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Afterword

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2018

Sam Erman
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Summary

In the century since the collective naturalization of Puerto Ricans, it has become clear that citizenship is still important. Citizenship brought Puerto Ricans the enduring freedom to migrate within the United States, which millions have done. The Supreme Court has been unwilling to follow the Insular Cases precedents that declared citizenship irrelevant to the application of the Constitution abroad. This refusal reflects the impossibility of harmonizing constitutional ideals with imperial aspirations constituted by racial hierarchy and conceived in racist terms. Today, harms to Puerto Ricans from racism, their association with foreignness, and their lack of federal voting rights are glaring. So is the rare and shocking spectacle of case law as racist as the law recounted in this book remaining largely untouched by time. The Constitution once promised citizenship, eventual statehood, and full constitutional rights to all. That vision is worth remembering and resurrecting.
Type
Chapter
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Almost Citizens
Puerto Rico, the U.S. Constitution, and Empire
, pp. 160 - 161
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

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  • Afterword
  • Sam Erman, University of Southern California
  • Book: Almost Citizens
  • Online publication: 23 November 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233866.009
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  • Afterword
  • Sam Erman, University of Southern California
  • Book: Almost Citizens
  • Online publication: 23 November 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233866.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Afterword
  • Sam Erman, University of Southern California
  • Book: Almost Citizens
  • Online publication: 23 November 2018
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108233866.009
Available formats
×