ver increasing Puerto Rican dependence on the United States for survival. With the passage of the Jones-Shaforth Act in 1917, Puerto Ricans were now US Citizens and could travel freely between the island and mainland United States. The US Government made it easy for Puerto Ricans to relocate to New York City by offering very cheap transportation on "Marine whaler" boats. The government also gave tax breaks to companies who would hire the new wave of immigrants mainly located in three areas: "the Brooklyn Navy Yard where cheap labor was in demand; to the Bronx, where an impressive development of small factories sprung from postwar industrialism; or to New York's garment center, where needle trade jobs were being abandoned by the previous generation of immigrants." (Lopez, 1987: 97) Gradually Puerto Ricans spread to other communities in the United States, especially to other areas of New England such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut. There are also significant Puerto Rican communities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Alaska, Hawaii and other western states, formed partly as a result of Puerto Rican soldiers remaining in those areas following their military tours of duty. However the Puerto Rican population in New York City today is larger than the Puerto Rican population of San Juan, one of Puerto Rico's largest cities. Now, the Puerto Rico of a hundred years ago has drastically changed from the Puerto Rico of today. It is considered an unincorporated territory as the result of the Supreme Court decision in Downes vs. Bidwell in 1901. Under this decision, Puerto Rico is owned by the United States but is not a part of the United States. Thus Puerto Rico remains in an ambiguous state, labeled as a commonwealth. Out of this tumultuous history of colonialism and conquerors, a debate has risen among Puerto Ricans both on the island and on the mainland which is now first and foremost in importance: the status question. Th...
