico’s becoming a State, other than outright denial by the Congress through a majority negative vote of either House, would be rejection of statehood by a majority of Puerto Ricans themselves in an insular-wide referendum.

It should be noted at the outset that neither the independence option nor the viability of commonwealth status is discussed except incidentally; with the scope of the study limited to consideration of the statehood alternative, no attempt at comparative analysis invidious or otherwise, was made. Manifestly pro-statehood, the authors, nonetheless, strove mightily to honor their commitment to objectivity and, in very large measure, succeeded. Any student or literate citizen, regardless of political, cultural or emotional persuasion, would do well indeed to ponder the facts, implications, and conclusion in this treasure-trove of data, personages, trends, and conflicts.