American Identity, Congress, and the Puerto Rico Statehood Debate

By Amílcar Antonio Barreto

Volume 16, Issue 1, pages 100-117

Abstract

Is the essence of American identity civic, ethnic, or a combination of the two? The 2010 debate in the U.S. House of Representatives on a bill to hold a referendum on the Puerto Rico status question provided a unique opportunity to shed light on these approaches. House Resolution 2499 would have asked the island’s electorate whether they preferred remaining a Commonwealth, become an independent country, or the fifty‐first state. Despite three choices, House members overwhelming focused on one: statehood. Effectively this bill asked lawmakers, in keeping with the civic identity thesis, whether they were willing to accept a culturally and linguistically distinct territory as an equal partner in the federation. These deliberations divulge much about congressional views on the official, civic, American identity and its alternatives. At another level this debate questions the assumption that the stability and consolidation of national identities cannot proceed with clearly and consistently defined boundary markers. That clarity, some contend, is imperative on the part of government leaders. This article argues that significant differences in how the nation is objectified may be overlooked in the short run, but may incur significant long‐term instability.

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